2019-2020 SEASON

Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf purchased the team in 1985 and the franchised flourished in the 90s, winning six NBA Championships between (1991-1993 and 1996-1998). Unfortunately, it's been more than two decades since Michael Jordan and the Bulls reigned supreme and at the ripe old age of eighty-three, Jerry isn't getting any younger. If Jerry wants to live long enough to see the Bulls return to their former glory, it's time for some tough choices and some serious house cleaning, starting with the front office. Consequently, the first order of business was ridding the franchise of former mafia underboss, Gar Forman. Yes, I said Mob Boss. Seriously, look at him in that pinstripe suit and tell me he hasn't broken a few legs in his time. Wiki would also have you believe he has served the Bulls as a scout, director of player personnel and special assistant to executive vice-president of basketball operations (Whatever the hell that is). Please...if Forman doesn't have mob connections, then Joe Pesci is a catholic priest.

Enter new bulls GM Troy Dalton...yours truly.

As the new Bulls GM I waste no time in handing Jim Boylen and Roy Rogers their walking papers. Seriously, hit the skids boys and make room for new head coach Randy Wittman. Why Randy? I could afford him, that's why. Ole Jerry might be a billionaire, but he's a cheap bastard and if I was going to have any chance of turning this franchise around, I needed somebody, anybody, better than Boylen. No, Randy wasn't my first choice, but as I said, he's pretty much all I could afford and since he was unemployed he had some time on his hands. As his assistant, well...drum roll please...welcome back to the team Fred Hoiberg! Yep, former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg returns as Wittman's right hand man. Hoiberg was a no brainer. He is a good judge of talent and an offensive specialist. I know what your going to say, "Why would he come back to a team that fired him one year ago?!?" That easy, money, money and being the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Seriously, who really wants to coach basketball in Nebraska? Guys named Elmer, Ewald, Ernest, Moe, Doc and five others who were so ashamed of their life choices that they were only known by their initials. Seriously, T.P., R.G., T.J., E.J, and L.F. were all coaches at Nebraska. I would have included their last names, but I chose to respect their need for anonymity.

So, with Wittman and Hoiberg in the fold, it's time for some roster changes. A weeding of the herd, so to speak. Let's begin with the overpriced talent. PF Thaddeus Young, SF Otto Porter, SG Tomas Satoransky and C Cristiano Felicio are stealing money. Okay, Porter is a decent player, but there are better options in the $27 mil price range. Young isn't playing up to his salary level either, plus his name is Thaddeus and that is reason enough to ship him off. Obviously, moving all this high priced dead weight is a problem. The rest of the GMs in the association aren't likely going to want to absorb any this over paid talent with the trade restrictions in place. I'm going to have to get creative, but I'm a clever guy and I'm motivated. I'm not interested in going back to my day job, with all those OSHA locust hovering around...but I digress. My other problem, my owner insists on getting a four star talent and that isn't going to be easy.

Before I get started wheeling and dealing, I immediately assign PF Daniel Gafford to the G-League. Why? Because he belongs there and he'll likely tole away there until his contract expires. He isn't NBA talent. He knows it, I know it, his parents know it and it's simply not going to work out; but some people just have to chase their dreams; so...off to purgatory disguised as a development league. Now it's time to get down to business and after burning the midnight oil and blowing up the phones, I pull off a deal that should be written on my epitaph. SF Otto Porter, PG Kris Dunn, SG Tomas Satoransky and our 2020 1st round pick to the Nets for C Jarrett Allen and PG Uncle Drew...err...Kyrie Irving! Seriously, no commish mode here, this was legit and I even managed to shave money to get us under the cap. Wow...Kyrie Irving on the Bulls! Man, Jerry is going to wet himself.

Okay, I could stop there and rest on my laurels, but I'm really feeling it. Kind of like Kevin Costner in Draft Day. You know, that feeling he gets when he confuses incredible blind luck with misplaced talent, after he miraculously extricates himself from a monumental blunder that would have hamstrung the Browns for decades, if not for a favorable script...again I digress. My next move is to move "Thaddeus" and that boat anchor Cristiano Felicio. Some how, I manage to catch Wizards GM Tommy Shepard during happy hour and I take advantage of his drunken stupor, unloading both Young and Felicio for SF Rui Hachimura, PG Chris Chiozza, PG Isaiah Thomas and PF Davis Bertans...and...our 2022 1st round pick. See, I told you I was the channeling the ghost Sonny Weaver Jr.!

Phew...that was very nearly better than sex. I don't smoke, but if having a cigarette post coitus is satisfying, releasing PG Shaquille Harrison was a good substitute. So, what to do next, well pour an adult beverage seems like the only reasonable thing to do. So, until next time.

2019-2020 SEASON

OCTOBER 2019
After all of the off season excitement, it was a rather inauspicious start to the season. We opened with a 96-112 road loss to the Raptors and during a 121-113 home win against the Spurs, PF Lauri Markkanen broke his elbow and is out until late December.

On the bright side, Davis Bertans(PF), is surprisingly putting up similar numbers to Markkanen, avg. 12.2 ppg coming off the bench as the sixth man. I'm not sure why he isn't starting, but coach Wittman must have his reasons. I'm not overly concerned, but starting Wendell Carter (C) in place of Markkanen is an interesting move by Wittman.

Denzel Valentine (SG) and Coby White (PG) are also getting significant minutes, with White being the most productive offensively. Starting shooting guard Zach LaVine leads the team in scoring, avg. 22.8 ppg, with Kyrie close behind contributing 22.6 ppg.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
2-3 (3rd - Central Div 0-0)

Key Injuries
10/22 - PF Lauri Markkanen (Broken Elbow - Out 69 days)

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NOVEMBER 2019
Disappointing month of basketball. We are a wretched 2-10 on the road and 0-2 in the division. The problem is pretty clear, defense or a lack there of. The team is ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 112.2 ppg, but we are also ranked 29th in points allowed per game (113.2) and ranked 30th overall defensively. I would be lying if I didn't say this was a concern. If we keep trending this way, something is going to have to be done. That something is probably me getting fired, so I'm really hoping coach Wittman can turn this thing around.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
8-12 (4th - Central Div 0-2)

Key Injuries
10/22/20 - PF Lauri Markkanen (Broken Elbow - Out 30 days)

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DECEMBER 2019
Back from injury and playing in only his second full game for the team, Lauri Markkanen (PF) returns to the starting lineup and went 4-12 for 14 points in a lackluster game that Washington dominated from the opening tip. The 101-114 loss was disappointing and embarrassing as we never once held the lead. Not surprisingly, we are statistically the worst defensive team in the league and that is really grating. Clearly the team was built around offense, but the shear lack of defense is astonishing. I'm not exactly sure how to rectify this in the short-term and that isn't really something the GM should be saying out loud.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
17-19 (3rd - Central Div 5-3)

Key Injuries
None

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JANUARY 2020
It's a new year, but as the saying goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." We are marginally better on defense, having moved out of the cellar in points allowed. However, we are still allowing 110.6 ppg and that isn't cutting it. The crazy thing is that we really seem to play well against good competition, but roll over and play dead against teams we should beat. It's maddening, but when you really sit down and take a hard look at the team, there are a lot of average defensive players...and that's my fault. We are hanging onto the final playoff spot by our fingernails, but it's clear to me now that the players I have assembled are not going to take us far. Hell, at this point I'll be happy if we make the playoffs.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
24-27 (3rd - Central Div 7-4)

Key Injuries
None

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FEBRUARY 2020
One game above .500...must be time to celebrate! I wasn't sure we would see this day and we are getting better on defense. Although the schedule has been easier this month, it's time to be positive and hope this trend continues. I nearly pulled a trade to bring in a defensive specialist, but I didn't believe Wittman was going to stray from his depth chart and since I'm no Billy Bean, I wasn't prepared to trade away half the team just to get my coach to start players who were better defenders. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against analytics, I'm just choosing to trust in the coaching staff and pray he can get Uncle Drew & Company to play better "D". Things are looking up though.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
31-30 (3rd - Central Div 7-4)

Key Injuries
2/27/20 - C Jarrett Allen (Sprained Ankle - Out 15 days)

Code: Select all

 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN
BOS 44-19 | LAL 50-10
MIL 38-23 | UTA 48-13
PHI 35-24 | DEN 42-19
CLE 31-29 | LAC 34-26
CHI 31-30 | MEM 32-38
NYK 31-31 | POR 32-29
DET 30-31 | NOP 32-30
ORL 30-31 | SAS 32-30
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IND 30-32 | HOU 31-30
TOR 26-34 | GSW 30-32
ATL 25-37 | MIN 30-34
BKN 20-42 | DAL 28-34
WAS 20-42 | SAC 26-35
MIA 18-43 | OKC 26-37
CHA 14-48 | PHO 25-38

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MARCH 2020
The month started out pretty good and there was a stretch where we went 8-1! I briefly had visions of a fifty win season, but that dream was quickly dashed by the Grizzlies and Nuggets. Two teams that are irritatingly good and seem to find ways to help us snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Six games remain. Wizards, Hornets, @ Boston, a home-at-home versus the Nets and then the final regular season game at home against the Pistons. So, fifty wins is out of the question, but I'm confident that we are playoff bound. That is not something I would have said a month ago.

Kyrie Irving leads the team in scoring, averaging 26.1 ppg, which ranks him 12th in the league. Kyrie is also ranked 15th in assists per game with 6.9, ranked 9th in steals, ranked 8th in free throw pct. and 1st in line at the bank. He is by far the most expensive player on the roster and the second highest paid player in the league, with a total value that exceeds $136 mil over four years. Not surprisingly, he is Jerry's...I mean...Mr. Reinsdorf's favorite player. So much so, that one of his demands is "KEEP KYRIE IRVING!" For some reason that seemed funny too me, but rest assured Mr. Reinsdorf isn't joking.

The owners other demands are keeping the player budget under $130 mil, staff budget under $11,050,000, keep Uncle Drew of course and then make a deep playoff run. Now, I've got the first three covered. We are a whopping $13.1 mil under the cap, I have $64k left on my staff budget and Kyrie puts a lot of asses in seats, so he isn't going anywhere. However, I'm worried about being able to "Go Deep" in the playoffs. For one, what does it even mean? Second round? Semi-Finals? I don't know, but getting out of the first round isn't going to be easy.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD
40-36 (2nd - Central Div 11-4)

Key Injuries
None

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APRIL 2020
Undefeated in April! A six game winning streak is a great way to finish off the regular season and it gives us a lot of momentum entering the playoffs. Jarrett Allen is nursing a sore calf and he will miss the first game of the post season, but the team is healthy otherwise. Speaking of the post season, as the fourth seed in the East, we will face off against the Cavaliers. We went 3-1 versus Cleveland in the regular season and gave them a memorable beat down on April 14th. Kyrie recorded his only triple-double of the season in the 128-95 drubbing and Bulls fans are hoping for more of the same in the playoffs.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORD
46-36 (2nd - Central Div 12-4)

Key Injuries
4/9/20 - Jarrett Allen (C) (Sore calf, out until 4/16/20)
[b]

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        FINAL
 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
  EASTERN | WESTERN [/b]
BOS 56-26 | LAL 69-13
PHI 52-30 | UTA 62-20
MIL 49-33 | DEN 55-27
CHI 46-36 | LAC 51-31
CLE 43-39 | POR 46-36
NYK 41-41 | MEM 43-39
IND 39-43 | SAS 42-40
DET 38-44 | NOP 41-41
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ORL 38-44 | HOU 41-41
ATL 34-48 | GSW 40-42
BKN 31-51 | DAL 39-43
TOR 28-54 | MIN 37-45
MIA 25-57 | SAC 35-47
WAS 25-57 | PHO 34-48
CHA 17-65 | OKC 33-49

PLAYOFF TREE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Celtics
(8) Pistons

(4) Bulls
(5) Cavaliers

(3) Bucks
(6) Knicks

(7) 76ers
(8) Pacers


WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) Lakers
(8) Pelicans

(4) Clippers
(5) Trail Blazers

(3) Nuggets
(6) Grizzlies

(2) Jazz
(7) Spurs

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PLAYOFFS

ROUND 1/GAME 1 (April 14th)
Cavaliers 105, Bulls 102

Game one was a disappointing loss for sure, but it could have been much worse. The Cavs outscored us 29-16 in the third quarter and it looked like a blowout was in the works. However, we bounced back with a 36-25 fourth period and made the game respectable at the end; we simply ran out of time. Cleveland's guard Collin Sexton led all scorers with 29 points, but that really doesn't tell the whole tale. The Cavs outscored us 44 to 34 in the paint and logged 19 second chance points to our mere 3! To suggest our defense was non existent in the third period would be an understatement. It also didn't help that Kyrie had an off night and was held to only 16 points. Kyrie shot a paltry 4-17 from the field, 2-11 from the three point line and without LaVine's 29 point contribution, it would surely have been an ugly result. On the positive side, if Kyrie had been just average, we could have easily won the game and although Kyrie can be streaky, I have a feeling he'll bounce back in game two.

PLAYOFF TREE
EASTERN CONFERENCE

Code: Select all

(1) BOS 103 (1)
(8) DET  81 (0)

(4) CHI 102 (0)
(5) CLE 105 (1)

(3) MIL 122 (1)
(6) NYK 108 (0)

(7) PHI 121 (1)
(8) IND 107 (0)

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Code: Select all

(1) LAL (0)
(8) NOP (0)

(4) LAC (0)
(5) POR (0)

(3) DEN (0)
(6) MEM (0)

(2) UTA (0)
(7) SAS (0)


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PLAYOFFS

ROUND 1/GAME 2 (April 15th/16th-Western Conference)
Bulls 124, Cavaliers 106

Oh what a difference a day can make. After a 36-36 first period, we outscored the Cavs 44-32 in the second period and never looked back. Irving, LaVine and Markkanen were all in double figures, with Kyrie leading the way with 29 points. We outscored the Cavs 42-40 in the paint and split the second chance points 18 a piece. With the series now even, we head to Cleveland for two games. Cleveland will likely be favored in games three and four, as we are not a very good road team, but Jarrett Allen returns to the starting lineup after missing two games to injury. Allen's presence should bolster the defense and his rebounding prowess may give us the edge we need to steal a game or maybe two.

PLAYOFF TREE
EASTERN CONFERENCE

Code: Select all

(1) BOS 111 (2)
(8) DET 106 (0)

(4) CHI 124 (1)
(5) CLE 106 (1)

(3) MIL  99 (1)
(6) NYK 109 (1)

(7) PHI 108 (2)
(8) IND  92 (0)

WESTERN CONFERENCE (April 14th)

Code: Select all

(1) LAL 102 (0)
(8) NOP 112 (1)

(4) LAC 116 (0)
(5) POR 124 (1)

(3) DEN 100 (0)
(6) MEM 107 (1)

(2) UTA 101 (1)
(7) SAS  88 (0)

WESTERN CONFERENCE (April 15th)

Code: Select all

(1) LAL 126 (1)
(8) NOP 117 (1)

(4) LAC  89 (0)
(5) POR 103 (2)

(3) DEN  89 (0)
(6) MEM 109 (2)

(2) UTA 126 (2)
(7) SAS 114 (0)

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