The supposed "Madhouse on Madison" hasn't proved to be very maddening to the opponents of both the Bulls and Blackhawks so far this season. As both teams sit below the .500 mark in the building they call home at 1901 W. Madison St., Chicagoans who bear themselves in red and black for home contests in the UC are becoming increasingly confused as to why the home team ends up exiting stage left looking black and blue. After losing only 12 regular season home games in Chicago during last year's Stanley Cup winning season a year ago, the Hawks have already dropped 5 on their native ice during the season's opening stretch. And when the ice is lifted, the Bulls are under-performing in their regular residence as well, dropping 2 of their first 3. Something's got to give here. It's not like the Hawks and Bulls are dropping tough losses to high-end franchises either. The Blackhawks recently dropped a contest to the New Jersey Devils, who came into the game last in the NHL in points, and collective team self-esteem. And the Bulls, they just got 120 points dropped on them by a strikingly below-average New York Knicks team like they were a stationary windshield under a bird-bunched electrical line. For both squads, the problem starts and ends on the defensive end.
For the Blackhawks, it looks as if Duncan Keith is suffering under the fate of the EA Sports Video Game cover curse that has caused athletes like Shaun Alexander and Eddie George to figure out where the sidewalk ends in their process of falling off the face of the Earth completely. Keith is -4 for the year thus far after posting +21 and +33 clips the past two years as the anchor of the Blackhawks D. But the one with the A on his sweater isn't the only one to blame, even my boy Nik Hjalmarsson sits at -9 for the year. If I've learned anything in life, it's "don't tug on Superman's cape, don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old lone ranger, and you don't mess around with matching ridiculous offer sheets on Sweed Defenseman." And so far, Hjalms is proving that theory to be correct. Now it would be easy for the Hawks to chalk up Turco and his lack of continuity with the defenseman as the problem here and sulk in the locker room after each loss listening to the island-like rhythm of Jack Johnson's, "Where'd All the Good People Go?" Or, they can lace up the skates and buckle down on D against the Thrashers and Oilers this weekend.
As for the Bulls, when Tom Thibodeau came into the city preaching defensive intensity like he was Gene Keady with a decent haircut, I was ecstatic. I thought the Bulls would be winning games with scores in the mid-90's and I could ride the "bet the under" train all the way to a 401K. But in their home opener, the Bulls let the Detroit Pistons put up 39 points in the second quarter; thank god they only scored 9 in the 4th to secure a 10-point Bulls win. All that stats represent is that the Pistons are BAD and they are more serious about fostering some nonsensical story about Chuck Villanueva getting verbally abused on Twitter regarding his allopecia than they are about getting W's--these are some sad days in the Motor City. Then, the Knicks came to town at (1-2) and lit up the scoreboard for 70 first half points en route to a 120-112 victory at the UC. Isn't Joakim supposed to be one of the better defensive big men in the league? Didn't we sign Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans for defensive purposes? And you're going to tell me Lou Deng and D.Rose aren't athletic enough to keep their guys in check? That sales pitch could be on the clearance rack at a TJ MAXX outlet and I'm still not buying it.
So, through all this jargon one thing remains constant, the Bulls and the Hawks need to get back to the fundamentals of defending their own goal before they can achieve anything notable this season. The good thing is that it's early and Coach Q and Thibs aren't going to let their squads slack, but if these problems persist it's going to be nothing but early exits for both teams come April.
As for Pick of the Day, the Durantula came through for the Pulse Man last night as Thunder rolled (shout out Garth Brooks) to an overtime victory in the Rose Garden. The weekend is here again and the Pulse Man has put together another Saturday 6 pack for the good people of the world to sip on. The picks are listed below.
Saturday 6 Pack
2 Team Parlay
1. Illinois (+3) @ Michigan- ILLINOIS
2. Baylor @ Oklahoma St.-OK.ST, moneyline
Total: (+156)
3 Team Parlay
1. Arizona (+10) @ Stanford- ZONA
2. Missouri @ Texas Tech- MIZZOU, moneyline
3. Arkansas (+4.5) @ South Carolina- ARKANSAS
Total: (+482)
'Big Ticket" Pick of the Day
California (-14) @ Washington State- CAL
Now I'm done. Rack me
Frost
No comments:
Post a Comment