#ball night

[kahitmagandanasasaktanrin]

jun dump —

[thejhiespot]

Great evening with friends.

[racingtoaredlight]

BALL NIGHT: Bulls 73 Wins Away From Record

Thirteen years after being bummed that the Miami Heat took Marquette guard Dwyane Wade two spots ahead of where my beloved Chicago Bulls were selecting, it was quite surreal to see him donning the jersey of Jordan, Pippen and Buechler. Making it more bizarre was I spent most of those 13 years rooting against him (when the 2006 Mavs had their championship stolen by incompetent officiating I wept with them) and found Wade to be one of the sport’s biggest crybabies on the floor.

Oh, and had no idea what the team was thinking when they picked him up to pair with Rajon Rondo (a player I pretty much despise) in a league that values three point shooting more than ever. Needless to say, I had no idea what to expect from last night’s season opener against Boston on TNT.

But what we got was a pretty fun 105-99 win over a quality Celtics team (granted one that had played the night before and had more of a fight from the Nets than was expected). They came out like gangbusters, taking a quick 15-5 lead and for a brief moment the gruesome twosome of Gar Forman and John Paxson atop Bulls management no doubt beamed with pride. What is certainly not sustainable for this roster was hitting 11/25 three pointers with Wade, maker of all of 7 last season, draining 4 of 6, including the clincher with 20 seconds left. It was badass.

The Clogged Toilet Offense that I expect to be their bread and butter for most of the season shows up in bits and spurts (most notably the 4th quarter when a 14 point lead dwindled to 3) and it wasn’t pretty. Long possessions ending in contested shots as the clock expired since they can’t stretch the floor. It’d be cool if Doug McDermott and Niko Mirotic weren’t complete wastes of life on the floor but here we are).

And I still hate Rajon Rondo with a fiery passion. He shot 1-9 (the one somehow being a three pointer, it was that kind of night, even Michael Carter-Williams drained one for god’s sake) which I was surprised to see since I didn’t remember him taking 9 shots. His assist hunting was a known problem coming in and goddamn, so many possessions giving up potential shots to force the ball on someone else with 5 seconds left, how does anyone like playing with this guy?

But those troubles and a probably bottom half playoff seed are for a different day. For now, the squad’s 1-0 and provided a night of quality entertainment*. If only the Bulls could always play on national TV since it feels like they routinely own those games but will then lose to the Nets the next game. I’m intrigued by the super small lineup they threw out there for a bit of Wade-Rondo-Butler-MCW and Taj Gibson if only because it’s like something the Warriors would do only if shooting three pointers wasn’t a struggle. But who knows, Wade said that Fred Hoiberg was serving as a great shooting coach for him so maybe they can ride his distance shooting all the way to a 4th seed. Go Bulls!

*In the interest of honesty missed the entire third quarter due to playing RBI Baseball and losing in heartbreaking fashion, I hate that fucking game.

[ryign]

the three muskequeers  me, @jellieplant and @queerkeithkogane

[kissy0urdemons]

As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.

[fiercely-calm]

About to watch Kobe and them play.

[fiercely-calm]

On fire might not even be an accurate description, Steph Curry already has 22 points!  

[fiercely-calm]

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The Golden State Warriors flexing with some really big rings.