Bulls NBA Picks
In the Windy City it all comes down to Derrick Rose. If healthy and the the player he is capable of this team can be as good as any in the East. If not they are just another in a group of unpredictable likely playoff participants.
Chicago Bulls
Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference
2013/14 Record: 48-34
Odds to win NBA title: 8/1
Odds to win Eastern Conference: 11/4
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Key Losses
Carlos Boozer – Though he has been mostly a disappointment since coming to the Bulls you could count on Boozer for smart play and consistent effort. It is not his fault people though he was better than he actually is.
Trading him to LA was the smart move.
D.J. Augustin – The reserve guard was an important scoring option for the Bulls. He may have averaged just 13ppg but they really needed it.
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This year points may be hard to come by again so we will see how they compensate.
Top Newcomers
Pau Gasol – After years of rumours Gasol is finally a Bull. The question is just how much he is able to offer this team. In L.A. he was content to be a complementary player but this team needs more.
Doug McDermott – It might be a minority opinion but I think there is definitely a place in the league for McDermott. He is an excellent shooter and has a varied offensive game. Best of all he rises to meet the big moments. He is not Adam Morrison.
Top Players
Derrick Rose – Health is the thing. A full season on the court and he might win himself the MVP. The problem is we haven’t seen one of those since 2010/11. It is anybody’s guess of what to expect this season.
Pau Gasol – He has talent but the Bulls frontcourt is pretty formidable. I am curious to see how his commitment to defense might change for the Bulls.
If he is a liability he might not get the minutes or produce like we are accustomed to.
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Joakim Noah – Mr. Everything for the Bulls as he can score, defend, rebound and set people up. Adding another talented player to the frontcourt might not be such a great thing for his numbers, especially scoring wise.
Strengths
The Bulls might have the best frontcourt in the NBA. We have already talked about Gasol and Noah but don’t forget about Taj Gibson, who would probably start for 75% of the other team in the league. I also like their draft picks McDermott and Cameron Bairstow.
McDermott provides shooting and Bairstow another long body who can rebound and covert around the rim. They have great depth and it will be a challenge apportioning the minutes at times.
Weaknesses
They have made moves to improve their scoring but there are still question marks with McDermott being unproven at this stage. Further, this team is really light in the backcourt if Rose is injured or just not the same player we think we should be.
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A three man backcourt of Rose, Jimmy Butler and and Kirk Hinrich does not look championship quality to me and given the injury history of Rose there is not a lot of depth there.
Prediction: 2nd Place, Central Division
There is a theme running through this piece which is IF, as in if Derrick Rose is healthy.
If he is than this team should make the playoffs easily and even give the Cavs a little bit of a push. Some nights the Bulls look impossible to beat because they are among the better defensive teams.
This makes them a nice road play when they are well rested and can apply their defensive intensity – this team is very dangerous as an underdog. However, when their offense is not in the flow they can look pretty terrible.
Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.
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