Still Gotta Come Through Chicago
A great week to be a Chicago sports fan
Good. Morning. Chicago. Sports. Fans.
Good. Morning. Chicagoans.
A couple weeks back, the Bulls had hit a rough patch, the Cubs were committed to losing, Tony La Russa was the story on the South Side for all the wrong reasons, the Blackhawks were terrible, it was 0 degrees and snowing, and the Bears didn’t have a quarterback.
Now I write to you from my camp to tell you that the war is turning. The Bulls are currently in a playoff spot, as are the Blackhawks. Tim Anderson has endorsed Tony La Russa whole-heartedly. It was 45 degrees yesterday, which — and this may be embarrassing — legitimately gave me chills on my way out the door. And the Bears still don’t have a quarterback, but at least the Colts have Carson Wentz.
The Bulls winning four out of their last five games has directly benefitted the homeless men and women who stand outside of my neighborhood Walgreens. I’ve been adjusting for inflation, $1 has turned into $5. The “I’ll see what I can do on the way out” is completely genuine. I’m asking for cash back at the register, for crying out loud!
Everyone is winning in Chicago, and it’s trickling down like the icicles melting on our roofs. That was kind of a corny simile, but i’m in a corny goddamn mood.
So grab that cup of coffee, put off work for another 10 minutes, and dive into this newsletter with me — from start to finish.
And after you do, please send this to someone you know who would enjoy it. And tell them to smash that subscribe button.
If you think I’m going to apologize for my hatred of Zach LaVine last year, you are sorely mistaken.
Adjusting your opinion on someone when they’ve visibly changed is what you’re supposed to do. With all the evidence I had last year, I despised his play. With new evidence this year, I’ve changed my tune on him.
I wouldn’t call that being a fair weather fan, and I don’t think I have to “eat my words.” Everything I said then was true, and everything I’m saying now is true. If you were on the bandwagon the whole time, I question you, and I don’t question my own past beliefs, frankly.
LaVine’s transformation has been surprising and clear: he’s a far better defender this year, even if he’s still a net-negative one. He’s a far better creator for his teammates. At the beginning of games, at the very least, he’s made much better choices.
His scoring is still premier, and he’s gotten even better there. He’s shooting an insane 52% from the field, 43% from three, and 86% from the free-throw line. That puts him in elite company, and just 4 percentage points at the stripe away from the insane 50/40/90 club, which has been designated for guys like Larry Bird, Steph Curry, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki.
(Zach LaVine’s shot chart)
It’s unlikely that LaVine will join that club this year — he’s having his best free throw shooting year by far and still is relatively far off that mark.
Still, that type of efficient shooting should not be overlooked, even it’s only through 30 games.
For what it’s worth, he’s also gotten far better looking over the course of his career.
I will admit that I refined my search to “Zach LaVine hot” and then “Zach LaVine sexy” in order to get the second picture.
I’m not ashamed, either. I’m more than happy to announce that the face of Bulls basketball is also a pretty one. Dude is a man rocket on the floor and off the floor these days.
What his transformation has made me rethink, however, is how much we should weigh situation when evaluating players. I already thought I did that — I hated the Jim Boylen hiring and extending as much as anyone.
It’s why I supported running it back with last year’s team for the most part. It made sense for Arturas Karnišovas to evaluate this team with a fresh pair of eyes, a new coach, and a better system overall.
But what I’ve now come to realize is how much that all does really matter. Thaddeus Young was always a good player, for instance, but what Billy Donovan has enabled him to do this year has astounded me. Last year, Young was a typical bench player on a bad team. This year, I could legitimately argue that he’s one of the most impactful players in the NBA. He’s top-five in the entire NBA when it comes to on-the-floor vs. off-the-floor numbers.
And both LaVine and Young have not pulled punches on complimenting this change either.
In as many words, those two quotes are meant to say, “Yeah, Jim Boylen is a moron. And playing for him sucked.”
I wonder how many players have had underwhelming careers or left the league early strictly because of the position they were put in. If the changes weren’t forced this offseason, it’s unlikely that I would have ever seen LaVine in this light.
I’m thankful for that slick son of a bitch Billy Donovan, for AK-4-7 leading the charge, and for Zach LaVine — and it feels nice to say that.
Congratulations to him for making the All-Star team, an honor that a lot of good players never get to experience. He didn’t deserve it last year, and nearly got in. He did deserve it this year with a crowded crop of talent at the top, and that’s why it’s that much sweeter.
“I’m so happy to be a Chicago Bull,” he said during a pseudo-acceptance speech.
It’s a great feeling to know that players are able to succeed here again, and are happy to succeed here again. It should have always been that way, and it’s a shame we ever got away from that, but I’m glad that vibe is back in Chicago, the best place to be a basketball fan in the world.
Part of the reason I resisted the All-Star LaVine talk was because I didn’t feel he was deserving, until recently. Another reason was because the topic of conversation sometimes superseded talking about the actual games. I was tired of hearing about it.
It makes sense, though. After Jordan, the Bulls had an over-decade long drought in the All-Star game. There have only been six Bull All-Stars, including LaVine, since Jordan. Can you name them? (Think on it, and I’ll put it at the end of the newsletter.)
That’s a light number, especially for a major market team. So, in some ways, it is a big deal. Hey, we have last year’s All-Star game to thank for the overhaul that took place, in part. For some reason it took the rest of the basketball world to descend on Chicago for Michael Reinsdorf to realize how much of a laughing stock the team was.
Now, to this year’s overall team. Donovan called them an “unselfish” and “extra-pass team” after the Bulls won their fourth game in five tries and took over the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference Monday night.
It bears repeating that the Bulls legitimately had two games stolen from them this season — against Portland and Golden State. Flip those two and the Bulls are 16-14 and would be the 4th seed in the East and in a position to host a playoff series.
That’s without mentioning all the close losses they’ve had, nor the OKC game in which they blew a near-20 point lead in the fourth quarter.
My exuberance over this team will always be over-the-top, because I am obsessed with the fact that I can root genuinely for my favorite basketball team again; because when I gave my honest evaluation of them before the year, the haters (of which there were many) laughed at me; and because I bet half of a rent check on them to eclipse 30 wins.
But at no point has it been higher than now. The Bulls, as they stand today, are a legitimately competent, good team. They all have defined roles, and play unselfishly, as Donovan himself highlighted. They are a joy to watch, win or lose.
As I was on my late-night LeBron watch duty (in which I stay up way past my bed time to watch one of the greatest athletes of all time act like a petulant child), a graphic appeared on the screen.
I already knew the Bulls had entered the top-8 seeds, because of course I did. But seeing that blue highlight gloss over the Bulls gave me more joy than I’m willing to admit.
FiveThirtyEight’s win projections, which I mentioned last week in an effort to brag about my own preseason predictions (I was right before them), have adjusted the Bulls odds once again.
The Bulls, according to FiveThirtyEight, now are projected to win 34 games — four and a half more than their win total from Vegas — and have a 50!% chance of making the playoffs.
Who, besides me and a few of my dearest band of brothers, would have saw this coming after their first five games?
We are far from a victory lap, especially because the goal posts have changed. I don’t want our year-end party to simply be celebrating the Bulls eclipsing 30 wins, ladies and gentlemen. Nay, I want the 76ers to be dribbling the ball up with 1:30 left in Game 1 of the first round, the crowd stunned, and to hear: “And here are those scrappy Bulls once again, up 6 with 90 seconds to go.”
I want the playoffs, God dammit. I want our loyalty to be rewarded — both monetarily and spiritually.
Again, we’ve got a lot of games to play. There will undoubtedly be some bumps ahead. But I must insert one last screen shot, this one from December 23rd’s SGCTC, on the morning of the NBA season’s kickoff:
It’s not too late to get on the bus. It’s free of charge, and 100% capacity is allowed. Forgive the Bulls for their past sins. Give me a hug. It’s not your fault. And let’s ride out this season together.
The Bulls are 8th in points per game (114.7) and in assists per game. Early on, their problem was their lackluster defense.
Defensively, here is what they’ve allowed in each month thus far:
December: 123.0 PPG
January: 116.8 PPG
February: 109.2 PPG
They’ve also reduced their turnovers significantly, from 17.6 to 16.8 to 12.6, respectively.
The Bulls have also missed Otto Porter for the last few weeks, who was having his best year as a Bull. Likewise, they’ve been missing Lauri Markkanen, who was also having his best year as a Bull and had turned in a pair of 30-point performances before getting sidelined.
This run is not a fluke. The frost is evaporating from Lake Michigan and its exposing the city’s true beauty, just as the clouds from above the Bulls and their players are lifting and giving a glimpse at their true potential.
There goes another corny analogy. ‘Cause I’m in a corny ass mood.
LETS. GO. BULLS.
P.S. — CJ Marchesani put together a list before the NBA draft. He had 21 draft analysts rank their top-30 players, and then averaged them out. Pat Williams was #10 before the draft. He recently had all 21 analysts rank them again. Williams now ranks 3rd.
The Blackhawks have earned a top-2 spot in the newsletter because their highly impressive first third of the season has been overlooked by yours truly in these past few editions because of my obsession with the Bulls’ development.
49.5. That was the over/under for the Blackhawks’ point total in 2020-2021 before the season. Just a third of the way through, they’re at 24 points, nearly halfway there.
Even as the emerging star of this season — goaltender Kevin Lankinen — struggled last night, the old faces showed up to take over in a season that’s been dominated by the young faces.
Patrick Kane had a goal and three assists, an absurd stat line, to get the Hawks the win in a shootout over the Columbus Blue Jackets to move to 10-6-4 on the year.
Kane now has 30 points — goals and assists — on the season. That puts him at 3rd overall in the NHL behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. At 32 years of age, this man keeps getting better.
He had an unbelievable year last year. But this year presented new challenges, with Jonathan Toews out with an unknown illness.
Kane has taken it seemingly as a challenge, a year to prove that he and the Hawks still got it. He’s led the team honorably, and it’s amazing what they’ve been able to do so far.
Kudos to Jeremy Colliton as well, who I thought would be out as coach early this year. Now, he’s — in my mind — making a case for Coach of the Year.
The Hawks may not be able to keep this up, and it wouldn’t be a failure if they couldn’t. But guess what? They’re also firmly positioned in a playoff spot with a significant chunk of games underneath their belt.
More importantly, they believe. If you don’t subscribe to morale or momentum affecting team sports, for one, I think you’re dumb. That’s especially true if you have been watching the Hawks of late, who are making their own breaks.
They’re 7-2-1 over their last 10 and have had a fantastic month overall.
I watched the third period after it had already been played tonight, and it was almost as enjoyable as it would’ve been if I had caught the whole thing live.
Good heavens, I cannot wait to get back into the United Center. The Bulls and Blackhawks are riding momentum of their own, can you imagine if there were fans in the stands to add to that energy?
The UC, by the way, is also adding a sportsbook to the stadium, which will be sponsored by FanDuel.
The New York teams are now allowing fans in. I can only assume the Chicago teams won’t be far behind.
Let’s keep it up boys.
On the first day that Tim Anderson reported to Arizona, he was asked about the Tony La Russa hire. “I think we got the right man. I hope so... I’m behind him 110 percent.” This is significant for a variety of reasons, but I think it shows more about Anderson than it does La Russa. For those who thought Anderson would be dissenting immediately, they misjudged his character. Anderson is a leader and knows being behind the new manager in an all-important year is right for the team.
The White Sox led the league with 9! players in the MLB’s top 100 players list
Scott Merkin asked La Russa how he was doing the other day, he replied: “Tied for first and happy.” Good vibes.
Yoan Moncada will be using his own song — “Desastre Personal” — as his walk-up this year. The music video features him with colorful clothes on singing and a million girls smitten for him in bikinis. It’s something else, if nothing else.
Jed Hoyer said on Chicago radio this week that it was the first time the Cubs will feel like underdogs in a while, and how that may be good for the team. The weird thing is, the Cubs are underdogs by choice. I wrote last week about how I’m all back in on this Cubs team thanks to a couple of creative moves and Arrieta coming back. But you can’t be an “underdog” if you forced yourself to be one.
The Cubs signed the left-handed pitcher Ben Holmes after watching him at the annual “Driveline” showcase. Holmes has played with a few teams in his career, all in the minor leagues. He’s an older prospect at this point, but is trying to get back into the majors. I’ll always root for guys like this, and hopefully he’s improved during his time out of the league.
There have been no updates on the contract extension front. Anthony Rizzo said this week, “Everything that I love about this city, I kind of wear on my sleeve. I still love it. I still love our team. I still love what we have going on here.” Hopefully Rizzo gets a deal no matter what his production projections are for the next few years. I can’t deal with another all-decade guy wearing another uniform. Especially after I got a first glimpse of Lester in a Nationals uniform yesterday, which I will not share here.
Bulls six All-Stars since Jordan: Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, Zach LaVine and Joakim Noah.
Thank you all for reading and sharing, as always! Much appreciated — seriously. Send this around, share it, and get others to subscribe. If you enjoyed, that is. Have a great week and weekend. STILL GOTTA COME THROUGH CHICAGO!
Holy hell has it been fun to watch the Bulls and Hawks every night for the last couple of weeks. Admittedly, I had low expectations for the Bulls and zero expectations for the Hawks so this early
success has been a pleasant surprise. It feels so good to actually have expectations now and even get a little pissed off when the Bulls get sloppy in a quarter or the Hawks blow a 2 goal lead. I have chills thinking about getting back to the UC for a game. Head down absurdly early, stop at Billy Goat for a couple, throw in a dip on the short walk over to the UC, get to your seats just before tip/puck drop with a fresh beer and have an absolute night!
Futures Voice *Life is good man!*
Lauri has played great while on the floor, but this makes me think back to the preseason when he was asking for a max contract. The old regime would probably have given it to him no questions asked, but thats not how King Tut does things! Hopefully we can get him back for a game or 2 before the all star break and he can get back into the swing of things for the home stretch. Bulls up 6 with 1:30 left in game 1 of the 1st round, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE! I read somewhere that Billy Donovan is in fact a nice Italian man, we welcome another proud Italian American with open arms.