Today marks the first time I've blogged twice in a day, but given the outcome and end to the Bulls game I felt the need to hop back on and give my $.02 on what we saw and what's to come. I write from my minimal experience as a junior high basketball coach, a two-year high school player, and a guy who has watched upwards of 60% of Bulls games in my life. That number may not seem like much, but you have to remember I've lived in Florida, Washington State, and a "cable free" house as a youngster.
I thought the Bulls played a great game for about 40 of the 48 minutes. There were a few lapses where Philly got in the bulls' grill, one which occurred in the middle of the third and towards the end of the fourth quarter. The offense got stagnant, the D started to look slow, and Philly got a couple of easy buckets to shrink the lead. I wasn't in full on "paranoid" mode, but felt the end of the game was getting sloppy.
The Rose injury was tough to watch. I'm not an orthopedic surgeon, nor do I have an understanding of human anatomy--but that knee buckle was not a pretty sight. He has been such a mensch throughout his career as a Bull, and seeing him go down was heartbreaking. I immediately felt bad for Rose, and for Thibs, because I knew there'd be questions about whether he should be in the game.
In terms of Rose, it has been well documented that he is going to play no matter what. So if his coach wants him in the game, he's playing. And the guy knows how to play at one speed, so I can't fault him for playing hard down the stretch and going hard to the basket. He's been snake bit with the injury bug (combining metaphors there), and it stinks. No ifs ands or buts.
The other guy I feel for is Coach Thibs. A good buddy of mine, and fellow die hard Bravo Kilo (also present for one of the greatest nights of my life..and his too) sent me a great article about Thibs in the New York Times. I read this almost immediately after the injury and my heart goes out to a guy who works his ass off to be the best coach he can, and has sacrificed so much for his life's passion. His story is really inspiring, and although many question the man's priorities (its pretty much just basketball), I respect his dedication to his craft, his respect for the game, and his desire to continuously improve himself and the teams he leads--just check out this graph for quantitative validation of his value to teams. I actually sent him a thank you note last year for the work he did with the bulls--as a customer of his product he needs to know I appreciate what he does for me and fellow bulls fans. Let's not forget, this team sucked sh*t for many years in the 2000's, and he has led them to back to back #1 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Its clear this guy will only be satisfied with a championship ring, and Rose's injury could be a devastating blow to him as well.
So where does this leave us, bulls fans? I suppose this is where we get into philosophical perspectives on sports, life, and what we do when the chips are down. I've chronicled some of my ups and downs, and all of us have had them from time to time. But I somehow have had it ingrained in me to look on the bright side despite having a few bumps along the way as both a human being and a Chicago sports fan. And although this is certainly not the ideal, I'm not ready to give up on this team just yet. Until they lose four games in a series, this season will continue, and I do think they can rally around the injury (provided it is extended) and make some noise in the playoffs. Let's not forget, there are 11 other guys on that team who are "Chicago tough" and will not back down from this.
Another thing to keep in mind, strange things can happen when teams lose a star player. Bill Simmons, a writer whose style I've ripped off in many ways, wrote an outstanding column that summarizes the "Ewing Theory" and other examples of teams who still found ways to win without a star, or after a "star" has left. Interestingly enough, the most popular example occurred in 1999 when the Knicks lost Patrick Ewing to a torn achilles in the playoffs. Those knicks went on to the NBA finals as an 8 seed, also in a strike shortened season. The assistant coach for those knicks??? Tom Thibodeau. If you want some inspiration, read this article which summarizes it all.
Finally, I guess this strikes at the core of all of us as sports fans, but it is so easy to be negative about sports--whether we're talking about the Bulls, the Hawks, the Cubs, or whoever. Our radios are filled with guys (and gals) who spend their entire day, mostly griping about the state of sports in this town. As a frequent listener of these programs, I too have my thoughts and ideas as to why things aren't always as good as we hope, but I really see no point in the blowhards who want to second guess a coach or a player after a situation like this. Sh*t happens sometimes, and you're either on board with a team, or you're not. And for me and the Bulls, well, that's a train I don't plan to hop off anytime soon. So I'm with them through this, and hope you are as well if you've gotten this far through the entry.
I leave you with a little inspiration from a range of inspiring coaches and athletes below...feel free to post your own if it helps ya move on....its never over 'til we say it is and NO EXCUSES!!
Everyone has their favorite time of year--for me it runs from mid March (birthday, NCAA tourney, weather getting better) until mid-June (the NBA finals, end of school, golf season in full swing). You'll notice a few of the things I like about this time of the year are basketball related, and with the playoffs starting today I figured I'd take to the airwaves for the Delta Whiskey NBA Playoff Preview.
Back in the day, sneakers were a big deal to me, as they probably were for most kids in the late 80's and early 90's. I remember sitting with my dad in these unbelievable seats, fixated more on what was on their feet than the scoreboard. I loved to see what guys were wearing, partially for fashion/pop culture reasons, but also because I played the game and felt some kind of "kinship" with the player who wore the same shoes as me. And in the 80's, the Bulls began a tradition for the playoffs that I thought was the coolest thing ever--the black shoes/black socks combo. I don't know the entire history behind whose idea it was, but I loved that the team "flipped the switch" into playoff mode and used their uniform to show their collective state of mind.
The NBA was strict about uniforms back in the day, so teams had to wear the same colored shoes and everyone wearing black was a sign of solidarity as they went into playoff battle. It was also pretty amusing to see guys like Dave Corzine, Ed Nealy, Will Perdue, and other guys I'll deem "stiff" wearing shoes that made them look even slower. But regardless of how they looked, it was clear when the Bulls stepped on the floor in the playoffs that things were going to be different. And as a die-hard fan, I liked that the team that meant everything to me was showing such unity as they headed into battle. Nowadays, black shoes aren't such a unique thing, and you'll see Bulls (and NBA players) wearing black shoes during regular season games, along with red ones, white ones, and even green ones when its St Patty's Day--with just about everyone wearing a different color most nights and very little consistency from player to player. Maybe its because the game/team dynamic has changed, maybe its because there's a lot of cash in sneakers and the players are walking billboards.
The other great Bulls playoff tradition, which probably was just a regular season tradition we saw/heard more about in the spring was the pregame huddle. No need for me to describe it, just watch:
So those are a few random memories/thoughts about da bulls as we kick of the 2012 Playoffs in just a few hours. And since I spend so much of my life listening to others yap about opinions on Sports Talk Radio and in local media/twitter, I figured I'd take to the airwaves to give you my thoughts as we head into the Post-Season.
I'll break it down in terms of the the Bulls, then the competition, but there won't be predictions...just stuff I'll be paying attention to in the weeks to come.
The Bulls
It's been a choppy year for the Bulls, yet somehow they've ended up with the best record in the NBA and home court advantage throughout the playoffs--which means they have earned the right to play more games in front of their fans than any other team in the league. Crowd noise never scored a basket, but it does cause turnovers and create momentum, and I'm glad the title has to come through Chicago. And if you think this doesn't matter to the team, check out this speech from Brian Scalabrine prior to their last game of the season:
They'd be the first to say this, but the regular season means nothing at this point. They've scrapped, clawed, and fought their way to the best record, but once the tournament begins, everyone has the same record (0-0), and they will need to overcome a ton to win the title this year. This is not to say they can't do it, but it'l be tough and they'll need some good fortune to raise a trophy in June. I'm not going to break down position by position analysis of the roster, but will point out a few questions I'm wondering as the playoffs unfold.
Continuity: Can they stay healthy?
Like every other team in the NBA, the Bulls have had to cobble together lineups for the bulk of the season. The opening-day starters have played 14 games together, and while they've been 12-2 in those games, they haven't had a ton of time together as a unit. With injuries and substitution patterns creating havoc from game to game, this means guys may not have tons of comfort with each other. One of the things you can notice when continuity isn't there are missed assignments on D, turnovers and bad shots on offense, and indecision--this isn't to say those will be common, but it may be an issue as the Bulls come together in the playoffs. They should get more comfortable with each other as the playoffs unfold, but this will ONLY be possible if they stay healthy. Much has been documented about D-Rose and his injuries so no need to belabor the point--but if he goes down in the playoffs it'll be trouble.
The Bench Mob: Can They Go Both Ways???
Much has been written about the Bulls depth as well, so I won't belabor that point--I'll just say that going 10 deep is a nice luxury most NBA teams don't have. The Bulls bench includes guys that are very strong on one end of the floor (Defense - Asik, Brewer, Gibson; Offense: Korver, Watson) but the problem with these guys is that they struggle to play both ends. In recent months, guys like Taj Gibson have shown improvement on both ends, and the Bulls will need these guys to contribute on both ends of the floor. Here's hoping we see a few throw downs like this in the coming weeks:
RIP: Can he dial it up???
Scoring is the topic most bulls fans gripe about, particularly after their struggles to score against teams that can D up on D-Rose. The Bulls tried to fix this problem by going out and grabbing Rip Hamilton from the Pistons, who has had a a great career as a sniper, scorer, and great defender. He's been fragile this year, but if he can dial up his game to the 2003 Rip Hamilton they will be in better shape than last year. He's looked much better in the last 2 weeks, and if he's able to stay healthy he could be a huge contributor on both ends of the floor--something they'll need to get past teams like Boston, Miami, or even Indy (side note: could not be happier Bulls will not see the Pacers until Eastern Finals at the earliest...this is a team that will cause problems for someone).
D-Rose: Can he stay out of the Doctor's Office?
The other topic everyone knows about is the injuries that D Rose has struggled with all year. I know he's been back for a few games in the past month, but he hasn't looked like the same guy we saw last year. He's been beaten up all season, and some of the injuries he's had would hold someone like ME out of work, not to mention an NBA player. There's no telling how healthy he really is, but it will be hard for them to win a title with him limping around on half a leg. The schedule in the playoffs gets a bit more spaced out meaning he'll get more rest between games, but there's no telling how hurt he really is. A few of these (see video below) in the weeks to come would go a long way towards helping ME feel better about his health:
Is there another gear?
Playoff basketball is a different animal than the regular season. For most teams, this is when REAL defense is played, and you notice much less open court, easy basketball. The Bulls have defended and played all 66 games like playoff games. Their intensity throughout the regular season is part of the reason for their league-best record, but this gap will close quickly once the ball is thrown in the air later today. There was an old phrase the Bulls used to describe turning up the intensity, which was "unleashing the dobermans." In the 80's and 90's, you knew when those dobermans were unleashed, as teams struggled to get off shots, much less get into their offense. I'm certain these bulls have that "doberman" gear they can kick it to, the question in my mind is whether they can turn it on when it matters most and whether it'll be enough to overcome some of the teams they'll face on the way....which brings me to the competition. Some doberman footage in case you've forgotten, from those great bulls teams (along with a catchy song that will stay in your head for hours):
The Competition
I'm not going to waste more than a few words on the competition, but they've all improved since last year's playoffs (and throughout the year)--it will not be easy winning a title with some of these teams standing in the way. I have not checked odds in Las Vegas, but I'd be willing to guess there is no clear cut "favorite" that stands out in the eyes of the gambling public. More than any year in recent memory, the Title is up for grabs this year and the playoffs are shaping up to have some great battles pitting old NBA vs. new NBA, teams vs. individuals, and all of those other cliche story lines you're certain to see/hear about during broadcasts. A few words on some of those teams:
Miami - everyone's favorite team to hate is still Public Enemy #1 here in Chicago (and probably throughout the country). The addition of Shane Battier was big for them (one of the more intelligent/crafty vets in the game), and with talent like Lebron, Wade, and Bosh they will be tough to beat 4 times in a series. It has been done (Dallas last year), and can be done, provided the Heat are forced to play a half court game and defend for 20 seconds of the shot clock. A task much easier said than done, but a few teams like the Bulls, Indy, and even the Knicks will make their road to a title a rocky one.
Boston - the Celtics are a team I have tremendous respect for--partially because of their history, and also because of their contribution to the Bulls (Thibodeau). They are an aging bunch, but in recent months they have been playing much better and seem to be peaking at the right time. They will not be an easy out for anyone, and this team will NOT go down easy. Between Rondo, Pierce, Garnett, and Allen there is plenty of firepower, and their role players are better than you'd think. If there's a Bulls-Celtics series in round two, it will be a war.
Indy - the Pacers are a team that has flown under the radar on a national scene, but fans in Chicago are very familiar with this group from last year's playoffs. They are deep, have tons of length, and defend the crap out of teams. They're also not a very likable team, although with Jeff Foster no longer around to swing elbows they're not as hate-able as they have been in prior years. Either way, these guys will not go down easily and as I mentioned earlier, I'm glad the Bulls won't see them until the Eastern Conference Finals if it gets to that point.
I don't write too much about work on here, partially because I invest so much brainpower in it while I'm there (making thinking about it at home a hassle) and partially because in this day and age of digital connectedness there is a footprint I leave behind on this thing called the internet. Ideally, that footprint leaves something interesting for folks to read, and gives me an outlet for some of my thoughts, ideas, and ramblings on just about anything. But after spending a few days in Champaign, I felt the need to reflect a bit on what I saw and experienced.
For starters, the road trip began in Aurora, IL on Wednesday afternoon with the CEO and her right hand women (and yours truly) down the back roads of I47. For a guy who spends most of his life racing down The Eisenhower (290) and i88, it was nice to see something other than obnoxious billboards lining the drive. We got to Champaign at around 730, grabbed a bite to eat at a local college bar (Murphy's for those of you Illini fans), which I think made all of us feel slightly old, but young at heart. Our conversations ranged from my terrible App ideas (vocal "games" with siri so drivers can play something but not text...think sporcle.com on your phone with audio), the end of my professional swimming career (I hung it up after finishing 12th in the 50 Butterfly at Junior Olympics in Champaign, circa 1987...just like MJ, I went out on Top of my game!), and all sorts of other interesting topics about our lives both at work and elsewhere. We checked in and crashed around 9 to rest up before our visit to a healthcare system based in the Champaign community.
Oddly enough, this health system is almost identical in size, scope of services, number of physicians, and the community they serve. This visit is something that allows leaders of systems like mine to "go and see" how others are continuously improving the care they provide through the eyes of patients. My job is to help my current organization create a similar "culture", which means bringing people together to solve problems that patients, physicians, and even staff are dealing with. The approach we and this clinic (and many other great places) use is based on something called Lean, and there are lengthy texts, courses, blogs, and other such venues about Lean if what I describe sounds interesting. The methodology is what helps make sure your plane doesn't crash, your coffee experience at Starbucks is fantastic, and applications across just about every industry. Lean is based on several ideals and includes a number of fancy (sometimes scary looking) tools, but at its core it is about how we make things better by involving the people who do the work.
For those who know me personally, you know some of the challenges, drama, and upheaval I've been through as a patient over the last, oh 20 years of life. Thankfully, life is stable these days, but I've lived in enough hospitals, doctor's offices, pharmacies, etc., to understand a bit about when things aren't so nice for patients.
On another tangent, this week (April 18) will mark six years since the colectomy, and as my mother constantly reminds me, I wasn't so upbeat back then about my life. I was feeling like crap both mentally and physically and there were some grueling nights, some hard decisions that I wish I didn't have to make, and my outlook was shitty. I DIDN'T think life would get better at that time, and I'd be willing to guess many of you have (or will) face one of those moments when life doesn't seem fair. I have written plenty about all of that so no need to rehash it all...but after all of my drama, the one thing that mattered to me was that I was part of making it better for the next guy, the next family, the next kid, etc. On top of all that mushy gushy stuff, I saw my father end his career with a somewhat negative experience as a physician. And I'd like to see the people who make such important decisions on our behalf are respected for the work they do. Same goes for nurses who deal with patients like me, and the other folks who care for patients who are usually in a pretty tough spot when they come to see them. Before I go too far down this path, it probably helps to give you a definition of respect. Respect to me means instilling a feeling as if my skills, talents are supported in making the business better. Most people feel squashed by "the man" telling them what to do and how to do it, which couldn't be further from respectful in my mind and folks in healthcare are not much different.
So part of the purpose for this trip was for a few of our leaders to check out what was going on at this Clinic in downstate Illinois and how they're working to continuously improve in the eyes of their patients, docs, and staff. I had heard a few of their leaders speak last year at a conference out in Seattle, and from memory I knew they had the right blend of quirkiness, humor, and discipline around Lean...and on a personal level, it is always great to be around others with a similar perspective on making things better.
Without walking through every step of the visit, I'll describe what I saw as briefly as possible:
Our morning and afternoon involved 30 minute rotations to a number of departments to observe a process that happens every day, in every department across the clinic. This process involves a huddle (yes, similar to what you see on the football people), where folks are coming together at the start of their day to say, "How'd we do yesterday?" and "What do we need to do today to make it a great day for our patients?" In each department, those questions have slightly different variations, but these huddles are part of how everyone starts their day. And yes, there is some "homeroom announcement" kinds of things as part of the huddle, but they are looking both retrospectively and proactively at how they're doing. A big part of these huddles is discussion of team ideas, and each person at this clinic is expected to implement 2 ideas a year. Ideas can range from where to locate supplies to minimize searching, to improve how they do a certain task (i.e., labeling specimens), and even a few other ideas related to making the workplace more fun, healthy, or community focused.
Each huddle had its own "theme", which were pretty amusing--everything from sports to entertainment were used to help teams have some 'fun' with it, and they had free reign to do really whatever worked for them. We had a chance to ask questions to folks after their huddles, and it was so neat for me to hear from folks how inspiring it is for THEM to have a say in how things are run, how things can improve, and a sense of purpose to their work. This theme came out throughout the time we spent in Champaign, and what got me really jazzed was hearing a few doctors who were probably just as downtrodden as my father talk with excitement, passion, and enthusiasm about the work they do.
The cynic or doubter would probably read much of what I've written about and say "that can't possibly work" or "it must be a mess working at a place like that", but there is an incredible amount of discipline beneath the surface of the visual displays the teams use as part of their huddles. And of course, there are things that can be improved that they are aware of, but it was so nice to see a true "system" of people all working together to make it better and genuinely pumped about the place they work.
Our drive home was filled with some great discussion about how we can take what we learned and expand how we apply what we saw to our work, which is a task that is extremely inspiring with a high potential for great impact to patients, the docs that care for them, and the people I work with. As all of us went our separate ways, I took some time to reflect on where I'm at and how life continues to evolve for me, which is probably why I find myself on the blog this morning.
So much of what I've experienced over the past 5 years has centered around that concept of helping to make things better for me, the place I work, the planet I live in, and life in general, and I'm genuinely humbled and grateful for life's turns. I haven't always been comfortable or happy at each of those turns along the way, but each of them have allowed my outlook and focus to become clearer in terms of "what I want" out of life (including work). And our trip to Champaign was physical evidence of my enthusiasm to work in an environment others who share a similar passion for making things better in a systematic fashion. In simple terms, its great to have a team standing alongside me as we work to tackle the healthcare animal...
