I know that Mike D'Antoni's system calls for high-scoring but I'm still in awe that Chris Duhon has turned into a legitimate NBA point guard.
He actually looked more athletic than the guy we've seen come off the bench to fill in for Kirk Hinrich and strangely he looked like he knew exactly what he wanted to do and when he put up 14 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
You look at that line versus Rose's respectable 15 points and seven rebounds.
Sure, Rose is a stud and will soon rival Chris Paul and Deron Williams as the class of NBA points.
But I've got to say that Duhon is looking like no slouch and already looking like the NBA's most improved player. And rumor has it that Duhon is now the more committed player than the one that would typically be on Rush street the night before the game.
It's probably one of the most difficult aspects about Duhon the player. He was a committed player at Duke and a smart one too, but once he got in a Bulls uniform he appeared to lose that kind of focus.
So what's that say about the Bulls' development and scouting? They let Duhon walk; Hinrich stays with a pricey contract and no position. Gordon leads the team in scoring and doesn't have any ink, while Deng is the richest Bull in franchise history and continues to struggle.
The Bulls put together a respectable 105-100 victory over the New Look Knicks, which essentially is greasing up for the 2010 free-agent spree, known as the Summer of Lebron.
And to be sure, they've got a great system for him. One that allows the NBA's next legend to run the open floor. How do you stop a 6'9, 269 pound leaping tank? You don't.
And it seems that New York is the right system for such a player that uses athletes and full court sprints.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are still sorting their overpriced junk. While Noah didn't get off the bench against the Wizards on Saturday, Tyrus Thomas racked up a DNP on Tuesday night.
What's the trend here?
Well, we're certain that neither player will ever pan out to be real NBA players. I'm not even certain Noah will be in the league in three years. We can speculate that maybe Vinny DelNegro just now figured out the truth: They're hopeless.
Noah remains woefully weak and underweight. It's rumored that he cannot bench more than 170 pounds. And strangely, K.C. Johnson of the Trib reported that Noah did spend time in the weight room this off-season to put on some bulk.
Really?
He's usually bullied around, and pretty much fouls any player stronger than him. I still to this point want to know what John Paxson and staff were discussing when this Florida 6'11 forward came in for workouts and saw that he clearly had no hands, no offensive skill to speak of, horrible instincts on defense, mediocre leaping ability with decent running skills and a supposed "tireless" work ethic.
That's a lottery pick?
While Thomas is worthy of an article on his own, we can't ignore the big DNP. Face it: He won't take this as a lesson any more than the mental academy supposedly helped him this off-season.
Remember he ditched a practice last year, prematurely telling teammates that he would? He is the dumbest athlete in Chicago next to Devin Hester; both of whom share impossibly athletic ability.
Which gets us back to Duhon. Even Duhon was good, this capable at least, who fell asleep in the scouting department on the Bulls?
2 comments:
Dude, you cannot possibly want Duhon back. remember that 3-point shoointg? He's a joke. The Knicks are a joke. All he has to do is pass. It's not that hard.
And YOUR'RE right, Noah sucks. He'll never be anything.
The problem is not how bad Thomas is or Noah, it's how bad Luol Deng is. He's a woeful shooter, now and can't play defense. It'd be nice if we've seen some pick and roll from him too but he's too light. This team may have its upside, but the downside is Deng has regressed every year
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