Ivey getting exposed

[exodus]

When Lue went down I expected Ivey to step up his game. However that really hasn't happened. He has struggled on offense.

Tonight the Bulls constant ball pressure disrupted the Hawks offense. They couldn't get into their sets until the clock had already run down. JJ and Al could take their men 1 on 1 and score but the rest of the guys weren't getting the good looks they get usually.

Other teams can pressure JJ because they don't have to honor Ivey's scoring ability. He is averaging less than 4 ppg since Lue has been out.

[Peoriabird]

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When Lue went down I expected Ivey to step up his game. However that really hasn't happened. He has struggled on offense.

Tonight the Bulls constant ball pressure disrupted the Hawks offense. They couldn't get into their sets until the clock had already run down. JJ and Al could take their men 1 on 1 and score but the rest of the guys weren't getting the good looks they get usually.

Other teams can pressure JJ because they don't have to honor Ivey's scoring ability. He is averaging less than 4 ppg since Lue has been out.

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He has no confidence in his jump shot now. He needs to get it together this summer or else. What was up with the free throw shooting tonight? Salim & marvin need to pick up their shooting also

[RAHMOR]

The free throw shooting was terrible and noone of the role players played their role. I think this is the first game we really missed the energy of Chilz and Lue in the game. This game looked like how we played last year up until the end. Chicago didn't look to into it either but they did play last night. Overall just a lackluster game and to top it off Orlando won again. Ugh.

[exodus]

The free throw shooting was basically even. They missed 12 and we missed 13.

Josh Smith would have been 5 for 11 if it wasn't for that missed dunk.

Marvin has been shooting better lately but obviously had a bad night. I think at least part of it is that the Bulls were able to take the Hawks out of their offense by extending their D and pressuring the ball.

Which brings us back to Ivey. Lue going down was his big chance to prove himself and from what I can see he hasn't gotten it done.

In the 14 games that Lue has been out he has been getting 17 minutes per game and averaging only 3.5 pts on 36% shooting.

[Plainview1981]

Royal Ivey is NOT a starter.Some of the guys just need to realize this.

[exodus]

I never thought Ivey was a starting calibur guard but I thought he could be a good backup. Now I am definitely starting to wonder about that.

[Final_quest]

I agree. This was a terrible game for Ivey.

[MoonKnight]

I had a differant take on the game tonight because I thought our interior D was very exposed tonight. Smoove and Batista were the only guys willing to play any interior D at all. The Bulls have been a poor interior scoring team this year but Malik Allen and Chandler really damaged us inside. Chandler's long reach effected us on both ends of the Court. Ivey's game is what it is............good on the ball D and hustle with limited O. The 1 and 5 spots are huge holes for us but IMO we need to address the 5 spot more than the point problem. Imagine how Smoove's D might improve if he had a real defensive minded center next to him.

[Plainview1981]

I had a differant take on the game tonight because I thought our interior D was very exposed tonight."

This was pretty clear from the first game of the season.

Ivey's on the ball defense??? I sure hope he wasn't guarding Kirk Hinrich.

[Seano]

I had pretty high hopes for Ivey, and felt when Lue went down that might just be the opportunity he needed to prove himself, but he has obviously really failed to grasp ahold of that opportunity.

Somewhat disappointed, but still believe he could be developed into a decent role player. But he does need a lot of work.

[Diesel]

Yeah, had we hit half of the free throws we missed... Had Josh just did a regular dunk... Had Chillz been able to be 100% and play, I think we beat Chicago.

As far as Ivey is concerned, I think he played good defense down the stretch that helped us get back into the game.

I don't think we ought to look to Ivey for scoring. That's not his thing. Hopefully he learns to score consistently but we know he doesn't score well so why put that kind of pressure on him??

[Diesel]

One thing you notice is that when Smoove and Zaza went out, we had a hard time getting rebounds. I think you have to really watch Zaza. He helps to keep us in games because of his offensive rebounding. We missed that with him on the bench.

[Final_quest]

We've had suspect interior D for awhile now, so we've come to expect that. Ivey, and Salim for that matter, have had an opportunity to show us something with Lue out. Ivey just doesn't have much offensive game.

[tmac13]

Ivey can't be looked to to score because he can't score! He is an awful shooter and has little ability to penetrate..He is also NOT a good defensive player..He cannot stop penetration from the other teams point..He is a decent ballhander, and a slightly below average defender, and a bad offensive player..He just happens to be a little better than Lue defensively so everyone seems to think he can play good defnse, but if you watch the games he has many of the same weaknesses.

[Johnnybravo4]

WHOA!!! You mean to tell me that finally I got some people coming to my side? I have been saying this S*it for months now and every time I got shot down.

Like I have been saying for weeks now I would rather start Salim now that Lue is out, and live with some of his bad decisions, than let Ivey play. I think Salim can grow into a starting PG given a chance. He won't be such a gunslinger if he is given the role of distributor and set up man. He has something that you cannot teach. He has heart..which is why he cursed out Woodson.

[Lascar78]

I must have missed the part where people were agreeing that Salim should start

[Johnnybravo4]

I wasn't saying that people agreed that Salim should start jackazz..I am just saying that sane people are finally coming around to my opinion on Ivey. 2 pts 1 rebound and 0 assists in 26 minutes for a starter is embarrassing. And that is a nightly line for him.

[tmac13]

I may have to come out and say we should let salim start a few games..Before I get flamed, heres my reasoning..

We all know Salim is shelfish and not much of a defender..He plays completely out of control at times and turns the ball over..But, Salim has talent..Ivey simply doesn't have much talent..You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip..Ivey is what he is, a career 3rd stringer/cba player..If Salim was told, you are going to start, you are going to get 30 minutes a game for the next 5 games..Calm down, give effort on defense, and get to ball to JJ, I think Salim has the talent to be a much more effective player than Ivey..I don't see what it hurts to try that approach to see what happens..We know what Lue brings, we know Ivey is limited, I say tell Salim he has a 5 game trial to show he can calm down and play the point..Thoughts?

[Lascar78]

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If Salim was told, you are going to start, you are going to get 30 minutes a game for the next 5 games..Calm down, give effort on defense, and get to ball to JJ

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Ivey can do this better than Salim. That being said, Salim is more talented. The bottom line is neither one is an NBA starter. If Salim had been starting we would all be saying that Ivey needs to start. Ivey can come in and play in a pretty stable manner, not turn the ball over and play some D. Salim can score. Seems to me that we need the former more than the latter. The bottom line is that we don't have a starting caliber PG

[exodus]

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The bottom line is that we don't have a starting caliber PG

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No question. And while JJ has been great he isn't a pg any more than Wade or Lebron are point guards. They are both the primary scorers and playmakers on their teams but neither are playing the point.