When thinking of the match up between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, one can’t help but think of the Glory days of Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. In this heated rivalry last second shots, monstrous dunks, and tenacious D ruled the day. Maybe the best coaches in NBA history faced off when Pat Reilly met Phil Jackson. We even had some of the ugliest in Scottie Pippen’s bug-like expressions, Ewing’s apelike features, Starks and Oakley’s foreboding manner, Rodman’s menacing antics, and who could forget the man child BJ Armstrong amongst others.
Today things are a little different as the Bulls visit the Knicks at MSG. As they battle for the rights to claim the Eastern Conferences’ worst record I can’t help but wonder, who are these people? Currently in the first quarter, I see the Knicks are 4 of 11 from the line, someone please remind me why these guys make millions of dollars? If only I was 6 and ½ feet tall, surely with enough practice I could make less then half of my free throws. But I digress.
Let’s look at the Bulls, this is my team, I know this team, or at least who I thought they were from last year. (They are who we thought they were! ~ Dennis Green) But are they really? Ok it’s the second quarter now, the Bulls just turned over the ball on 3 straight possessions and are down by 5 to a team that has lost 8 straight. Whoa, I just stopped watching for a little but now the Bulls are down 12 at the end of the half, sad.
So who were they last year? Luol Deng was a superstar in the making with his long arms driving ability and 15 ft jumper. Kirk Hinrich was on top of him game with his passing skills, his ability to make shots for others, and heck the man can shoot pretty well too. Ben Gordon was the kind of player that could get hot and put up 20 pts in the 4th quarter to lead a comeback vs. anyone. Andres Nocioni (when healthy) was a surge of energy causing turnovers, making hustle plays, driving to the basket, or hitting a big 3 to put away the competition. Ben Wallace was a big man in the middle that would make you think twice before driving to the basket. Tyrus Thomas was another ball of energy for when the team needed a kick start, probably the most athletic player on the team as a rookie. This team is young and in 2007 they should just keep getting better. Right? Isn’t that who they were? Did I just dream of the playoffs last year?
Subscribe to RSS Feed
