Trans. May 16 7:50 ET (May 16 7:50 ET ) Remember Filomena Tobias? The woman who flipped off Joakim Noah will soon have her 15 minutes of fame run out, but she’s making one more public stand by speaking through her attorney. Via Gossip Extra “Ms. Tobias has been a devoted Miami Heat fan for as long as she can remember, and like many other…
May 13 (The Sports Xchange) - Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen and Miami Heat forward LeBron James highlight the NBA All-Defensive First Team. The NBA announced Monday that Allen received 53 points in the voting while James tallied 52. Each player earned 25 First Team votes. Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (37 points, 15 First Team votes), Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (46, 17), New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (24, nine) and Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (24, right) rounded out the first team. ...
A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C : Heat.com . With plenty of input from Miami Heat assistant coach David Fizdale, Couper Moorhead offers a really fascinating in-depth look at how the Chicago Bulls use Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson as something like quarterback-spying linebackers in their defense, how the Heat changed up their offensive attack to thwart the Bulls' big men in their Game 3 win , and how Miami's offense continues to adapt and evolve as its players' skill-sets develop. Really interesting stuff.
PF : Grantland . This one dropped before Game 3, but I still like Brett Koremenos' breakdown of how the Oklahoma City Thunder can de-emphasize their frontcourt offensive struggles by going small, and how they can do so without getting pounded by the Memphis Grizzlies' bruising big men. It'll be interesting to see if Scott Brooks goes smaller for longer stretches in search of a series-evening win in Monday's Game 4 .
SF : Welcome to Loud City . Even with Kevin Durant playing less-than-celestial basketball, virtually everyone else not named Reggie Jackson struggling and the Grindhouse faithful in full throat, the Thunder still found themselves tied at 81 with about 90 seconds to go and a real shot at swiping back home-court advantage from the Grizzlies. And then, thanks to a couple of critical late mistakes, it all went to pieces. Noted masochist J.A. Sherman revisits the scene of the crimes.
The All-NBA Defensive Team is the perfect honor for a player like Tony Allen. In the grand history of Bobby Jones, T.R. Dunn, and Scottie Pippen, Allen is the type of all-world defender that will never probably win a Defensive Player of the Year award. Because he does his work on the wing, Allen’s in-between game will never be realized along the same lines as someone like, say, teammate and 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol. It’s just not in the cards for the in-between guys.
Of course, becoming the Defensive Player of the Year is no quick invite to the All-Defensive Team. For the second straight year, the DPoY lost out on a place with the top team, as Gasol fell to the second (and nearly third) team in favor of Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler. Noah and Chandler (who took in the same lack of All-Defensive recognition as Gasol did, during 2011-12’s vote), tied for the top spot on in the pivot position on the top team, alongside Allen, Oklahoma City shot blocker Serge Ibaka, LeBron James, and Clippers guard Chris Paul.
Yeah. We’re a little confused too.
COMMENTARY | Following the ejections of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson in Game 2 of the Miami Heat playoff series, it became evident the Chicago Bulls are hurting inside the paint.
Calling the Chicago Bulls’ 2012-13 a “lost season” is no justification to sit players, deal rotation parts, or take things lighter just because Derrick Rose is recovering from a torn ACL. It’s no excuse to let Rose sit the entire year, or to pass on re-signing Omer Asik, or to run Joakim Noah into the ground. It’s no excuse for either end of the “give up”/”try real hard” spectrum, really, and shouldn’t be an excuse to rest All-Star forward Luol Deng for the rest of the playoffs.
Luol Deng should sit out the rest of the playoffs, though, because there is no reason to push him back in to pro-level competition. As Deng recovers from a major illness and botched spinal tap procedure, the team should make the adult choice here ( for once in their recent history ) and declare Deng done for the year.
In his first meeting with the press since Deng was sidelined by illness, Deng came correct at Bulls practice on Thursday in discussing the obstacles that have been in place in the days since he was hospitalized.
Chicago Bulls beat writer K.C. Johnson ( of the Chicago Tribune ) and Mike McGraw (of the Arlington Heights Daily-Herald ) relayed Deng’s discussion, via their Twitter accounts:
Deng says he's lost 15 pounds: “I tried to shoot a little bit (today) and I struggled. I couldn’t do it."
— Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHBulls) May 9, 2013
By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls suffered their worst ever playoff defeat on Wednesday to the Miami Heat but took comfort in having stolen homecourt advantage from the defending champions. A depleted Bulls team split the opening two games of the series and, despite Miami's brutally spectacular 115-78 win on Wednesday, remain defiant as the Eastern Conference semi-finals now shifts to the Windy City for the next two games. "We got punched in the mouth," said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who was ejected in Wednesday's game where, at one stage, Chicago trailed by 46 points. ...
By Simon Evans MIAMI, May 9 (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls suffered their worst ever playoff defeat on Wednesday to the Miami Heat but took comfort in having stolen homecourt advantage from the defending champions. A depleted Bulls team split the opening two games of the series and, despite Miami's brutally spectacular 115-78 win on Wednesday, remain defiant as the Eastern Conference semi-finals now shifts to the Windy City for the next two games. "We got punched in the mouth," said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who was ejected in Wednesday's game where, at one stage, Chicago trailed by 46 points. ...
As Joakim Noah walked off the court following his Game 2 ejection, one zealous Heat fan signaled her displeasure with the Bulls center in what's turned into a viral photo.
The Scoop: None.
May 9 8:01 ET
News (various sources)
Nate Robinson unlikely to return to Bulls next season (NBC Sports) (1 Day Ago | courtesy: NBC Sports) Nate Robinson wasn’t only the Bulls’ main scoring punch during the playoffs, he symbolized the team’s heart, as well. Robinson put in many memorable performances during his injury-ravaged team’s run into the second round, including leading Chicago to a thrilling triple-overtime win over the Nets in the fourth game of that series, and helping to… More...
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