I gotta admit, i've hated on JJ before but the man can contribute to this team. Just gotta have a short leash with him.
FYI, I did watch the game. I lived in Chicago for 3 years, and the Bulls are my 2nd favorite team in the NBA. Boozer's worst defensive stretch was definitely at the tail-end of the 2nd quarter, but that also happened to be his most productive offensive period in the game. I agree, he was slacking just prior to halftime, and was clearly a one-way player. But, for the most part, he played exceptional team defense in the 2nd half, and while he was on the pine at the beginning of the 4th, Chris Wilcox was able to rack up 3-4 easy buckets. Thomas happened to play the entire 3rd quarter (correct me if I'm wrong), in which Rose, Boozer, and Deng exploded. He was a beneficiary of his teammates' excellent play. I do like what he brings to the table in terms of IQ and hustle (he's notorious for "hard" fouls), but you can't honestly tell me that he had a more significant impact on the team's performance than Boozer did. Also, for future reference, I'll decide what I want to talk about. This is a basketball message board, and there are no guidelines as to who can discuss/chime in on certain games.
Brooks started in place of Martin and he's bad on D himself. Its that the whole team knew it had to give more defensive effort as a result of him not being in the lineup. Before Martin was out its been lackadaisical. I'm saying from THAT point on with Martin returning to his role that I hope that mentality stays in the team, its a TEAM mindset.
Funny how things change. Not even a week ago, we were bagging on the guy and now we can't say enough about him. Appreciate ya Jared. Work on that shot buddy. :grin:
The knock on Jeffries isn't that he sucks-he's a damn good defender-it's that he's vastly overpaid and never quite met expectations. His offense is terrible, and I'd say he would be a good fit on a contender, but he was supposed to be pretty good when he came out of college. Instead he's a situational defender who can't hit layups.
Yeah, early on expectations were very high for Jeffries. I remember the buzz surrounding him in Washington early in his career; A 6-11 player with his length, agility, and touch. His potential was through the roof, but he never improved beyond what he was those first few seasons. He came into the league at 21, and at 29, he's by and large the same player he was back then. It's weird when guys get overpaid. You cant fault them for signing the contract they were offered....if the money's being given to you, you gotta take it. But the player himself always seemingly gets the brunt of the blame for the contract, not the GM or owner. They fall out of favor with the fans, and in order to continue a meaningful career end up becoming journeymen. I've always liked Jeffries as a bench contributor and situational defender. Hope he gets traded to a team that can use him.
As good as his defense is, its not ELITE. Its Above Average at best. Other than that, the dude is a MAJOR SCRUB! They guy cant catch the ball cleanly, and cant make a damn layup. That's Basketball 101. He just plays EXTREMELY clumsy! With his length, if he's around the basket, and offensive rebound will just fall in his lap, but the dude couldnt finish around that basket if the ball turned into a $100mil contract once it went through the hoop.
