The return of the Terri-Bulls
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, November 3
Updated: November 3
10:26 AM ET
The Terri-Bulls have been running through the streets of Chicago for the past five years, leaving behind them broken hearts and an unbearable stink.
This was supposed to be the year all that changed. No more jokes about the Bulls being uglier than Jerry Krause in a thong. Zero references to the Chicago Bulls-hit.
Guys like Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford and Scottie Pippen were going to run the demons out of town. New GM John Paxson was out to return the team to respectability. Whispers of the playoffs weren't returned with giggles. In an attempt at fair disclosure, Insider ranked them seventh in the East just one week ago.
The Bulls motto at the start of the season: "History in the Making."
Three games into the NBA season, the Bulls are frantically trying to deal with the mingling of increased expectations and a terrible stumble out of the gate. Suddenly, making history isn't the issue here. The Bulls are just hoping not to repeat it.
Eddy Curry
Forward-Center
Chicago Bulls
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 14.0 5.0 1.0 .441 .667
After ripping his team earlier in the week and promising to stir things up if the team's play didn't improve, GM John Paxson is now refusing to talk to the local media. Coach Bill Cartwright is groping for answers. Players are beginning to get surly, pointing fingers three games into the season.
For the second time in three games, the Bulls came out Saturday with nothing in the second half and got thrashed by an inferior opponent. While it's way too early to judge a team after just three games, the Bulls may be the exception.
Execution, rust, a new offensive scheme or injuries can all contribute to a bad start. Teams that will eventually be dominant sometimes come out of the gate slowly as they try to piece everything together.
This is different. While the Bulls have had their share of preseason injuries and the execution difficulties and rust are apparent, something else more troubling is going on in Chicago -- a total lack of energy by two young players who were supposed to carry the load for the Bulls this season.
Jamal Crawford
Point Guard
Chicago Bulls
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 12.0 3.7 4.7 .350 .500
Curry and Crawford have been terrible. Curry, who led the league in field goal percentage last year, is shooting just 44 percent from the field. His 14 ppg and five rpg surpass his numbers from last season, but they're nowhere near what the Bulls were expecting.
Concerns about Curry's conditioning and commitment to defense are being raised again, nearly drowning out the preseason praise for his unstoppable offensive game in the post.
Crawford is also struggling, shooting just 35 percent from the field and averaging 2.7 turnovers to his 4.6 assists. Cartwright benched Crawford against the Hawks in game two and the two lashed out at each other afterward.
"Guys will get their opportunity," Cartwright said. "It's like playing baseball. You'll get a chance to take your swings. It's up to you to hit the ball.
"I'm not playing. I'll put you out there and see what you got. If you're not giving us what we need, we have to find somebody else to win some games. It's not personal. Basketball is simple. If you're playing well, you'll stay out there."
The rest of the team hasn't belonged on the court, either. The team as a whole is shooting just 35 percent from the field, which ranks it last in the league. The team ranks 24th in the league in points scored and seventh in the league in points allowed.
The one bright spot has been Tyson Chandler. Despite a sore back, Chandler is averaging 18 rpg, including seven offensive boards. Ironically, it was Chandler who was often overlooked (including by Insider) this summer in favor of Curry and Crawford.
That's due, in large part, to rumblings inside the Bulls front office that Chandler was a step behind the other two in player development. That may be true offensively. But defensively, there's been no contest.
Ditto for maturity. While the rest of the Bulls fumble for answers, Chandler has stepped to the fore. He's one of the few Bulls this season who's shown any heart.
"Coach can only coach so much before it's time for us to get out there and play," Chandler told the Chicago Tribune. "Quit all the blaming. Quit all the pointing fingers. Stop blaming the coach. Blame each other. And step up as men. Step up as players.
"Step up and play. That's all it's about, getting out there and playing and playing hard. If we do that, we'll win ballgames. It isn't the coach out there jogging to spots. It isn't the coach out there not helping on defense. It's not the coach out there not rebounding. It's us."
Saturday night, Chandler lost his patience with teammates on the court for not getting back on defense. He was the only Bull on the floor who seemed visibly upset with what was taking place.
"We gave up, and we can't have that,: Chandler said about the Bulls' 30-point loss to the Bucks. "We came out aggressive, but you can't just come out aggressive. You have to play that the full game.
"Good teams play all four quarters."
Chandler's vocal leadership during the Bulls first week could be what the Bulls need to awaken them from a disturbing slumber.
"This is when the moment of truth is," Chandler said. "When you're down in the game, it's the little things that will bring you back. You can't go one-on-one. You can't get out of the offense.
"It's when a guy doesn't step over on defense to help his teammate. Or when a guy doesn't box out. Or when a guy doesn't make the extra pass. Or when a guy doesn't cut hard. I'm including myself in all of this. It's all the little things that we have to do to come together as a team."
With all of the hand wringing going on in Chicago, Cartwright is still trying to maintain some perspective. The team is 1-2. There are still 79 games to turn this thing around. The Bulls are still young and Cartwright, for one, still has hope that the Bulls preseason playoff guarantee can be a reality.
"Of course we're going to the playoffs," Cartwright said. "This feeling that if we don't get off to a good start, the season isn't going to be very good, I disagree with that."
"We're going to play very good basketball this season. But this stuff doesn't happen overnight. You can't go from 0 to 60. This is where we are right now. We have some things we have to shore up, especially defensively, and some guys we have to get back to full strength."
Around the League
Tracy McGrady
Shooting Guard
Orlando Magic
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 30.0 5.3 7.0 .405 .889
Will Tracy McGrady follow Kobe Bryant's lead and opt out after the season is over? That was the buzz Sunday after Peter Vecsey reported in the N.Y. Post that his sources have been telling him T-Mac is thinking of opting out this summer.
There's only one problem. McGrady doesn't have an early termination option at the end of this season. McGrady can't opt out of his contract until after the 2004-05 season. The same holds true for all of the other players -- like Grant Hill and Eddie Jones -- who signed max seven-year contracts during the summer of 2000.
The buzz about McGrady has been stirred, in part, by recent suggestions that a T-Mac-for-Kobe swap could make a lot of sense. The thinking behind the talk, which has appeared both locally and nationally, is that McGrady is sick of losing in Orlando and wants out. Instead of losing him, the Magic could work out something with the Lakers that gives them Kobe and a contract extension.
The only problem with that theory, according to a source in Orlando, is that Magic owner Rich DeVos won't touch Kobe because of his rape charge in Colorado. Even if Kobe was acquitted, the source told Insider that DeVos, a devout Christian who always makes an issue about the character of the players on his team, would balk.
Then there's the problem of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who claims he won't trade Kobe. "I'm not about to trade my son," Buss told the L.A. Times. "Kobe is clearly going to end up on a level that maybe only two or three other players have achieved, and I want to be around to see him when he reaches his peak, which is still many years away."
"I certainly hope -- you can put that in capital letters if you like -- that Kobe re-signs. I guess my basic feeling is this is where he belongs," Buss added. "I have faith that when it comes time, Kobe will be signed."
As for T-Mac, he's insisting that while he has been frustrated with the team's lack of success, he has no intention of bolting Orlando when the time actually does come for him to opt out.
"I don't want to go somewhere else where they've won championships, a place like San Antonio, where they've already won a title," McGrady told the Orlando Sentinel. "I want to do it in Orlando. Man, this is home. I want to be the first guy to bring one here. That's what I want to do."
Rashard Lewis
Small Forward
Seattle SuperSonics
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
2 37.5 6.0 3.5 .578 .800
Three games don't make a season, but several players got off to unexpected hot starts this week. How about Rashard Lewis' 37.5 ppg average in Seattle . . . including a 50-point effort on Saturday night?
Without Ray Allen in the lineup Lewis is finally stepping into the leadership role the Sonics have been grooming him for the last four seasons. The Sonics left Japan on Sunday raving about Lewis' development.
"He does things so easy that you look up at the stats and you say, 'God, where did it come from?' " coach Nate McMillan said. "But that's how he plays."
The Blazers' Zach Randolph is also living up to his preseason expectations. His 21.5 ppg and 11 rpg on 48 percent shooting were on the high end of what we expected from him this season.
Randolph dropped 21 points and 13 points on the Cavs, despite being guarded by 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
"I think they put a bigger guy on Zach hoping that Ilgauskas' length would bother him, but Zach can score against the best of them," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It doesn't matter who plays Zach Randolph. Zach Randolph is going to score."
Cheeks thinks Randolph is on the verge of becoming a star. "I don't mean like a major star," Cheeks said. "I just think he's ready to play. He's a hungry player. He's ready to play. I think that's what makes stars. He might not be a star this year, but I think he's ready to contribute in a major way."
We talked about Tyson Chandler's surprising 18 rpg. Right behind him? An even bigger surprise, the Warriors' Erick Dampier. He's averaging 16.3 rpg, 13.7 ppg and 2.3 bpg through his first three. Playing against Shaq and the Lakers on Sunday night, Damp finished with a career-high 23 rebounds and 14 points.
"Damp's been absolutely unbelievable since Day 1 of training camp," coach Eric Musselman said.
But how long will it continue? Once Adonal Foyle and Troy Murphy return from injury, will Dampier still get those type of minutes?
The Rockets and Nuggets both decided not to pick up the fourth-year options on Eddie Griffin and Rodney White on Friday.
There was no comment from the Rockets or Griffin about the decision, underlining the uncertainty of Griffin's future. Last we heard, Griffin was checking into a hospital to undergo treatment for what his agent termed "emotional problems."
The Rockets haven't said much since then, but their decision not to pick up the promising Griffin is telling. A little over a week ago, sources claimed that picking up Griffin was really a no-brainer. However, as allegations about Griffin shooting at a women, and with his decision to check into a hospital for treatment, the Rockets must have decided that they would be sending the wrong message by guaranteeing Griffin millions while he faced so many severe problems.
The Nuggets were more forthcoming with their explanation. GM Kiki Vandeweghe claimed that the Nuggets didn't pick up White's option because of cap issues. The team wanted to get his $2.5 million salary next year off the books, so that they had enough money to make a max contract offer for someone. Vandeweghe said he hopes the two sides come to some sort of agreement next summer.
"I don't want to see (White) go," Vandeweghe told the Rocky Mountain News. "I really like Rodney. He can really help our team. . . . I'm proud of how he played (Saturday). . . . I told Rodney, 'I hope we have to pay you a lot of money next year.' "
White said he's still stunned by the decision.
"I don't understand (the decision)," White said. "I definitely don't understand it. It's surprising to me. I've done everything they've asked me to. I've improved as a player. I've studied. I've become more professional. It's just tough. Stuff like that happens. I don't understand the business side."
White got his first extensive playing time of the regular season on Saturday and responded with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in just 15 minutes. Coach Jeff Bzdelik says he wants to play White more, but is still trying to find the right place for him in the rotation. "(White) filled up the (statistics) line here. . . . He was moving the basketball and he was aggressive. I've just got to find the right spot for each guy at the right time."
Pat Riley claims that despite speculation to the contrary, he won't be coaching a different NBA team any time soon.
"I categorically do not want to coach, I categorically do not want to do television, I categorically am not interested in going anywhere else other than being in Miami," Riley told the Miami Herald. "The decision on how long I'm in Miami is going to have to do with [owner] Micky Arison, not with me or somebody else. That's it. I've been here eight years. I've got a 10-year contract and I'm going to honor that. I'm not thinking of doing anything else."
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, November 3
Updated: November 3
10:26 AM ET
The Terri-Bulls have been running through the streets of Chicago for the past five years, leaving behind them broken hearts and an unbearable stink.
This was supposed to be the year all that changed. No more jokes about the Bulls being uglier than Jerry Krause in a thong. Zero references to the Chicago Bulls-hit.
Guys like Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford and Scottie Pippen were going to run the demons out of town. New GM John Paxson was out to return the team to respectability. Whispers of the playoffs weren't returned with giggles. In an attempt at fair disclosure, Insider ranked them seventh in the East just one week ago.
The Bulls motto at the start of the season: "History in the Making."
Three games into the NBA season, the Bulls are frantically trying to deal with the mingling of increased expectations and a terrible stumble out of the gate. Suddenly, making history isn't the issue here. The Bulls are just hoping not to repeat it.
Eddy Curry
Forward-Center
Chicago Bulls
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 14.0 5.0 1.0 .441 .667
After ripping his team earlier in the week and promising to stir things up if the team's play didn't improve, GM John Paxson is now refusing to talk to the local media. Coach Bill Cartwright is groping for answers. Players are beginning to get surly, pointing fingers three games into the season.
For the second time in three games, the Bulls came out Saturday with nothing in the second half and got thrashed by an inferior opponent. While it's way too early to judge a team after just three games, the Bulls may be the exception.
Execution, rust, a new offensive scheme or injuries can all contribute to a bad start. Teams that will eventually be dominant sometimes come out of the gate slowly as they try to piece everything together.
This is different. While the Bulls have had their share of preseason injuries and the execution difficulties and rust are apparent, something else more troubling is going on in Chicago -- a total lack of energy by two young players who were supposed to carry the load for the Bulls this season.
Jamal Crawford
Point Guard
Chicago Bulls
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 12.0 3.7 4.7 .350 .500
Curry and Crawford have been terrible. Curry, who led the league in field goal percentage last year, is shooting just 44 percent from the field. His 14 ppg and five rpg surpass his numbers from last season, but they're nowhere near what the Bulls were expecting.
Concerns about Curry's conditioning and commitment to defense are being raised again, nearly drowning out the preseason praise for his unstoppable offensive game in the post.
Crawford is also struggling, shooting just 35 percent from the field and averaging 2.7 turnovers to his 4.6 assists. Cartwright benched Crawford against the Hawks in game two and the two lashed out at each other afterward.
"Guys will get their opportunity," Cartwright said. "It's like playing baseball. You'll get a chance to take your swings. It's up to you to hit the ball.
"I'm not playing. I'll put you out there and see what you got. If you're not giving us what we need, we have to find somebody else to win some games. It's not personal. Basketball is simple. If you're playing well, you'll stay out there."
The rest of the team hasn't belonged on the court, either. The team as a whole is shooting just 35 percent from the field, which ranks it last in the league. The team ranks 24th in the league in points scored and seventh in the league in points allowed.
The one bright spot has been Tyson Chandler. Despite a sore back, Chandler is averaging 18 rpg, including seven offensive boards. Ironically, it was Chandler who was often overlooked (including by Insider) this summer in favor of Curry and Crawford.
That's due, in large part, to rumblings inside the Bulls front office that Chandler was a step behind the other two in player development. That may be true offensively. But defensively, there's been no contest.
Ditto for maturity. While the rest of the Bulls fumble for answers, Chandler has stepped to the fore. He's one of the few Bulls this season who's shown any heart.
"Coach can only coach so much before it's time for us to get out there and play," Chandler told the Chicago Tribune. "Quit all the blaming. Quit all the pointing fingers. Stop blaming the coach. Blame each other. And step up as men. Step up as players.
"Step up and play. That's all it's about, getting out there and playing and playing hard. If we do that, we'll win ballgames. It isn't the coach out there jogging to spots. It isn't the coach out there not helping on defense. It's not the coach out there not rebounding. It's us."
Saturday night, Chandler lost his patience with teammates on the court for not getting back on defense. He was the only Bull on the floor who seemed visibly upset with what was taking place.
"We gave up, and we can't have that,: Chandler said about the Bulls' 30-point loss to the Bucks. "We came out aggressive, but you can't just come out aggressive. You have to play that the full game.
"Good teams play all four quarters."
Chandler's vocal leadership during the Bulls first week could be what the Bulls need to awaken them from a disturbing slumber.
"This is when the moment of truth is," Chandler said. "When you're down in the game, it's the little things that will bring you back. You can't go one-on-one. You can't get out of the offense.
"It's when a guy doesn't step over on defense to help his teammate. Or when a guy doesn't box out. Or when a guy doesn't make the extra pass. Or when a guy doesn't cut hard. I'm including myself in all of this. It's all the little things that we have to do to come together as a team."
With all of the hand wringing going on in Chicago, Cartwright is still trying to maintain some perspective. The team is 1-2. There are still 79 games to turn this thing around. The Bulls are still young and Cartwright, for one, still has hope that the Bulls preseason playoff guarantee can be a reality.
"Of course we're going to the playoffs," Cartwright said. "This feeling that if we don't get off to a good start, the season isn't going to be very good, I disagree with that."
"We're going to play very good basketball this season. But this stuff doesn't happen overnight. You can't go from 0 to 60. This is where we are right now. We have some things we have to shore up, especially defensively, and some guys we have to get back to full strength."
Around the League
Tracy McGrady
Shooting Guard
Orlando Magic
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
3 30.0 5.3 7.0 .405 .889
Will Tracy McGrady follow Kobe Bryant's lead and opt out after the season is over? That was the buzz Sunday after Peter Vecsey reported in the N.Y. Post that his sources have been telling him T-Mac is thinking of opting out this summer.
There's only one problem. McGrady doesn't have an early termination option at the end of this season. McGrady can't opt out of his contract until after the 2004-05 season. The same holds true for all of the other players -- like Grant Hill and Eddie Jones -- who signed max seven-year contracts during the summer of 2000.
The buzz about McGrady has been stirred, in part, by recent suggestions that a T-Mac-for-Kobe swap could make a lot of sense. The thinking behind the talk, which has appeared both locally and nationally, is that McGrady is sick of losing in Orlando and wants out. Instead of losing him, the Magic could work out something with the Lakers that gives them Kobe and a contract extension.
The only problem with that theory, according to a source in Orlando, is that Magic owner Rich DeVos won't touch Kobe because of his rape charge in Colorado. Even if Kobe was acquitted, the source told Insider that DeVos, a devout Christian who always makes an issue about the character of the players on his team, would balk.
Then there's the problem of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, who claims he won't trade Kobe. "I'm not about to trade my son," Buss told the L.A. Times. "Kobe is clearly going to end up on a level that maybe only two or three other players have achieved, and I want to be around to see him when he reaches his peak, which is still many years away."
"I certainly hope -- you can put that in capital letters if you like -- that Kobe re-signs. I guess my basic feeling is this is where he belongs," Buss added. "I have faith that when it comes time, Kobe will be signed."
As for T-Mac, he's insisting that while he has been frustrated with the team's lack of success, he has no intention of bolting Orlando when the time actually does come for him to opt out.
"I don't want to go somewhere else where they've won championships, a place like San Antonio, where they've already won a title," McGrady told the Orlando Sentinel. "I want to do it in Orlando. Man, this is home. I want to be the first guy to bring one here. That's what I want to do."
Rashard Lewis
Small Forward
Seattle SuperSonics
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
2 37.5 6.0 3.5 .578 .800
Three games don't make a season, but several players got off to unexpected hot starts this week. How about Rashard Lewis' 37.5 ppg average in Seattle . . . including a 50-point effort on Saturday night?
Without Ray Allen in the lineup Lewis is finally stepping into the leadership role the Sonics have been grooming him for the last four seasons. The Sonics left Japan on Sunday raving about Lewis' development.
"He does things so easy that you look up at the stats and you say, 'God, where did it come from?' " coach Nate McMillan said. "But that's how he plays."
The Blazers' Zach Randolph is also living up to his preseason expectations. His 21.5 ppg and 11 rpg on 48 percent shooting were on the high end of what we expected from him this season.
Randolph dropped 21 points and 13 points on the Cavs, despite being guarded by 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
"I think they put a bigger guy on Zach hoping that Ilgauskas' length would bother him, but Zach can score against the best of them," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It doesn't matter who plays Zach Randolph. Zach Randolph is going to score."
Cheeks thinks Randolph is on the verge of becoming a star. "I don't mean like a major star," Cheeks said. "I just think he's ready to play. He's a hungry player. He's ready to play. I think that's what makes stars. He might not be a star this year, but I think he's ready to contribute in a major way."
We talked about Tyson Chandler's surprising 18 rpg. Right behind him? An even bigger surprise, the Warriors' Erick Dampier. He's averaging 16.3 rpg, 13.7 ppg and 2.3 bpg through his first three. Playing against Shaq and the Lakers on Sunday night, Damp finished with a career-high 23 rebounds and 14 points.
"Damp's been absolutely unbelievable since Day 1 of training camp," coach Eric Musselman said.
But how long will it continue? Once Adonal Foyle and Troy Murphy return from injury, will Dampier still get those type of minutes?
The Rockets and Nuggets both decided not to pick up the fourth-year options on Eddie Griffin and Rodney White on Friday.
There was no comment from the Rockets or Griffin about the decision, underlining the uncertainty of Griffin's future. Last we heard, Griffin was checking into a hospital to undergo treatment for what his agent termed "emotional problems."
The Rockets haven't said much since then, but their decision not to pick up the promising Griffin is telling. A little over a week ago, sources claimed that picking up Griffin was really a no-brainer. However, as allegations about Griffin shooting at a women, and with his decision to check into a hospital for treatment, the Rockets must have decided that they would be sending the wrong message by guaranteeing Griffin millions while he faced so many severe problems.
The Nuggets were more forthcoming with their explanation. GM Kiki Vandeweghe claimed that the Nuggets didn't pick up White's option because of cap issues. The team wanted to get his $2.5 million salary next year off the books, so that they had enough money to make a max contract offer for someone. Vandeweghe said he hopes the two sides come to some sort of agreement next summer.
"I don't want to see (White) go," Vandeweghe told the Rocky Mountain News. "I really like Rodney. He can really help our team. . . . I'm proud of how he played (Saturday). . . . I told Rodney, 'I hope we have to pay you a lot of money next year.' "
White said he's still stunned by the decision.
"I don't understand (the decision)," White said. "I definitely don't understand it. It's surprising to me. I've done everything they've asked me to. I've improved as a player. I've studied. I've become more professional. It's just tough. Stuff like that happens. I don't understand the business side."
White got his first extensive playing time of the regular season on Saturday and responded with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in just 15 minutes. Coach Jeff Bzdelik says he wants to play White more, but is still trying to find the right place for him in the rotation. "(White) filled up the (statistics) line here. . . . He was moving the basketball and he was aggressive. I've just got to find the right spot for each guy at the right time."
Pat Riley claims that despite speculation to the contrary, he won't be coaching a different NBA team any time soon.
"I categorically do not want to coach, I categorically do not want to do television, I categorically am not interested in going anywhere else other than being in Miami," Riley told the Miami Herald. "The decision on how long I'm in Miami is going to have to do with [owner] Micky Arison, not with me or somebody else. That's it. I've been here eight years. I've got a 10-year contract and I'm going to honor that. I'm not thinking of doing anything else."
