The NBA Draft

There are only 4 people that interested me in the NBA draft this year. Haluska, Noah (or, more accurately, whoever the Bulls ended up drafting with their first pick), Durant and Oden.

Haluska - I’m obviously thrilled to see Haluska get drafted. I think he is going to make the Hornets pretty happy. He can do just about everything. He can shoot, he can drive well enough to be a threat, he can pass, he can play so defense, he athletic, he’s tough, and he gives a ton of effort every night. He also has shown that he can handle the scoring load when needed but can also blend in and let others do the scoring like he did two years ago.

He’s also one of those guys that you never expect to hear about getting in trouble and he seems like he’ll be active in the community. He’s just one of the good guys that every coach loves to have on the team.

Noah - I’m a Bulls fan so I was pretty interested in what they would do with their draft pick. The biggest concern for the Bulls is inside scoring. Noah probably isn’t going to be the answer there. But you have to love somebody with his energy, aggressiveness and hair. It sounds like the Bulls are still going to have to work on getting someone to do some inside scoring through free agency or trade. Maybe Noah will be gone before he hits the court. Or maybe they will feel more comfortable trading somebody else because Noah is around. Who knows. The Bulls don’t really seem to do anything without being 200% sure they are making the right choice so maybe they will just start the season with the current roster.

Durant - This guy is going to make a lot of money selling shoes. He is going to be a really big name in the NBA very soon. His ability to put the ball in the basket is amazing. He should give people a reason to stay up once in a while to watch a west coast game. I hate the Big 12. I hate Texas. When I accidentally turned on one of their games last year, I couldn’t turn it off.

Oden - I think this guy might actually be 40? Just look at that head. That doesn’t look like the head of a 19 or 20 year old. He’ll probably be a very solid superstar. He’ll probably help his team win quite a few games. He will also give people a reason to watch west coast games. I expected more out of him in college, though. He didn’t ever seem to be the go to guy on Ohio State and how could a guy that is supposed to be an NBA legend have so much trouble staying out of foul trouble in college?

I can’t imagine how bummed the NBA big shots must have been to have the two “next big things” go to the TV death valley that is the northwest US sports. But maybe Duran and Oden can help turn that around.

Bulls to the second round

Growing up around Chicago during the Jordan era, I was pretty much sucked into the Bulls mania. I didn’t hurt that B.J. Armstrong and Bobby Hansen both played for the Bulls during that stretch. I was able to watch games at both stadiums and much prefer the dirtier, older one that actually felt like a place for basketball rather than a really nice mall.

Since that time, pro basketball has all but disappeared for Chicago. Young talent would come and go but nothing would work for more than a couple games. Plus each season would start with the horrible west coast stretch while the circus was in town.

Skiles is putting together a pretty good team, though and people are starting to notice. I’m sure Miami is pretty aware of the improvements with the Bulls.

For the first time since Jordan last played for the Bulls, the Bulls have advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Congrats.

Even better for fans Bulls fans during the 90s, they get to play Detroit next. And they get Ben Wallace to help out against his old team. I’m sure this will be a pretty intense series no matter how it shakes out. Good luck Bulls.