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Basketball Mon Apr 21 2008
Bullish About the NBA Playoffs
Another day, another play on words. Using "bullish" to describe the NBA playoffs refers both to my excitement surrounding the competition level and also the chance to watch some former Chicago Bulls in action. Four of the more prominent ex-Bulls still playing are Tyson Chandler, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Darius Songaila. Please join me on this pathetic journey of what could have been in Chicago Bulls history.
1. Tyson Chandler. Bulls fans remember Chandler as half of the high school phenom front-court Jerry Krause promised would resurrect the struggling franchise. Chandler now routinely records double-doubles for the surprising New Orleans Hornets. Along with Chris Paul and David West, Chandler anchors a young, talented team capable of long playoff runs for the foreseeable future (I desperately want to say the same about the Bulls).
Although Chandler would be a nice component of the current Bulls nucleus, I struggle to criticize Paxson's decision to ship him to New Orleans. As a Bull, Chandler suffered from chronic back pain, inept offense, foul trouble, and other typical ailments of inexperienced athletes. Wonder if Chandler's stint with the Bulls would have faired differently with two years of college prior to the NBA? Support Chandler and the New Orleans playoff effort on his well-designed web portal.
2. Ben Wallace. Big Ben's one season tenure in Chicago was much less impressive than his nickname sake in the Palace of Westminster. Despite his disappointing athletic performance, Wallace did manage to garner some interesting accolades as a Bull. The surprising honors include: Best Hair by a Bulls Player Since Dennis Rodman (2007), First Player to Suspend a Teammate (2008), and Fastest Bull to Destroy Team Moral (2008).
Since Wallace's mid-season departure to Cleveland, however, my opinion of the aging star has exponentially improved. Wallace is yet another teammate incapable of removing the scoring burden from the disgruntled King James. With an early playoff exit, the King could be transferring his monarchy outside of Cleveland. Do Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, and Luol Deng equal one Lebron James? (Sorry guys, this is Lebron) Probably not, but wishful thinking never hurt anyone.
Ken Green
/ April 22, 2008 4:35 PM
Andy... thanks for depressing me even more about the state of the Bulls. Once again, Chicago serves as a feeder service for the rest of the sporting world