Chicago Bulls

The 2019-20 Chicago Bulls season can be defined by the injury bug that derailed the hype train for this potential young surprise team and by the fact that Jim Boylen was simply not cut out for the gig.

What Did We Learn?

The baby Bulls couldn’t stay healthy and on the court:

• Otto Porter Jr. — missed 51 games

• Wendell Carter Jr. — missed 22 games

• Lauri Markkanen — missed 15 games

Injury issues aside, head coach Jim Boylen was just as nutty as we thought, and not in a good way. Boylen repeatedly clashed with his players and consistently took asinine late-game timeouts. We speculated that Jimbo’s old school philosophies might not be best suited for such a young team, and we were left scratching our heads trying to figure out how and why we talked ourselves into the possibility of it working out.

The roster seemed to include pieces that fit together nicely on paper, but Boylen was always going to hold them back. The Bulls did not have a winning record at any point during the 2019-20 season and finished a hilariously awful 2-23 vs. teams with a winning record.

The Bulls finally gave notoriously inept GM Gar Forman the boot back in the spring, hiring former Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas to replace him. Back in August, Karnisovas ultimately decided to give Boylen the boot as well.

So long, Jimbo. May your ridiculous and pernicious coaching tendencies be gone from Chicago and our baby Bulls forever.

_____________________________________

What is the answer to our Season Preview Final Question?

Will Boylen let our baby Bulls run free?

The Bulls were actually very average in Pace, ranked 16th in the league, but the offense was about as smooth as sandpaper.  Second to last in the NBA in offensive efficiency. 

_____________________________________

Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?

We are taking OVER 32.5 wins (40% winning pct) and we’re contemplating +325 on Chicago to make the playoffs.  LFG Jimbo! 

Bulls 2019-20 final record: (22-43)  34% winning pct

NOPE, our preseason Over/Under prediction would not have hit and neither did our reach on the Bulls to make the playoffs.

*big sigh*

_____________________________________

What’s Next?

• Find a way to get the team healthy, something that the Chicago Bulls organization has struggled with for a while now, going back to the Thibs days.

• Hire a competent head coach. COMPLETE! Our vote was for Kenny Atkinson but Billy D will do!

• Figure out what to do with the #4 pick. Trade up for LaMelo!?

• Get Laurie Markkanen back on track. Markkanen might have been our biggest 2019-20 NBA disappointment outside of Philly. The Finnisher’s numbers regressed across the board, averaging a career low in points, field-goal attempts, 3-point percentage, rebounds and blocks. And here we had him included in our Preseason Player Pyramid as a part of the Foundation of the Future. No joke, we took a red pen and marked his name out. Pun intended! Let’s hope that it was just because of dealing with injuries and that we can write him back in.

• Unlock some new offense for LaVine to try at the end of games with the clock winding down. We all know you’re going to jack it up, bro.

• Let Coby White loose! White set an NBA rookie record with 7 made threes in the 4th quarter of a Bulls 120-102 thumping of the Knicks on a random Tuesday night back in November.

_____________________________________

Favorite Bulls Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:

Most 3-pointers made in one game in NBA History:

1. Klay Thompson 14 on 10/29/18 vs. Bulls

2. Zach LaVine 13 on 11/23/19 vs. Hornets

3. Steph Curry 13 on 11/07/16 vs. Pelicans

Charlotte Hornets

The 2019-20 Charlotte Hornets season can be defined by the complete 180 that occurred on this here blog, and by the fact that the Hornets landed their highest draft pick since 2012.

What Did We Learn?

The 2019-20 Charlotte Hornets were fun as hell!

That might seem like a crazy statement to make about a team that finished 28th in offensive rating and 25th in defensive rating, but it is absolutely true.

Sure, we raked the Hornets over the coals in our Season Preview, but our outlook changed drastically on Opening Night II of the 2019-20 season. After we penned our most damning team preview, we backed it up right away with our wallets by taking the Bulls -3.5 over the Hornets. The Hornets proceeded to light the Spectrum Center ablaze, bombing three-balls left and right, hitting a franchise record 23 three-pointers! Play-by-play man Eric Collins was losing his mind like it was Game 7 of The Finals.

We were instantly hooked. And so, our beloved Hornets were born.

It was glaringly evident that this team was actually a joy to watch play basketball. How and why?

• Devonte’ Graham.

• Rookie P.J. Washington.

• Sky Miles Bridges, friend of the blog!

• The aforementioned Eric Collins!!!

To be completely honest, we didn’t even really know who Devonte’ Graham was before the season began. Now we have a Carolina Kid t-shirt from the Hornets game that we attended in person hanging in the closet. Graham did play four years at Kansas, yes, but we do not watch any college ball, and he scarcely played in his rookie season. But Devonte’ Graham began this season so on fire that we wondered if he was secretly Steph Curry wearing a Devonte’ Graham suit. Seriously: DG started the season 10-of-11 from three! We must blatantly point out that Devonte’ Graham was robbed to the highest degree by only receiving one measly vote for Most Improved Player.

Just take a look at these numbers:

• Devonte’ Graham 2018-19: 14.7 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.6 assists and 28% from 3 on 2.6 attempts per game.

• Devonte’ Graham 2019-20: 35.1 minutes, 18.2 points, 7.5 assists and 37% from 3 on 9.3 attempts per game!

Absolute highway ROBBERY.

Before the season, we weren’t sure what to expect from rookie P.J. Washington. But from the jump, we saw a kid with the tools to have a highly successful NBA career. We are talking about a smooth jumper with a cat-like quick release and the strength at 21 years old to hold his own against grown men, power dunking on many an occasion.

Speaking of power dunks, we knew what we were getting out of Miles Bridges. Sky Miles did not disappoint, continuing his flights and throw downs as one of the most prolific power dunkers in the league.

Eric Collins graduated to our favorite play-by-play announcer, hands down.  (Sorry, Mike Breen, but you shouldn't have made fun of Basketballin.net in our dream that one time.)  There is simply no other announcer as LIT on the call as Eric Collins. We have the evidence to back it up:

DEVONTE’ GRAHAM FOR THE WIN AT MSG 🥶#AllFly pic.twitter.com/3rCDMrRKI6

— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 17, 2019

BAKE AT THE BUZZER! 🥓🥓🥓@HornetsOnFSSE | @BaconDwayne1000 x #AllFly pic.twitter.com/vgbYKbub0e

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 9, 2020

Devonte' Graham came up clutch 💪

He put up 40 points in the Hornets' 20-point comeback win over the Nets. pic.twitter.com/sa0Icwpgje

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 12, 2019

Eric Collins’ enthusiasm remains unmatched. #AllFly

pic.twitter.com/RuT5cP3bMs

— Eric Collins Fan Page (@EricCollinsFan1) February 13, 2020

Case closed.

_____________________________________

What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?

What is the opposite of a goat?   For all of his undeniable and unbelievable accomplishments as a player, Michael Jordan as an owner has been nothing short of an unmitigated flop.

Our Hornets season previous was undoubtedly harsh.  We were still reeling from the mishandling of the Kemba Walker situation, which we still feel is completely fair.  That said, we do still want to apologize if only because we had SO much fun watching the Hornets play ball this year, something we did not anticipate whatsoever.

We really did attend a Hornets game live and in person.

_____________________________________

Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?

The Hornets have the potential to be so bad this year that we might have to start calling them the Bobcats.  UNDER 24.5 wins.  (30% winning pct)

Hornets 2019-20 final record: (23-42)  35% winning pct

NOPE, our preseason Over/Under prediction absolutely would not have hit, and we couldn’t have been happier to be so damn wrong.

_____________________________________

What’s Next?

• Draft LaMelo Ball if he’s still available? Or maybe just draft James Wiseman? Either way, the Hornets desperately need this high draft pick to pan out.

• Find the right trade package for Victor Oladipo. Charlotte could use a proven All-Star caliber talent.

• Figure out how to get Malik Monk to be consistent and figure out how to get Monk to hit some more threes. Monk’s three-point percentage has dropped each of his first three years in the league: from 34.2% as a rookie, to 33% and down to a ghastly 28.4% this season. (On the other hand, for as much flak as he’s taken for his contract, Terry Rozier shot a cool 40.7% from three on 6.7 attempts per game!)

• Unleash the Crash Bros! The Martin twins, Cody and Caleb, are a scrappy do-it-all bunch who can contribute in a lot of ways, making hustle plays and bringing tough, high energy off the bench.

• Sign Eric Collins, Dell Curry and the beautiful and lovely Ashley Shahahmadi to lifetime contracts!

Seriously, we were there!

_____________________________________

Favorite Hornets Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:

You probably will not spend almost 10 minutes of your day watching Bull-Hornets highlights from last October, but you will absolutely be missing out. This was the night that we fell in love with our beloved Hornets.