View From the Stanchion

Sorry it's been so long since my last post (not that anyone is reading), but I just made the big move from Sunny Saint Augustine, Florida to cold and windy Chicago. But now that I am officially moved in it should give me time to update more regularly. So on to the blogging.

Throughout this NBA Season I will be going to many Bulls basketball games, I am a season ticket holder after all. When I view a game live I will be breaking it down with the title "View From the Upper Rafters" since my seats are in the upper balcony. However, I also work in television so I will occasionally watch a game from a court side kneeling position right next to the basket (or Stanchion). This past Friday was one such occasion as I had the privilege of working on a Derrick Rose shoot for Adidas. So here's what I saw in the Bulls/Pacers Game. By the way, sitting this close to the action is every bit as amazing as it sounds!!!

-First and foremost, and this may shock some people, it certainly did me. But LARRY BIRD IS A SMOKER!!! Seriously, one of the greatest basketball players EVER smokes cigarettes. How could someone who had the physical gifts of Larry Bird treat his body like such crap now? It boggles the mind. The only excuse I can come up with is the pressure of destroying the Pacers has finally gotten to him and he needs some kind of release. This really bothers me, it bothers me more than it should, but SMOKING? REALLY?
-Roy Hibbert has a chance to be good, not great, but good. He has good footwork, he moves pretty quickly for a man his size and he has a very nice jump hook that he can shoot with either hand. The big problem? He is a below average rebounder for someone his size. There is no reason he shouldn't average close to 10 boards a game and against the Bulls Omer Asik, a rookie, ate him up all night on the glass and he ended up with only 3 rebounds in over 30 minutes. That's just terrible.
-Speaking of Asik, he is already a decent back up center. He has no offensive moves and is a terrible free throw shooter, but he moves well on defense, is a monster on the boards, and won't force up a shot offensively unless he gets stuck late in the shot clock. He is already better than Kurt Thomas and I expect him to be Noah's backup to start the season. I'm not saying he'll ever be anything more than a career backup, but what I am saying is by the end of the year he'll be one of the better backups in the league.
-And speaking of Kurt Thomas, he will be one of the slowest players in the league this year. Yes he is intimidating, and yes he sets good picks, but the man moves like a turtle.
-The Pacers are going to be just terrible this year. Definitely one of the four worst teams in the East and probably top 7 worst in the league. It's really sad to see this team in person. Without Granger (who sat out) there is just zero talent on this team. Collison is a nice player, but he's better served being your fourth option, not your number one or two. In other words, it's going to be a long year for Pacer fans.
-Luol Deng had the best game I've seen him play. He was everywhere defensively ending up with 8 boards in 30 minutes and he only missed 4 shots going 7-11 from the field and 12-12 from the charity stripe. He ended the night with 29 points and had a plus/minus of +29. I'm no Mathematician but those numbers add up to a championship...Just kidding, but that is one hell of a night.
-Lastly, Derrick Rose up close is unbelievable. He's quick as lightning, as strong as most small forwards, and seems to always be in control. My only knocks on him, he turns the ball over too much and sometimes he has a hitch in his shot. The turnovers bother me more than anything because a lot of times they are silly turnovers. Like forcing his dribble into a double team when a guy is open on the perimeter. The hitch in his shot is a minor thing and only seems to come out when he is shooting threes. His 15-18 footer looks perfect, but when he backs up to 23'9'' he does a weird little thing with his wrist sometimes. When he was warming up it showed up on almost every three he took, but during the game the three he made looked perfect, the three he missed looked terrible. Neither of these knocks are a big deal and really I'm just looking for something to criticize him about otherwise all I would be doing is blowing smoke up his butt.