Well, something we did every year was preseason predictions. This year I'll break down both conferences, but for my first post I'm just going to break down my beloved Bulls and give my prediction for the season.
First things first. Derrick Rose gets a lot better this year and starts to be talked about as one of the elite PGs along with Chris Paul and Deron Williams. He won't finish the year as the best PG in the league, but he will be in the discussion. The sky is the limit for this guy, and this year he gets to the line more, he hits more jumpers and with Ben Gordon gone he takes over as the go to guy in the fourth quarter. I also think he improves his defense, but sadly he will still basically suck on that end of the court for at least one more year. I see averages of 18ppg and 8assts and at least two WOW plays per game.
But that is the easy part, everyone knows Rose is a beast. So let's break everything else down. The starting five should be Rose, John Salmons, Loul Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Jokim Noah. I love this lineup. Both Salmons and Deng can knock down open jumpers (Salmons shot 42% from behind the arc last year). Deng, Thomas, and Noah are all finishers in the paint. And Thomas and Noah are two of the best shot blocking big men in the game. This is a well balanced team that should be able to score with the best of them while keeping most teams out of the paint. I also like their sixth and seventh men Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller. Hinrich does everything well, but nothing great. Good shooter, good ball handler, excellent defender, there isn't anything he sucks at. He may have a shot at the Sixth Man of the Year award as he'll probably average close to 30 minutes a night and be in at the end of games whenever defense is needed. Miller is of course, old, and slow, but still savvy and at 20-25 minutes a night he may be the best backup big man in the east.
Unfortunately, there is some downside to the Bulls. First, they only have one star (Rose) so there is a ceiling here. Second, their bench is very thin. After Hinrich and Miller the next two guys off the bench are rookies (James Johnson and Taj Gibson), so who knows what to expect from those guys. If there is an injury to anyone of the top 7 guys the Bulls could be in for a very long season. Third, last year the Bulls had one of the five WORST coaches in the NBA in Vinny Del Negro. He screwed up rotations, he messed with guys minutes, he refused to turn the team loose offensively, he screws up timeout situations late in the game, he runs the same play over and over and over, and he sucks as a defensive coach. In the playoffs last year he seemed to catch on a little bit, but how much of that was simply the Celtics not having KG and how much of that was Vinny getting Smarter? I have no idea, but I can't imagine Vinny is any worse than he was last year. All I ask from him this season is to not fuck with Tyrus' minutes and to turn Rose loose. If he does those things I'll be happy. Lastly, they did lose Ben Gordon who is a big time scorer and clutch performer. My hope and belief is that Salmons will more than make up for Gordon's loss with his defense and ability to keep the ball moving.
So with all that being said, I think the Bulls will definitely make the playoffs and if things fall right, they could make it to the second round where they will get crushed by the Magic, Celtics, or Cavs. Final prediction, 45-37 (which is four more wins than they had last year), the fifth seed in the east and a first round win.
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