Since the big trade, the Bulls played great basketball.  It all came to a head in this unbelievable playoff series with the defending champion Boston Celtics.  The Celtics didn’t compose themselves like champions, but they pulled out the win in an anti-climatic Game 7 and sent the Bulls packing.

Regardless of the outcome of the series, the second half of the season was a wild success.  Brad Miller and John Salmons, though having some glaring weaknesses in their games, brought a lot to the team and were clear upgrades over what the Bulls had been trotting out there.  Hinrich hopefully raised his trade value and may have even shown something that lead some to believe he can start at the 2 for the Bulls next year.  Noah took giant leaps forward, playing ferocious defense and even elevating his offensive game to “not the worst ever”.  Tyrus still remains a question mark and Gordon will be out the door more likely than not.

The two big stories this season are stark contrasts.  On the one hand, rookie Derrick Rose looked like more than just a future all-star.  He looks like he will be one of the next big superstars in this league.  On the other hand, rookie Vinny Del Negro looked like an idiot.  With Ben Gordon on the way out and Deng coming back from injury, the lineup may look very different than it was and we will find out if Vinny can adjust.

The question is, was Vinny just a rookie coach learning the ropes, or is he really an idiot?  It’s easy for us as fans to just assume he was an idiot, but it’s not easy to handle the pressure and difficult choices involved in head coaching.  Am I trying to defend him?  Maybe a little, but I want him gone as much as the next person.  The problem is he won’t be gone.  After the Bulls great play down the stretch this season, he will get another season at least, whether he earned it or not.  Unless the Bulls play terrible to start the season, Vinny will be back.  Sorry guys.

With very little cap space there probably won’t be any big additions through free agency, though it is possible Paxson will try to move Hinrich and either Deng or Salmons.  While some people have suggested to me that Salmons start at the 2-guard spot, that seems like a poor idea.  The main weakness in his game is his ballhandling, which is extremely suspect.  If he were to line up at the 2, he would have to be handling the ball a lot, which could create a lot of turnovers.

Anyways, keep your heads up Bulls fans, the future looks bright.  Derrick Rose will be here for many years and with the addition of Salmons and the growth of Noah, the Bulls are going to be playoff contenders in the East for years to come.

The Bulls lost 118-115 last night in another hard-fought battle.  There were a lot of good things that can be taken from the split in Boston.  Derrick Rose came of age on national television in Game 1.  Joakim Noah played with all kinds of heart that Bulls fans have been hoping to see since the day he was drafted.  Ben Gordon has a hot hand and we are going to need his shooting.  The Bulls stole a road game and played very well in the loss (in general).  In fact, the Game 2 loss proves above all else that Game 1 was not a fluke and the Bulls are in this series.

All those things are wonderful.  And yet the Bulls could be going back to Chicago up 2-0.  The reason they aren’t?  Vinny Del Negro.  There are a number of things he dicked up in last night’s game (and Saturday’s).  For starters, Brad Miller cannot guard ANYONE.  He got burned by Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, and even Leon Powe.  He rotates slowly and doesn’t get back in transition.  Don’t get me wrong, I like what Miller brings to the table offensively.  But in a game where Tyrus Thomas has 6 blocks, why is he on the bench for the final 10 minutes?  He was actually stopping people, while Miller looked like swiss cheese out there.

Let’s talk about timeouts.  They are pretty much the one thing an NBA coach has to manage effectively.  And yet there the Bulls were with the ball, 2 seconds remaining, and no timeout to advance it and maybe get a decent look at the basket.  Oops.

And another thing.  You know that play Vinny calls?  Yeah that one play that he calls every single time?  You know the one.  It goes like this:  Derrick Rose brings up the ball.  Miller sets a high screen, but doesn’t really set a good one.  Then he tries to slip the screen and Rose hits him with the ball.  Then Miller turns the ball over.  I think it’s time to dream up something new with your clean-looking whiteboard Vinny.

I’m trying to figure out a way to blame the Bulls inability to rebound on VDN (they were outrebounded 21-8 on the offensive glass).  I want to say that if Tyrus had been left in the game, he would have gotten more rebounds.  The problem is he was standing at the perimeter the whole game calling for the ball and looking for his jump shot.  Moron.  So the rebounding thing may not have been Vinny’s fault, but pretty much everything else was.

All in all this was a good stretch in Boston for the Bulls and they should be able to win at home.  Vinny just needs to stop abandoning either Noah or Thomas for huge stretches in the 4th quarter and the Bulls have a real chance of winning this series.  Game 3 is in Chicago on Thursday night.