Bulls Preview

I hate to start this post this way, but I am pretty close to already hating this team!! Assuming that we play 10 people in our rotation, tell me what part of this team gives you any hope whatsoever, Besides 19 year old rookie Derrick Rose?

Guards

Derrick Rose

Kirk Hinrich

Ben Gordon

Larry Hughes

Forwards

Tyrus Thomas

Drew Gooden

Andres Nocioni

Luol Deng

Centers

Joakim Noah

Aaron Gray

The reason that the Bulls were good under Scott Skiles was because he made his players play defense and because of that they got easy points and kept games close. Last year this team totally gave up on Skiles and decided that they just wanted to shoot in order to get better contracts in the off-season. So they will probably play hard for Vinny Del for a while, but I feel that with first sign of adversity they will fold.

Let's start with the guards.

Kirk Hinrich brings nothing to the table. He averaged 11 points a game last year and shot 41% from the field. I still don't understand how people think he is a good defender. He is too slow to guard PG's and to small to guard SG's. How can you be short, slow, white, played college at Kansas, and you can't shoot? He has been unbearable to watch in the Preseason!! Whatever your predictions were for Rose's assist totals this year, take away 3 because Kirk can't hit an open jumper.

Derrick Rose is gonna need some time to develop into a great PG, he isn't gonna get a ton of assists because he doesn't have a big man inside, and all of the guards that he plays with are not spot up shooters. Kirk can't hit an open shot consistently, and Ben Gordon likes to take shots off the dribble, not spotting up. He will make people better, and he will get a few buckets driving to the hole each game, but he isn't gonna carry this team just yet.

Ben Gordon is gonna be the leading scorer on this team again, and that is not a good thing. He is not a consistent scorer, instead of being hot one game and having a off night the next, Ben has hot quarters and off quarters, so where does that leave the rest of the team? He needs his shots in order to get his points. Everyone else is gonna stand around and the offense will stagnate.

Larry Hughes is a combination of Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, if you combine their bad qualities. He is the definition of a chucker. He averaged 12 points a game last year and shot 38%, and he is another person is considered to be a good defender, but with so many injuries he is 2 steps slower than he used to be. I can't hammer him too much, because he is a good person, but that doesn't win games. He is more streaky than Gordon, which up until Larry became a Bull, i didn't think was possible.

The Forwards

Luol Deng- Thank god he was a free agent last year, and not 2 years ago, because if we had to pay him 2 years ago, we would have New York Knicks/Isiah Thomas type problems. Luol did what all great players do going from their 2nd to 3rd year, which is become comfortable and develop a solid offensive skill that gives opponents problems. Unfortunately great players keep developing, while Deng has pretty much become one dimensional. We all love the curls in the lane, and his pull up jumper, but for all of you that think that he is gonna be a superstar and carry the load on this team, name one legit SF who can't shoot outside of 20 feet? He will always average between 14-18 points. Hell even Shawn Marion and the worst jump shot in NBA history that he employs have better range than Deng.

Tyrus Thomas is another version of Luol Deng, except he can jump higher and can't shoot outside of 10 feet. If you combine their skills, then you have a legit SF/PF who could one day be an all-star, instead you have a freak athlete who doesn't have anything else to offer other than a couple dunks a game.

Andres Nocioni could actually be most well rounded player on this team, and that is probably the most heartbreaking thing about the Bulls. Noch plays good defense, can actually hit a spot up three, penetrate and finish at the hole, and rebound. He will benefit the most with having D Rose at point. However he is still a little undersized to be an awesome SF.

Drew Gooden has great games, and then he has games where he disappears. He would be perfect for this team if he would post up more. He is the only person on this team with the size and ability to do it, yet he loves his jumpshot too much and barely ever will post up an undersized forward who is guarding him. If the Bulls run pick and roll with him and D Rose more, he could put up Carlos Boozer numbers eventually.

The Centers (if you actually want to call them that)

First off, by about game 15 you are gonna be so pissed about how teams just destroy us inside. I'm warning you right now.

Joakim Noah - I hated him on the Bulls about 2 seconds after he was drafted. Usually I can talk myself into a pick for at least a couple games, but what in gods green earth does he bring to the Bulls? Watching him trying to catch a pass is like watching a toddler try to shag fly balls. I want to keep track of how many times Rose drives the lane, has defenses collapse, and then throws a great pass to Noah, and then watch him flail at it as the ball goes out of bounds. He will get muscled inside not only in post defense, but also on rebounds. He might run the floor well, but do you really expect him to finish?

Aaron Gray - The only thing I like about Gray is the fact that he flexes while he runs. It is the single funniest thing in the NBA this year. Its like a Baywatch slow motion whenever he runs back down to play D. He actually has the skill set that we need inside, and the body. But having the skill set, and having the skill to do it in the NBA are completely different things. He just isn't an NBA starter, let alone someone who you expect to make a difference for your team.

So my prediction for this year is that the Bulls will finish 3rd in the Central and miss the playoffs again. What we need to hope for is another miracle and a top 3 pick this year, or hope that the NBA reduces the shot clock to 12 seconds and we just run the hell out of teams. Oh and John Paxson will be fired.

A little tidbit for Illini fans: Watch Tabo and tell me that he doesn't remind you of Brian Randle. We have been told about his potential. He can't shoot to save his life, but he keeps you waiting because he makes one great play a game. If he only fouled out every game, and got injured all the time, I would think that they are long lost brothers.