Baby, Even The Losers Get Lucky Sometimes

CJ Watson: The play called for me to inbound the ball to Luol and get it back. I kind of stopped listening to Thibs in the huddle after that. Once I heard the ball was going to be in my hands I was good. My play, my time. The other guys didn't know it yet, but there was no way they were seeing the ball.

Luol Deng: Thibs drew up a nice little play in the huddle to get me rolling to the basket, with an option for an open jumper for either Kyle or Luke. CJ was to inbound the ball to me around the three point line and then come around to receive it back. Then it was my job to roll to the basket. If I was open, CJ would hit me. If not, it was up to him to create off the dribble. I thought it was pretty curious to hear "CJ" and "create" in the same sentence, but I trusted Thibs' vision.

Carlos Boozer: Thibs is a great dude, man. His reputation as a hard ass couldn't be further from the truth. He loves all of his players, especially me. He just has a weird way of showing it. Like, for instance, he barely acknowledges I exist during a timeout. He'll glance at me real quick and then start swearing under his breath. [laughs] My job was basically to set a down screen for Kyle and then try not to get in the way. 'Think of yourself as a highly paid decoy' Thibs said. He's a funny guy.

Kyle Korver: I don't like the ball in these crunch time situations. I get nervous and my hands start to clam up. When my hands start to clam up, it's hard to get a good feel for the ball. Anyway, I saw CJ start to trend to his right, kind of getting himself into a tough situation. I ran from the corner up to the top of the key. I kept thinking 'Please don't give me the ball. Please don't give me the ball. Please don't give me the ball.' My hands felt like I'd dunked them in a tub of ice water and then I remembered it was CJ handling the ball. There was no way he was going to pass it to me, or anyone, for that matter. I was able to calm down and get myself together after that.

John Lucas III: I wanted the ball in my hands. I always do. I'm John Lucas. Why shouldn't I want the ball with the game on the line? Thibs relegated my to the baseline and gave CJ the opportunity to make a play, which is pretty shitty if you ask me. I've been in this league long enough to know that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. If you're intent on taking a shot, you damn well better put it up when the ball is in your hands. There was a chance I would get a look, but with CJ making the decision, I knew the ball wasn't coming my way. I would have done the same thing if I was in his shoes so I can't really blame him.

CJ Watson: James Johnson switched on to me and I liked that match up. To tell you the truth, I hate the guy. He was always playing pranks with our toothbrushes on road trips last year. He's a real asshole. He's always jacked up to play us and was treating this game like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I wanted to beat him with a nice crossover. I knew I could.

Luol Deng: Jose [Calderon] switched on to me when JJ picked up CJ. That turned out to be a pretty big development.

Carlos Boozer: I'm not eating without hot sauce.

Kyle Korver: I watched CJ attempt a fadeaway over JJ, who is like, five or six inches taller than him. I knew it wasn't going to end well. I even removed my mouthpiece thinking the game was over. 'We just lost to the Toronto Raptors,' I thought. 'Ain't that some shit.'

John Lucas III: CJ put that shot up and I couldn't believe he didn't float it more. I know he's a bit taller than I am, but c'mon man. You gotta throw that thing way up there and give it a chance. Come to think, if that was me, we would have lost the game. I would have at least hit the rim. John Lucas has never airballed a shot. [Editor's Note: CJ Watson's shot was partially blocked by James Johnson]

Coach Thibs:  GUAH WOOF RATATA AJFDLGHAOD AHDOAHDG GHAOGHAIJIAJDNCVAHE 

Luol Deng: God bless Jose Calderon. I have no idea what he was thinking. For some reason, he decided to jump backwards at put his hand up for the block like that was going to make a difference. He left me all alone to corral the rebound and I just let it go as fast as I could. I didn't even know if I got it off in time.

Kyle Korver: Pure elation. It's nice to get a win when you've already resigned yourself to a loss.

Carlos Boozer: You've seen me play. I enjoy celebrating athletic exploits whether I've taken part in them or not. I just started yelling 'Dunk that shit' because it felt right. I knew it didn't apply in that situation, but it still felt right.

John Lucas III: I found Luol and jumped on his shoulders. He didn't even feel me there, I don't think.

CJ Watson: I was extremely pleased with the way I was able to create and get our team the victory.

Coach Thibs: I spent our off days locked in a Motel 6 with nothing but a 2 liter bottle of mineral water and a large bag of Smartfood popcorn. Lesson learned. I won't be drawing up out-of-bounds plays in that sort of environment ever again.

Thoughts On Bulls-Knicks Three Point Shooting Contest

The Lakers and Celtics have undoubtedly the best rivalry in the NBA. Both franchises possess all the things that make a rivalry work: championships (32 combined), 10 NBA Finals match ups, and two diametrically opposed cities in terms of - well, pretty much everything.
The New York-Chicago rivalry operates under the recognition of sameness. Two large urban areas competing for big city basketball supremacy. The Knicks won two NBA titles in the early 1970s, while the Bulls as a team remained irrelevant until the late 1980s. It's no coincidence that both franchises were able to rise to power in the 1990s, when the Celtics and Lakers where in rebuilding mode. New York City and Chicago have always been recognized as epicenters of US culture and history. In the 1990s, the Bulls and Knicks fought for the same distinction in basketball.
That being said, all rivalries aren't created equal. The Bulls have won 128 of their 143 meetings, including 24 of their 36 playoff games. Yesterday's game was essentially meaningless in the grand scheme of the 2010-11 season, neither team is contending for a championship, but there's still remnants of the old rivalry sprinkled amongst both fan bases. This game was a big deal to a lot of people.
It's easy to blame this loss on the out-of-this world three point shooting, especially from unusual suspects Raymond Felton and Toney Douglas. The Knicks as a team shot 16-24 from behind the arc. While this is certainly an aberration, most of those were wide open looks. The majority of PG-SG-SFs in the NBA can knock down an open three. Blame the Bulls' half court defense and willingness to engage in an uptempo pace for this loss. We played right into what New York was trying to do, and turned the ball over 20 times to show for it.
Derrick Rose is currently second in the NBA in points per game with 26.8. Joakim Noah leads the NBA in rebounding, averaging 14.8 per game. It's nice to see them gain some recognition and sit atop some early statistical categories, but this picnic won't last forever. When Carlos Boozer returns, both Rose's points and Noah's rebounds will be cut down. Enjoy it while it lasts.

What's up with CJ Watson? I thought he was going to be one of the most underrated signings this offseason.  To quote myself, from a July 21st post:
While this move [Watson's acquisition] will surely go under the radar for sports fans outside of Chicago, it could end up to be one of the biggest moves the Bulls make this offseason. Before signing Watson, the Bulls lacked a guy who was capable of providing a huge spark off the bench. They now have that guy, as well as a player who can play major minutes at the point if Derrick Rose misses extended time like he did last season.
Embarrassing. Watson's jump shot looks awful, he's been sloppy with his passes, and has turned the ball over way more than a back up point guard should. He just doesn't look confident out there. It appears like he may have been a product of Golden State's offensive system. I hope not.
Amar'e Stoudemire had a very underwhelming stat line. 14 points on 5-21 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 8 turnovers. On the year, Stoudemire is averaging 19.5 points a game, shooting 39 percent from the field, 7.8 rebounds, and 6 turnovers a game. While the shooting percentage and turnovers are much worse than his career averages, Stoudemire doesn't look like he deserves the max contract he signed this summer.

In my opinion, a max contract guy should be the best player on your team AND a guy that you can win a championship with as the best player. That's why guys like Bosh, Joe Johnson, and Stoudemire are overpaid. If one of these three is the best player on a team, that team isn't contending for anything.
The only players that I think deserve max contracts (taking into account age, if I was giving out a long term max contract this offseason): LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Dwight Howard. I couldn't be convinced of anyone outside of these eight players.
I think I've found a player to compare to James Johnson's ceiling: Wilson Chandler. Both athletic small forwards who like to shoot the three. Neither play defense. Both are black holes once the balls is passed to them, opting to drive the lane rather than make the extra pass. Consequently, they both have poor shooting percentages. And that hair. Until JJ decided to change his hair style for the Knicks game, they had an identical "I'm not sure if I'm going to grow this fro out" look.