This week in schadenfreude - Chicago Bulls

Submitted by CLord on

Not that we're Heat fans around here, but is anyone else savoring the irony from the Bulls/Heat series?

Articles like this one bring back 25 years ago when it was the Pistons trying to roughouse their way past the world's best player - MJ - in the playoffs.  As we watch the woefully undermanned Bulls brutalize the Heat, does anyone else enjoy watching the Bulls try the other shoe on for size?

The difference is the Pistons kept their mouths shut and just played rough, while Phil Jackson and Scotty Pippen cried to the league and the media to (successfully) get more favorable calls from the referees.

Even now, the Bulls are trying to complain and mock their way into favor with this horse manure Thibedeau is spewing.  My favorite was this gibberish spewed by Gibson:

"When it was over, the Bulls spoke longingly of a different time in the NBA, a different era, when they would've been allowed to get away with taking a run at LeBron James.

'M.J. would get fouled and he would just keep playing," Gibson told Y! Sports. "That's old-school basketball.'"

He can get a pass since he wasn't even born when the PIstons were deep at war with the Bulls, but even though MJ did keep his mouth shut, Phil Jackson and Scotty Pippen did all the whining to the refs, the league and the media that the Bulls needed, and soon enough MJ was well protected by the refs.  Old school basketball my ass.  If anything, the Bulls can thank themselves for setting the prima donna start treatment trend 25 years ago with MJ that LeBron is enjoying now.

Much respect to Jordan due to his greatness, but otherwise I've despised the Bulls ever since Jackson and Pippen's whining, and I'm glad to see my sentiment confirmed 25 years later.

Go Heat.

 

Danwillhor

May 12th, 2013 at 3:58 AM ^

The NBA is the worst professional sport on the planet. League has roughly 30 teams and maybe 25 players you can set on a higher bar than the others with 5 of them being actual "superstars" of varying degrees. Worst? The league has become one where those 25 guys all want to play together so it leaves literally half the league meaninglessly terrible. Worst thing? In the NBA you can have a friggin .400 record and make the playoffs, lmao. Yet, it's pointless because in the history of the NBA we've had, what, a single 1 seed lose a first round series to one of the scrub 40-42 win teams?!? The NBA is a joke. Screw the Bulls, Heat and Pistons for that matter. I dislike seeing CBB kids go early BECAUSE I hate the NBA more than my team losing a Burke type guy. I'll literally never go out of my way to watch him in the NBA and he is possibly the best player to ever suit up at Michigan. I hope he has a great career but he'll go to Utah or something and I'll sometimes hear his name on ESPN NBA highlights I'm not even watching. Oh, forgot about the genius "draft lottery" system the NBA uses. No way to scam a certain player to a high market team or anything. That and most of the time the worst team doesn't even get the top pick, lol! A team with a 12% chance somehow wins it half the time. NBA is a joke. /Rant and yes it felt amazing

Hoke-a-maniac

May 12th, 2013 at 12:54 AM ^

This is one of the few times I will ever go for the Bulls in a series but it's not looking too promising. Really I'm hoping for an Indiana/Golden State NBA Finals just to screw the NBA all to hell.

MGoRossGrad

May 12th, 2013 at 1:00 AM ^

Honestly, there is not much of a bias for Lebron.  If you've actually watched the series, he gets maybe one call per game.  The problem is the Chicago has no idea how to play smart.  What, we have a very short bench and we're playing against the most talented team in the league?  Let's play like thugs and shove superstars and bitch about the refs!  Grow up. 

Yinka Double Dare

May 12th, 2013 at 3:02 AM ^

What exactly is a defensive minded team down their best player and former MVP of the league, their 3rd best guy who was an allstar this year, and a third starter supposed to do (not to mention their second best guy playing on a gimpy foot)? They have to play physical and try to take Miami off their game because on talent this series should be a joke. On talent this should have been an easy sweep. Hell, on talent the Bulls should have probably been gone in 5 or 6 in the first round given their injuries.

Comparing them to the Bad Boys is even more ridiculous. Isiah is a HOFer and they weren't decimated with injury. Bad Boys won titles.

MGoRossGrad

May 12th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^

Shoving another player to the ground after play has stopped is "defensive intensity"?

Telling a ref to go fuck himself is "physical play"?

Knowing that your team is extremely thin because of injuries and not being able to control your emotions, ultimately getting yourself ejected is "smart"?

C'mon now.  The Bulls are playing admirably as a matter of being on the wrong end of the talent stick right now.  But they're not "throwing Miami off their game" with this stuff.  They're fueling the fire.

If they cut out all of the extracurricular thug-ness, they're elevated play would keep them in the game.

CLord

May 12th, 2013 at 8:07 PM ^

You're not following.  I only mentioned the Bulls are woefully undermanned because I love digging at them any chance I can, but that has nothing to do with the enjoyable schadenfreude at work here.  The 80s Pistons, HoFs, Championships aside, used a very physical defense against the Bulls in part to try and slow down the world's best player, which is exactly what the Bulls are trying to do to the Heat now, and that is the simple. laughable irony. 

The NBA most certainly was different, and a lot rougher back then, and it didn't start or end with the Pistons.  Toss in a few youtubes of the brawls Larry Bird got into with Dr. J, or the hack jobs Robert Parrish and Tree Rollins committed and you'll see that. But then the Bulls came along. It was the Bulls - Jackson and Pippen in particular - who cried like pussies to the media and the NBA to get the refs to  protect MJ to the Pistons' detriment, and the league was never the same.  Prima-donna star treatment was born.  Thus why it is a laughable irony as we enjoy watching the league protect LeBron now to the whining Bulls' detriment.

Mmmm Hmmm

May 12th, 2013 at 9:02 AM ^

Aside from the shove, I'm not sure about the whole "play like thugs" thing. Honestly, how is a team that STARTS Marco Bellineli and Nate Robinson supposed to even stay close to the Heat? Add on top of that a second-year non-star (Butler) is tasked with playing all 48 while guarding LeBron. This is a team that should get blown out like game 2 every game, but they are making enough plays to stay in it. This is not, as one poster pointed out, the Bad Boys with multiple future HOFers and all-stars.



I don't like the shove but I don't really care about the whining on either side. LeBron never believes that he commits a foul and stops and stares at the refs every time he misses a layup in traffic, but so what? The Bulls' coach did lose his cool at the end of Game 3 (as did a few players) and that is a bit embarrassing.



I'm sensing much of the criticism of the Bulls (based on the language people choose, accounting for the fact this is the internetz and we are almost all anonymous) is based on dislike of Chicago sports. That's fine--I'm sure there will be hate from Chicago when the Lions and Pistons are competitive with or better than the Bulls and Bears (both happened in the recent past and will again). In the meantime, I guess engage in therapeutic flaming of Chicago sports...

gsot21

May 12th, 2013 at 1:45 AM ^

Screw the Heat

Screw Lebron

Screw everyone on teams that could challenge the Heat having key players injured

Also remember Chicago is down Deng and Hinreich (spelled wrong), plus DRose. That is a MVP, All star, and a starter. Emagine if Miami was down the same. (Lebron, Bosh, Chalmers)

 

CWoodIsMyBoiii

May 12th, 2013 at 2:17 AM ^

Yea, because Lebron (4 MVPs) = Rose (1 MVP) and Bosh (8 time All Star) = Deng (2 time All Star) are great comparisons right?  To be honest, I don't even know why everyone hates on Lebron so much.  I hated him when he was in Clevland and the Pistons had to get through him to advance into the playoffs (plus, fuck Ohio).  And I hated him and his "announcement" bullshit.  But isn't it time for people to get past that and accept the fact that he is the best basketball player in the world right now? 

Honestly, besides "the decision", what has the man done to warrant so much hatred?  Is he a ball hog? No.  Does he throw his teammates and/or coach under the bus after a loss? No. Is he a jerk to the media/community? No. Has he misbehaved off the court (ie; DUI, weed, PEDs, etc.)? No.  Has he been a poor role model for kids? No.  I wasn't a fan of his until I saw how much people hate him and that turned me into a fan.  The man has dealt with more grielf for one mistake than any athlete that I can remember.  By no means do I feel bad for him and his millions of dollars that he makes, but he is the best basketball player in the game right now and I respect him for that.  

In the words of our good friend Mr. Peppers, "Real recognize real". 

Niels

May 12th, 2013 at 9:14 AM ^

I don't get the Lebron hate either. I'm a Sixers fan who has suffered through a couple of really bad decades but I can't help root for the Heat if only because of the stupid Lebron haters. 

So what if Wade, Bosh, and Lebron wanted to play together? Is that different than GMs of teams like the Lakers and Celtics fleecing other GMs (sometimes with the opposing GM's blessing, I'm looking at you Kevin McHale) to build dynasties. I'd rather have the players do it themselves. 

As for OP's comments about Bulls fans compaining about calls for Lebron, they are right on. The lack of irony noting on their part suggests some serious lack of long-term memory re: the Jordan rules.

 

gsot21

May 12th, 2013 at 12:53 PM ^

Drose is better than Wade, so i had to compare him to Lebron even though, Lebron is clearly better. Deng and Bosh are pretty similar in talent and stat wise, even though their all star apperance arnt equall, with Bosh being a hair better.

Maybe to equall it out the third comparison should have with Haslem.

bronxblue

May 12th, 2013 at 5:45 PM ^

Wade is one of the best SGs in the league, even at his age.  Rose is a great player when everything is going well, but he hasn't played for a year now and with this type of injury you never know how guys come back.  Let's say he returns and is 90% of the player he was when he left; that makes him Wade.  And while Deng is a very good player, Bosh would be the best player on half of the teams in the league.  The Heat are significantly better than the Bulls, plus they have a reasonable bench situation given the cap.

I think the Bulls are playing with quite a bit of heart and I commend them for it, but complaining about stars getting preferential treatment when your former MVP got those same calls seems silly.  It's the name of the game, and they've benefitted as much as anyone.  But trying to act all tough when you are losing by 30 just seems clownish.

BlueDragon

May 12th, 2013 at 1:57 AM ^

I only want Lebron to do well enough to annoy Ohioans. Now that the Fab 5 have their NBA championship on the mantel my investment in the performance of the Heat is minimal.

JohnnyV123

May 12th, 2013 at 2:14 AM ^

OP I disagree only because of who the Heat are. Wade is a dick and so is Lebron.

You know who else is a dick? Michael Jordan. But there's a huge difference between Jordan and Wade/Lebron. Jordan knew he was the best so if he didn't get a call he didn't whine like a baby about it. He did a lot of trash talking on the court but when a call went against him he wasn't being a loud mouth asking the referees to win the game for him.

The other two just drive me nuts in how childish they get at asking for calls.

Kennyvr1

May 12th, 2013 at 3:08 AM ^

I wanted to at least chime in, state the obvious and say there are several more differences here with the Pistons-Bulls, Heat-Bulls. Just a couple I wanted to mention is that the Detroit Pistons were playing with hall of fame players and one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball...Isiah "Zeke" Thomas. They also beat the Bulls for several years before the Bulls outlasted us with the famous walk off the court situation in 91. These Bulls will not beat the Heat nor are they playing with anyone right now that will even sniff the hall of fame. That being said, I hate everything there is about the city of Chicago (except a dog at wrigley but not at the counter at a cart inside the park) and I hope they always get their asses beat in every sport there is. I hate the Bulls and Bears the same, the Cubs are shortly thereafter. Frick the Blackhawks, frick em all.....

Man Isiah was pound for pound one of the greatest to ever lace em up. I'm 32 and the first time I ever cried over sports was when he threw the inbounds pass that Bird stole and yes underneath to DJ lays it in. My dad turned George on the old wooden radio we had as I watched Vinnie hit the shot for the back to back. What a great great team that was. A cast of characters for sure. They competed so hard, love those dudes. I don't care if anyone reads this, just good to write and think about those boys, Rodman and Laimbeer cracked me up even when I was that young, the way they ran, Rodman with the high knees and Laimbeer with that trot he had. I could talk about them all but if someone is reading this I'll spare you, if you got to experience that and you are a pistons fan, cheers. RIP Daddy Rich.

snoopblue

May 12th, 2013 at 3:29 AM ^

We can sit here and criticize the coaches and players, but in the end, David Stern is the problem. He will latch on to the great player and/or coach, help them along a successful career (championships, MVPs, $$) and reap the benefits. MJ/Phil, Shaq/Kobe/Phil, Lebron. Notice how when he didn't have that star, the league struggled. He basically ruined college basketball with his one year rule. "Why should teams have to take the risk of getting a kid out of high school, let's see how they handle college for a year." Now, the NBA playoffs are really just a "start watching at game 5" deal. Yes, I am aware the Lakers got swept, but that controversy argubly created more headlines for one of the most popular teams in sports. The refs call the games knowing that more games equal more money for the league.

For the one benefit or making trade of goods easier, money is a terrible thing. Add an advanced brain that innately conceptualizes hoarding and greed and it just ruins everything.

MichiganTeacher

May 12th, 2013 at 4:41 AM ^

The refs also call the games knowing that big markets mean more money for the league. The reffing in the NBA is so biased that the Donaghy scandal wasn't even a surprise, just a confirmation, like the IRS admitting that they targeted  Tea Party organizations. It's just like, "Well, duh. We had evidence for it, we had motive for it, and now they admit it? I'm shocked."

Only reason I don't hate the NBA more is that I can compare them to FIFA, NCAA, and IOC. Now those organizations are truly corrupt and vile. NBA corruption is two orders of magnitude less, imo.

ppToilet

May 12th, 2013 at 6:34 AM ^

because of the referees. There are a billion calls they can make every game, from traveling (does that even exist for the "stars"?) to any number of fouls. If they were consistent then I coud forgive it but if one team is getting farther ahead they'll suddenly start making the calls to keep it close. Same crap happens in college but to a lesser degree. The refs control the game too much and in the NBA they get their marching orders from Stern.

I'd rather the game was "playground rules" and players called fouls themselves.

bronxblue

May 12th, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^

Well, there are always exceptions.  The Green Bay Packers are very successful and a small market to in football, but I guess they have tradition.  San Antonio is a bit of an anomaly, though.  Their greatness is is tied so much to Duncan and that coaching staff.  My guess is that when he retires, the team will struggle quite a bit and will just become another also-ran.  Until they win another draft and pick the next great player.  :-)

buddhafrog

May 12th, 2013 at 5:55 AM ^

Not sure who or why people neg'd this post.  However, I assume (and I could be wrong) that those that did don't exactly remember the irony that the OP recalls: how the Bulls cried when they played against the Pistons' defense, and now they longingly look back to a day when it was allowed.  As one who massively enjoyed and analyzed that rivalry, I find this irony funny.

 

In reply to by Buck Killer

exmtroj

May 12th, 2013 at 9:37 AM ^

Probably because he's by far the best player in the world. Sure, The Decision was arrogant but at least the proceeds went to charity. Plus, he pissed off Ohio, what's not to like?