You right about those free throws because Rose hits his free throws now but I swear every time I see Deng or someone else shoot free throws they always go 1 of 2 or miss both....
You also right about Deng but at least he plays defense, Boozer on the other had needs to get more involve. And as you said it should start at the beginning of the game, just like Jordan use to do with his teammates. I think Rose gets it but his teammates better understand, now that you are in first place you are going to get the other teams best from here on out.
C/S
Both have a bad tendency of being lazy or going easy on a game against certain teams.
A lot of these non-elite teams are going hard after the Bulls and I expect the Wolves to do the same.
I just found a link off of NBA.com to this article in the Tribune on Boozer. We were just talking about their production starting games.
Bulls looking for ways to boost Boozer
They have to counter defenses keeping forward from his strengths
Carlos Boozer offered some calming words for anybody concerned about his recent lack of offensive production.
"Tell them to stay tuned," Boozer said. "Tell them to be patient. We're doing fine. Hang in there with us. Tell them I said that."
Of course, Boozer's post presence was supposed to have a calming effect on offense, finally giving the Bulls a player to whom they could dump the ball into to slow down the game with easy baskets. Instead, Boozer's numbers have declined monthly since his Bulls debut Dec. 1 after he missed the first month of the season to injury. And lately, teams have been using size to drive Boozer away from the basket, creating more pick-and-pop than pick-and-roll opportunities.
Coach Tom Thibodeau repeatedly has defended Boozer, saying teammates often have missed the veteran forward on second post-ups after Boozer initially kicked the ball back out.
"I'm not worried about that," Boozer said. "That's part of the game. I'm more concerned with our defense. The offense will take care of itself."
Boozer shot 55.1 percent in December, 53.9 percent in January, 50.3 percent in February and is at 45.1 percent this month. His scoring average has dropped from 20.6 points in December to 19 points in January to 16.5 points in February down to 12.7 points this month. Boozer is playing slightly less this month at 29.8 minutes per game, down from a monthly high of 33 minutes in February.
And this shouldn't be overlooked: The Bulls are 18-5 when Boozer and Joakim Noah play together.
"We have got to run the floor a little better," Thibodeau said when asked how to jump start Boozer. "We have to find him deeper in the post. We have to search him out better. In looking at the film, he made some really good plays in the first quarter. We went to the re-post and missed a couple of shots. But we have to give him that second look and he has to get some easier scores. He'll be fine.
"He has faced (defensive length) throughout his career. We looked at the previous game against Philadelphia where he had 31 and he scored in a variety of ways. (Monday night's 97-85 loss to the 76ers) was a different sort of game. When he's at his best, he scores in pick-and-roll, post-up, catch-and-shoot, running the floor. We have to get him back to doing that."
At the defensive end, 76ers coach Doug Collins immediately isolated Boozer and teams repeatedly put him in pick-and-roll situations. And now comes Kevin Love, returning from injury as the league-leading rebounder and 20.3 points-per-game scorer.
"He's having a phenomenal season, a historic season," Boozer said. "As a fan of basketball, I was proud of what he did with the 30-30. That hadn't been done in (28) years (by Moses Malone). I was very impressed. When you progress that way, you know he puts the work in during the summertime. You just have to try to match his activity and intensity."
So do Boozer's teammates, who have gotten off to poor starts for three straight games.
"Us starters have to have better first quarters," Boozer said.
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/03/30/boozerstay-tuned-for-the-playoffs/?ls=iref:nbahpt1
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-0330-bulls-chicago--20110329,0,1381826.story
. I know it is still bittersweet because your squad lost as well
. Could have picked up a full game and you really would have something to cheer about.
"WTF is this nigga typing about? Both of them have played together for no more than 3 months!" And you all are correct...but Im just saying thats just something that I observed and i think needs to be addressed. If both of them played like they did earlier this season I think we would be unstoppable even without a 2 guard.
