Bulls Season Preview
Can Tyrus take the next step?
TT has all the athletic talent in the world but it really has yet to translate onto the court. He is maddeningly inconsistent and has been throughout his entire career. One minute he will make a block that you didnt realize was possible and then the next moment he will try and dribble through his legs and lose the ball out of bounds. With that said, TT might be the biggest key to Bulls success this season. He will start at the 4 and has to bring energy, rebounding, blocks, highlight dunks, and the occasional 15 ft jumper. With his ability, he should dominate the boards and be able to intimidate everyone at and above the rim. If tyrus can average 15 pts, 9 boards, 1.5 blocks per game, it will be a successful season and the bulls can think about locking him up long term.
With that said however, i dont think it will be the case. I think its very likely that by midseason, you will see taj gibson starting at the 4 and tyrus coming off the bench. This might be a better role for tyrus because he can bring that spark that the 2nd unit needs and he can be a little more reckless with his fouls. Throughout the preseason, gibson has shown everything that tyrus doesnt do. Gibson is fundamentally sound, rotates well on D, talks well on D, and surprisingly can hit the 15 ft with consistency. I dont think Gibson is the answer at the 4 nor do i necessarily think he is a better player than tyrus but i think he can be more consistent and a better fit starting along side noah.
The bulls have chosen not to extend tyrus' contract and he will be a restrict FA at the end of the year. I think the bulls have taken this approach because tyrus has yet to really produce and they have liked what they have seen from taj gibson. In the end, i think this will be tyrus' last year with the bulls or he will be dealt at the trade deadline. I just dont see him becoming a consistent player yet and the bulls will not want to pay for the potential. I really hope i am wrong because i believe tyrus could be a game changer for the bulls and make them a team to reckoned with.
Where does Rose go next?
The answer is anywhere he wants. Rose has shown Bulls and nba fans that he can pretty much do anything on the court he wants. Last year, the knock on him was that he couldnt hit the jumper. But, he proved everyone wrong. While I dont think Rose will ever have a pretty jump shot, he is able to hit the open jumper and occasional 3 pointer to keep the defense honest. I dont think anyone knows what Rose's ceiling is. This year i think the biggest improvement that we will see will be in on-the-court leadership and presence. By the end of the season, he will be talked about just behind CP3 & Deron Williams as the best PG in the game. I see 20.5 pts, 3 rbs, 8.5 asts, & 1.2 stls a game average.
Scoring? Shooters? A Jump hook?
As everyone knows, Ben Gordon is gone to the hell hole that is Detriot basketball and may i just say thank god. I was never a Ben fan (although i enjoyed his big game winning shots) and am glad the bulls will no longer have the blackhole that he was on offense and might finally be able to have 5 players on defense now that he is gone. But everyone wants to know where his scoring will be made up from. Look i dont think putting the ball in the hoop will be a problem for the bulls. Loul's back, Rose, Salmons, Kirk, Noah and Pargo all should between them make up ben's 20 pts/game.
What i am worried about is how the bulls put the ball in the hole. While Salmons, Hinrich, and Pargo all can shoot from distance, im not sure i would call any of them a good 3 pt shooter. I mean in the playoffs, the bulls best 3 pt shooter was Brad Miller. With their starting 5, salmons is really the only legit 3 pt threat. Defenses might be able to pack the lane more and limit Rose's driving lanes as a result. 3 pt shooting will definitely be a concern and i wouldnt mind seeing the bulls pick up a 3 pt specialist at the trade deadline.
The bulls still dont have any post scoring. Noah, Thomas and others will get you pts in the paint but you really cant run a play for them in the post. In the preseason, they isolated Deng & Noah and they attempted to back down their guys but who are we kidding, those 2 in the post scare anyone. Aaron Gray is about the only guy w/post moves on the bulls and he wont be seeing any court time. I think for the bulls to take the next step they need someone, whether it be a big guy or guard who can post up their guy.
Overall, i think the Bulls will be a frustrating good team. They will be better will be better than last year. They have to be better on defense with gordon gone and a bigger, deeper team but they dont have that shut down defender either who can stop the opposing team's best player. Overall, the Bulls have depth and no injury should hurt them that much. I would say you shouldn't expect much out of top pick Johnson but as i said above i can imagine gibson having a significant role on this team. The Bulls had no problem scoring last year but only with improved defense will they become a real threat in the east. There will still be significant growing pains with this team and that will lead me to end up screaming at the TV and them losing some games they shouldn't. They dont have the firepower to play with the big 3 in the east (Cavs, Celtics, Magic) but they are definitely in that 2nd tier of teams and who knows last year the magic through the improvement of Nelson, Courtney Lee, Turkoglu, and Dwight Howard made that jump from 2nd tier to top tier. But, i think sadly for us bulls fans we will be doomed to another 1st rd playoff exit and then see what the great summer of '10 holds for the bulls.
Bulls 43-39
Finish 6th in the east
1st round playoff loss
No comments:
Post a Comment