Just a hunch. This team doesn't look like as it's currently assembled it can compete for a playoff spot in the East anymore. It's sad, but true.

I think we will, but it's clear this isn't the team we thought we had coming into the season. So we lost to the Lakers...we're 1.5 games out of the 8th seed, 4.5 out of the 4th seed, with 60 games left to play. This 4 game stretch vs WAS, BOS, HOU, SA will be tough, but after that we've got MIL and NY so if we can sneak out a few wins in this tough 4 game stretch, we should be right back in the mix of things.

Our next 15 games:

WAS
BOS
HOU
SA
MIL
NY
ORL
CHA
POR
SAC
NY
PHI
ATL
ORL
MIA

Following that game against the Spurs, the only winning teams we face are Orlando and Portland. We've got tons of time to catch up, and our January schedule is very favorable.

With the complete regression of the starting backcourt, you might be onto something.

Not complete. Hinrich has been great.

Mark it down (and I know I risk the wrath of the woof gods, but fish 'em) 12/19/2007:

No chance in Hell this team misses the playoffs. (ESPECIALLY if Skiles is fired!)

Hinrich has been GREAT? I hope this is sarcasm, as he has completely regressed. I never thought I would say this, but this year even Duhon has been a better player than Kirk.

Considering that .500 will still probably get you in the playoffs in the East, it's definitely far too early to say anything definitive, though it's starting to look unlikely that they'll be as good as most people thought. Kirk has started to look a bit better the last few games, now we just need Gordon to get his spiff together and we'll be fine.

On the bright side, how much money/cap room have Gordon and Deng saved us by turning down those contracts?

Eh, I don't think Deng is really hurting himself so far. Granted he's not helping himself either, but so far his stats are pretty similar to last year's, and he's averaging about 21 and 7 since he came back from injury.

Gordon is another story, if he keeps this up he's going to hope he can still get that offer the Bulls made.

I think half the reason so many teams would have wanted Deng is that they thought he'd keep growing as a player towards a 25 point type of guy, a #1 type guy. The fact that his numbers have stagnated, he hasn't shown he's developed into a guy who can carry a team, and now he's dealing with back problems, might well all combine to hurt his contract. And on top of that, there's still very, very few teams in the NBA with legit cap space this offseason. IIRC, Philly is basically the only one currently expecting to have a good amount of cap space next offseason, and that's only until they sign Iguodala.

I don't think anyone ever really thought he was a 25-a-game guy (or at least I would hope no one intelligent did), but more of a consistent 20-per type that would hit at a high percentage, making him a very good complementary player. Even those kind of guys get sizeable contracts, just ask Rashard Lewis. He may not be proving that he deserves a max deal right now, but he's not exactly hurting his chances of getting in the 12-mil range, which wouldn't save the Bulls any money. Plus he's still only 22, that should boost his value over comparable players a fair amount. It's still pretty early in the year, even with his slow start (he only averaged 15 a game on 44% shooting in November) he's at roughly the same numbers as last year. Unless his back acts up again there's no reason he can't push his average over 20 and his percentage back up around 50%, which would at worst keep his value roughly the same, and he could still conceivably improve as the season goes on.

There may not be a ton of teams with cap space available, but all it takes is one. There were really only a handful of teams with any space last year, and Rashard Lewis still got a monster deal. Minimally you have the Bulls potentially giving him a big offer, and Philly, Atlanta, Charlotte, and the Clippers could all have space depending on their free agents. Plus you never know when other teams are going to unexpectedly buy someone out or make a trade to save some money, Orlando had to outright Darko last year to have enough to sign Lewis. Plus there are sign-and-trade possibilities, which opens up all kinds of things.

It's not like he's going to suddenly sign with us for $8 mil, he's still going to cost the Bulls a fair amount of money...

Spiff. I should have said great LATELY.

I think a triple-double for a combo guard qualifies.

One game in a year filled with horrible performances does not a great season make.

The East as a whole has gotten better, no doubt. The only way we can get back in this is if our streak shooters get hot.

Not to get ahead of myself, but 3-1 since Boylan has been names coach, and we've got a very favorable schedule for the rest of the games listed above. Of those 7 games left, the Bulls should be able to win at least 4. ATL/ORL/POR will all be tough, but we could beat Atlanta and we were extremely close to beating Orlando. This is our shot to get right back in it and we're playing good ball under Boylan.