The Bulls Can’t Win With Vinny Del Negro
Vinny should return to whatever European city this photo was taken in.
Wow…. what do you say after you lose to the 1-19 New Jersey Nets? I don’t even want to stick around to hear what Vinny Del Negro says in his post-game press conference. This loss is inexcusable, as were several others in this current 1-8 tailspin. Sure the players sleepwalked through the first half and John Salmons shouldn’t have settled for the three-point shot with seven seconds left on the clock but this loss should fall on Vinny’s shoulders.
Even though the Nets are vastly improved and finally recovering from their early season injury woes, this is a young team that Derrick Rose should have dominated. Instead, the Bulls waited until the fourth quarter before finally heeding Stacey King’s advice and “giving the young man some space!”
I personally had no qualms with the new starting lineup, as having both Miller and Noah on the court has proven to be one of the few successful lineups for the Bulls. But not having Noah matched up against Brook Lopez, and refraining from actively double teaming Lopez earlier on in the game, really hurt the Bulls.
And while there are numerous things to be upset about with this game, the last Bulls possession should sum up what Vinny Del Negro lacks in the head coaching department. Face it, he was out-coached by a man who doesn’t even want to be the head coach of the Nets (Kiki Vandeweghe) and another guy who was just hired as the shadow head coach (Del Harris… remember him Vinny, he did the same thing for you last year). I don’t know who to credit, Kiki or Del, but that was a heads up move informing their players to foul Derrick Rose far enough away from the basket to prevent a shot attempt, and forcing him to shoot two free throws when the Bulls were down by three. It’s a move that columnists and bloggers call for repeatedly, but is still rarely seen as much as it probably should.
After Derrick Rose sunk his first free throw, it was apparent that he would need to purposefully miss the second free throw and hope he or his teammates were in position to tip in or catch and shoot to send the game to overtime. How does Vinny Del Negro respond to New Jersey’s gamesmanship?
He allowed the Bulls to station only two players in the blocks, having I believe, Luol Deng and John Salmons hang around at half court… to do what? I do not know. Was he trying to keep the lane clear with the thought that the more bodies the less chance of a tip in? That sounds like not liking walks because they clog the bases.
Unfortunately no one asked Del Negro about this at the press conference, instead allowing one hard hitting reporter to ask, “Is it hard to keep the guys’ spirits up after a loss like this?” It better be, you just lost to the Nets.
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Comment from Stormin’ Norman Disciple
Time December 9, 2009 at 9:06 am
Don’t take this the wrong way, it is absolutely Vinny’s fault. But….how much less likely is it that Devin Harris gets off that little fading runner with Hinrich guarding him instead of Rose? Right?
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Comment from JavierSandooski
Time December 9, 2009 at 8:09 am
THIS IS WHAT I’M SAYING!!!!!! VDN sucks as a coach, and I can’t get behind this team until he’s GONE. It’s not Salmon’s fault for “settling” for that three. VDN did not have a f’ing play drawn up to get ANYONE an open shot. I was sitting at a bar watching with a few friends and right before they ran the play I called it, “Watch, they’ll come out and have no semblance of a play drawn up and they’ll get a terrible shot off, if anything.” Exactly what happened.