Lonzo Ball Returns To Basketball

Good morning Chicago fans! I hope you had a great weekend despite not having Bears football on your TV. In honor of their bye week, it seems fitting to recognize a few goodbyes:

Lonzo Ball says bye to knee rehabilitation, Blackhawks say bye to being a bottom feeder team, and Jerry Reinsdorf might say bye to the White Sox???

BYE WEEK

Can’t lose on the bye! Some Bears thoughts with no game this week:

This team is about to break a trend. The last two times the Bears started 4-2 or better?

2020: Started 5-1, Finished 8-8

2013: Started 4-2, Finished 8-8

The bye came at a great time for recent nagging injuries. Hopefully the entire secondary is back at full strength.

Their “get right” games were against bad teams, and now they can continue their momentum and growth against three more bad teams (Commanders, Cardinals, Patriots). Even if they win 2 of 3, they head into their last 8 games with 6 wins under their belt. The schedule makers did them a favor with a rookie QB and new offensive scheme needing time to gel!

The NFC North is CRAZY. Every team is very good, but they have to beat up on each other at some point. I’m optimistic the Bears will at least match up well against the Lions.

Tied for 3rd in the NFL in takeaways (13) and tied for 4th in turnover margin (+6). VERY impressive numbers, especially with a rookie QB. This is a solid formula for winning more football games.

I’m way too excited to see where this goes!! They’re only giving up 16.8 points per game AND the offense is figuring it out (even faster than I expected). How about Bears football that’s actually fun to watch?!?!

SEASON RECORD: 4-2 (4th place, 1 GB)

NEWS & NOTES

Cole Kmet was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his long snapping!! 🎖 First ever long snapper to win the award 😮

Signed DL Jamree Kromah and LS Jake McQuaide to the practice squad, released DT Travis Bell

Jay Cutler was arrested in Tennessee on Thursday due to driving under the influence

Up next ➡ 5-2 Washington Commanders. The Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams showdown everyone has been waiting for. Jayden got hurt in yesterday’s game, so we’ll see if he ends up playing. Caleb also gets to face off against his hometown team, against his former coach Kliff Kingsbury, and silence all the haters…

There was a time this offseason when people thought Caleb would refuse to go to Chicago and force his way to Washington 😂

TROPHY TRACKER (6/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS

L - Flames 3, Blackhawks 1: Only one goal in Rick Ball’s return to Calgary

• Nick Foligno scored on a redirect to tie the game 1-1 just 10 seconds after the Flames scored the first goal

• Penalties bit the Hawks despite an active and physical night for the PK as the Flames scored on the power play in the 2nd period

W - Blackhawks 4, Sharks 2: Convincing win in the home opener!

• Hawks dominated the first two periods and quickly took a 3-0 lead 💪

• Sharks committed 7 penalties, but the Hawks only capitalized on two of their power plays while failing on two 5-on-3 opportunities

• Lukas Reichel had an underwhelming season debut: 8:31 of ice time, 1 SOG

L - Sabres 4, Blackhawks 2: Physical game gets away from the Hawks

• Craig Smith (of all people) scored both Hawks goals in the 2nd period with Reichel assisting on both

• A flat 1st period and sloppy puck control later in the game cost the Hawks even though they outshot the Sabres 37-22

• Line brawl!!! A full 5-on-5 beatdown took place after Philipp Kurashev took a big hit and Tyler Bertuzzi came to his defense

SEASON RECORD: 2-2-1 (5 points)

⭐ STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐

Nick Foligno

The Captain found the fountain of youth! ⛲

2 goals on 10 shots this week while playing top line minutes

🎥 PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥

Bedard to Teuvo to Foligno goal

NEWS & NOTES

Placed D Alec Martinez on the IR with a groin strain, recalled D Isaak Phillips from the AHL

Signed F Landon Slaggert to a two-year, one-way contract extension ($900K cap hit) that kicks in next season

TROPHY TRACKER (2/10 ➡ 🏆)

RESULTS (PRESEASON)

L - Bucks 111, Bulls 107

W - Bulls 125, Timberwolves 123

W - Bulls 139, Cavaliers 137 (OT)

The Bulls finish the preseason 3-2!

I will repeat my disclaimer - not much can be concluded from preseason basketball. However, here are a few takeaways:

Talen Horton-Tucker made the team and looked IMPRESSIVE in the preseason. He scored with ease, hit clutch shots, and showed off his range from 3.

Small ball will either thrive or destroy the season. Jalen Smith is backing up Nikola Vucevic at center. Otherwise, not much size is available off the bench. Billy Donovan’s rotations may go through some experimental stages.

The front office and coaching staff’s intended play style showed up. The Bulls want to play fast and shoot more 3s this year. In the preseason, they were 2nd in the NBA with an average of 47.8 3PT attempts per game. Last season, they were 26th in the NBA with 32.1. Of course, the real question is if they can make enough of them. Starting Giddey and Vucevic won’t help…

Lonzo Ball returned to the court on Wednesday for his first game in over 1,000 days! He looked like his old self, and the United Center crowd was ELECTRIC cheering him on. Lonzo scored 10 points in 15 minutes and hit his first two 3s. His defensive skills didn’t miss a beat as he flew all over the court into passing lanes!

Lonzo also scored 11 points in 16 minutes on Friday and did not report any soreness after playing in two games. Since this recovery is still tenuous, he will have a minutes restriction this season and does not anticipate playing in any back-to-backs.

I wish he could start at PG and rekindle the magic from his 35 games in 2021-2022 when the Bulls were the top team in the East. He was great that season! 13.0p/5.1a/5.4r/1.8s & 42.3% 3PT. His on-ball defense sets him apart from the rest of the guards on the roster.

Season Prediction:

42-40 and another Play-In Tournament appearance 🥳

Yes, that’s a 3 game improvement from last season.

Predicting an above .500 finish after losing their best player in DeMar DeRozan and their best defender and bench player Alex Caruso feels pretty foolish.

It will be another meaningless, mediocre season without a playoff run or top draft pick. However, it should be better than most people think.

The potential starting lineup includes a young triple-double threat playmaker, two 2-time All Stars, a 40% 3 and D player, and the should-have-been Most Improved Player in the NBA last season. And the bench mob is MUCH deeper than last season. More on that in this week’s Mild Take below…

NEWS & NOTES

Waived Onuralp Bitim and Kenneth Lofton Jr.

Regular Season Opener ➡ Wednesday night in New Orleans

TROPHY TRACKER (1/10 ➡ 🏆)

NEWS & NOTES

Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ were named Gold Glove finalists at their respective positions! Nico Hoerner and PCA should have been on the list…

OFFSEASON THOUGHTS (PART 2)

The diamond at Wrigley Field is full. While the Cody Bellinger opt-in decision awaits us, the position player group is essentially all under contract for 2025.

The lineup full of “good” baseball players underwhelmed to start the season and mainly figured it out by the end. Here’s where their WAR ended up compared to last season:

Positives 📈

Miguel Amaya turned his season around after getting a few days off and adjusting his swing. He should be a serviceable catcher in the big leagues next year.

Michael Busch and PCA were GREAT rookies and are here to stay. Busch was streaky but played amazing defense and can continue to develop as a hitter. PCA accumulated WAR like a horse sprinting out of the gate once he made adjustments at the plate. A full season of 2nd half PCA could be a superstar with over 6 WAR.

Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki were elite hitters and can continue to be cornerstones in the outfield.

Despite a billion offensive struggles, Nico and Dansby aka Nickel and Dimes are still winning players up the middle and provide the biggest safety net for Cubs pitchers.

Negatives 📉

Amaya took a step but still struggled in the last month of the season. Catcher can be viewed as an “open” spot where the Cubs could find an impactful starter.

Isaac Paredes did not perform up to expectations after the trade deadline deal. He has the track record to significantly raise the Cubs’ production from third basemen over the last couple seasons (Morel, Wisdom, Mastrobuoni, Madrigal, etc.), but he feels like a bigger risk now than the day the trade was made.

Seiya Suzuki is a DH now. The Cubs stopped trusting him in RF. He is a very good DH, and I hope he stays on the team. But…that limits your options for acquisitions.

How do they fix it? 🛠

The unrealistic dream - Juan Soto. He’s your right fielder for the next decade. He’s one of the best hitters in baseball and about to turn 26. Seiya can stay at DH. Soto slots into the lineup at #2 and the Cubs finally have a star nobody wants to pitch against.

Realistic scenario - acquire a catcher and right fielder and hope PCA and Busch take another big step. I think making one more move to change the makeup of the lineup would be even more beneficial, but I don’t see it happening.

Would catchers Logan O’Hoppe (who the Cubs already tried to acquire), Shea Langeliers, or Cal Raleigh be available in a trade from the AL West? Would Brent Rooker be available in a trade for RF/DH? They could sign Anthony Santander to play RF.

Big fish 🐟 trade target I want - Kyle Tucker

And how do the prospects in AAA factor in for next year????

TROPHY TRACKER (5/10 ➡ 🏆)

Zach LaVine and Coby White

LaVine and White honored their brother and teammate Lonzo Ball in his Bulls return.

LaVine was aware of the night’s significance and made sure to grab the basketball after the game, and White presented that game ball to Lonzo in the locker room.

Lonzo spoke so highly of his teammates and emphasized the importance of the Bulls organization staying by his side through the long rehabilitation process. It was an uplifting night for the whole team, and it was fun seeing the camaraderie!

The Bulls have a deeper team this season.

Try to name every player who got significant minutes in 2023-2024.

You probably forgot Terry Taylor. Or Onuralp Bitim. Jevon Carter was essentially exiled from the team and still checked into 72 games. Javonte Green only signed for 9 games but was the best player on the court in a few because of the lack of depth.

Injuries played a role and are always a possibility. Zach LaVine only started 23 games, and Patrick Williams only started 30 games.

With a projected starting lineup of Giddey/Coby/LaVine/PWill/Vucevic, the rotation could be as deep as 12 (???) with Lonzo/Ayo/Terry/Phillips/Craig/Buzelis/Smith all viable options for playing time.

Lonzo and Ayo are starting caliber players off the bench. Dalen Terry continues to make strides, and Julian Phillips may be a PLAYER now. We all want to see Buzelis as much as possible too!

The Bulls should have traded away the remaining veterans over the offseason to start fresh and open up more spots for the young core. But the remaining group is definitely deeper than last year. Will we see another Bench Mob???

Ben Pope - Danny Wirtz interview (Chicago Sun-Times)

Brittany Ghiroli - Jerry Reinsdorf is open to selling the White Sox (The Athletic)

Mark Lazerus - Teuvo Teravainen’s return to the Hawks (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Jaime Faulkner interview (The Athletic)

Adam Jahns - Shane Waldron turned the Bears offense around (The Athletic)

Darnell Mayberry - How Matas Buzelis made the Bulls believers (The Athletic)

Scott Powers - Inside the Kevin Korchinski plan (The Athletic)

JM Baseball - Chris Rose Rotation: Jameson Taillon interview (YouTube)

Thanks for reading! Tune in to the Bulls opener to see if Giddey will defend anyone, if Zach can stay healthy for a game, and if they shoot any 3s. If you get CHSN…

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