Carlos Boozer Is Fooling No One

There are some guys who, when you watch them play, you just don't like them. Maybe it's the way they get their numbers, maybe it's the way they work the refs, and maybe it's the way they flop for calls.... but there's just something about them that sets your teeth on edge. No matter who they are playing for.

For me, Carlos Boozer of the Chicago Bulls is that kind of player.

Today in Boston, the Bulls had one of those Hang Around games where they had an opportunity to steal a game against one of my least favorite teams on the planet. This, despite sorely missing Derrick Rose at the point. So Booze must have been a big reason why they were in the game, right?

Well, sure... he had 22 and 7 on 9 of 16 shooting and was 4 of 4 from the line, as the Bulls' co-leader in points scored. He played just under 35 minutes, with five fouls committed to show effort, if not efficiency, on defense. No one who looked at this game called out Boozer as the reason why the Bulls lost, and expecting them to win the last game of a ridiculously long road trip without Rose is expecting too much anyway.

But from actually watching the game? Man alive, I hate this guy. The effort is soft. The passing is telegraphed. The defensive lack of intensity is glaring, especially on a team like Chicago. The points come in garbage time and moments, not in need to have situations. For a guy with good hands and touch, there just doesn't seem to be an ounce of clutch or toughness or snarl to him, unless you are a ref.

And since he starts for the Bulls, and is one of their bigger point producers, it's pretty hard to take them seriously as a contender, either. Beyond, well, the plainly silly ideas about hair...