Monday, September 6, 2010

Bulls v. Celtics

Last season the Celtics were only the fourth seed in the East, but went on to upset both the Cavs and Magic to make it to the Finals were they lost in seven games to the Lakers. This is a veteran team (meaning they are really old) who this offseason lost Rasheed Wallace and Tony Allen and added a couple of lousy pieces in the non-related O'Neal brothers, Jermaine and Shaquille. I expect this team to take a minor step back, if not a major step back during the regular season. With so many players over the age of 30 (five rotation players) and four of them being starters (at least until Kendrick Perkins comes back in Feb.) the Celtics aren't going to tear up the regular season. Their goal, like last year, is to be healthy and ready to play once the playoffs start. So over the course of an 82 game season I think the Bulls will definitely have a better record, but once the playoffs start all bets are off with the Celtics.

Rose v. Rajon Rondo-A lot of sportswriters and websites (yahoo, ESPN) have Rondo as the better point guard. I think that's a joke. This year Rondo is going to have to do a lot more than stand at the top of the key and make an easy chest pass to the wing for an open three. This year Rondo is going to have to score in the half court and is going to be forced to shoot more jumpers as defenses continue to adjust to his game. Rondo isn't just a below average jump shooter, he's one of the worst jump shooting PG's in the league. Rondo also gets all this press for being a great defender, which isn't 100% true. He IS a great help defender, but he is a terrible on the ball defender. And with Rose, Rondo won't be able to help much which will neutralize some of his defensive prowess. The problem for the Bulls is if Rose can't stay in front of Rondo defensively, HE will go wherever he wants and get wide open shots for Pierce and Allen, and dunks for the O'Neal's and KG. This matchup is all about who you ask. Ask a Bulls fan and it's Rose, ask a Celtics fan and it's Rondo. So I'll call it a wash. Rondo is clearly better defensively, even though he does have some flows, and Rose is clearly better offensively. I will say this, when these two teams play, this matchup will be a lot of fun to watch.

Brewer v. Ray Allen-Until Ray Allen retires or gets seriously injured he will be the best pure shooter in the league. I love what Brewer brings to the table, but even at age 35 Ray is still the better player and can single-handedly carry a team on certain nights. The only advantage the Bulls have is age, Ray is old, Brewer is young. So if Brewer can get out and run and pester the crap out of Allen then who knows, but I still won't bet against him.

Deng v. Paul Pierce-There isn't much to talk about here. If Pierce is getting bailed out by the refs for putting his head down and barreling into the lane out of control and getting two free throws for doing nothing more than throwing his arms up in the air, then the Celtics will dominate this matchup. If refs aren't bailing out Pierce, then Deng is every bit his equal. He's younger, faster, stronger, longer, a better defender, a better rebounder, and just as good a mid range shooter. Pierce is a better three point shooter and can create his own shot, but unfortunately with the Celtics it always comes down to the refs. So I have to go with a slight edge to Pierce.

Boozer v. Kevin Garnett-I think KG is done. He looked terrible all season last year, he can't jump, his post moves are in slow motion and his defensive rotation is slow. I give a big edge to Boozer and I will be SHOCKED if KG has anything left in the tank this season. I hate to bet against him because he is such a passionate competitor but after all the injuries he has sustained after the last few years I just don't see him getting back to 2008 form.

Noah v. Jermaine O'Neal-That's right, Jermaine O'Neal is going to start for the Boston Celtics until AT LEAST February when Kendrick Perkins comes back from injury. And who knows how good Perkins will be after major knee surgery this off season. My guess, not very good. So this is a Ginormous edge to the Bulls. The Celtics don't have anyone on their roster that can keep up with Noah, he is too fast and strong for Jermaine and way to agile for Shaq and just plain to big for KG. This matchup is the reason the Bulls should beat the Celtics this year IF they meet in the playoffs.

Korver, Watson, Asik, Gibson v. Nate Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Glen Davis, Marquis Daniels-I actually hate the Celtics bench. Shaq is completely done, D.U.N. DONE!!! Nate Robinson is a little firecracker that I like every other game when he goes off, but that other game he usually disrupts the flow of the offense, takes stupid shots, and turns the ball over (he still thinks he's playing for Isiah Thomas in New York). Marquis Daniels can't be counted on to stay healthy and is at best an average player, and he's no longer young, he turns thirty during the season. lastly it's Glen Davis. Sadly I like Davis. He plays hard and gets the most out of his talent. You know every night you will get everything Davis has, in fact, Davis is the only Celtic bench guy that might be able to crack the Bulls rotation(although he'd probably have to play center to do it). Needless to say I think the Bulls bench is better across the board.

Thibs v. Rivers-I am very interested to see how Rivers does this year without his top assistant. Rivers gave Thibs credit every step of the way and I'm not sure they will be able to sustain the type of intense defense they've had the best few years without him. I still give the edge to Rivers, after all, he's won a championship and made it to last year's Finals and Thibs is yet to coach a game. I'm just saying I can't wait to see this match up.

I believe the Bulls will have a better record than the Celtics (possibly four or five more wins), i think the Celtics will most likely be in that 4-5-6 range come playoff time, most likely falling into the four seed. I don't see them getting to 50 wins, 47 seems like the most they can hope for with Shaq playing significant minutes, Jermaine O'Neal starting, and Perkins maybe being a shell of his former self. That being said, if they are healthy during the playoffs anything can happen, but during the regular season I just can't see the Bulls finishing below them in the standings.

2 comments:

  1. dude either you dont know basketball or your just a biased bulls fan half the things you said just sound dumb kg came off major knee surgery and hes gonna eat boozer alive. Boozer is a soft power forward he was eaten alive by gasol and he will be eaten alive by kg. deng is no where near the defender or scorer the truth is he cant defend better small forwards both kg and paul are better than half your team and its sorry to say that the heat will knock the bulls out of the playoffs

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  2. sorry it took so long to write back, but i didn't expect anyone to read. So here it goes. KG is old and slow and can't jump. To say he came off of major knee surgery at the age of 22 is one thing, at the age of 34 is something completely different. This is as good as he is going to get. No one in the League would take KG over Boozer for this season. Also, Boozer is soft, but that is why Noah is there. Saying Pierce is a better defender than Deng is silly, really silly.

    Also, I never claimed not to be biased. I try to be as objective as I can be, but I know my biased will come thru every now and then. That being said, you might be more biased then I am.

    Lastly, my comparisons for the Bulls are strictly for the regular season. The Bulls are going to try and win as many games as possible while the Celtics are going to be resting guys throughout the season to make sure everyone is healthy come playoff time. Plus Perkins is out, this team is in no way better than they were last year and 47 wins seems about right. Therefore I expect the Bulls to have a better record because I am predicting them to win 50-52 games. If I was talking about the playoffs then the whole thing might be different.

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