Official 2009-2010 NBA Thread

[DBAHO]

Here's Hoopsworld's preview for the Bulls for the season ahead;

 

The Chicago Bulls had a good season last year and rookie Derrick Rose proved to be an elite player in his first year in the NBA. The Bulls held firm in free agency making only minor moves, although they did allow ben Gordon to leave via free agency. The Bulls will return the bulk of the team from last year's playoff run and look poised to be a playoff team again this season.

 

Here is a preview of what to expect this season, and what we here at HOOPSWORLD see as we look into the state of the Chicago Bulls in 2009-2010.

 

Five Guys Think...

Travis Heath

The Bulls played some great basketball down the stretch last season and pushed the Boston Celtics, albeit a Celtics team without Kevin Garnett, to the limit in the first round. The biggest reason to be optimistic in Chicago is Derrick Rose. The kid didn't look intimidated at all when the playoffs rolled around and is still just scratching the surface of his talent. The Bulls have an interesting roster with a good player in Kirk Hinrich who will likely have to come off the bench and a stable full of talented power forwards. It will also be interesting to see whether or not Luol Deng can get his feet underneath him again this season. With Ben Gordon now in Detroit, the Bulls are going to need Deng to regain the form he demonstrated a couple of seasons ago in the playoffs if the team hopes to be a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference this season.

2nd Place Central Division

 

Bill Ingram

It's unfortunate that no matter how well the Bulls do this season their fans will half at least one eye on the Miami HEAT. Anticipating Dwyane Wade is a dangerous trap to fall into, especially when the Bulls are a surefire playoff team as constructed. The midseason trade that landed veterans Brad Miller and John Salmons from Sacramento help the Bulls immensely, and should be even bigger dividends after a full training camp.

2nd Place, Central Division

 

Luke Byrnes

The Bulls lost Ben Gordon to the Pistons via free agency this summer but, while Gordon was the team's best crunch-time scorer, he brought little else to the table outside of his ability put the ball in the bucket. With John Salmons taking Gordon's place at the shooting guard position, the Bulls have a capable scorer and defender playing off the ball. Derrick Rose's continued maturation, along with that of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, will keep this Bulls squad in contention to host a first round playoff series.

2nd Place, Central Division

 

Joel Brigham

In terms of personnel the Bulls are returning a team pretty similar to the one that made such long strides in last season's playoffs, with one glaring exception—Ben Gordon, their leading scorer the last four years, is now a Detroit Piston. Expectations remain relatively high for this group, however, if only because Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose is poised to further step up his game, and Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas are as close as they've ever been to fulfilling their tremendous potential. Adding in a healthy Luol Deng and a full season with John Salmons and Brad Miller, the Bulls are unquestionably a playoff team, but probably as a 5 or 6 seed.

2nd Place, Central Division

 

Yannis Koutroupis

All the pieces appear to be in place for the Bulls to build on last season's success rather than taking a step backwards. Derrick Rose will continue to take the league by storm and cement himself as one of the leagues' biggest stars while Luol Deng should have a bounce-back year. The additions of Taj Gibson and James Johnson give the Bulls two more much needed low post weapons that will help them be better on the glass and in getting easy buckets. Ben Gordon's scoring will be missed, but it won't keep the Bulls from finishing second in the Central.

2nd Place, Central Division

 

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Top Of The List

 

Top Offensive Player: John Salmons – There's going to be an outcry that this spot should be filled by Derrick Rose, and maybe those pleas will be correct, but it's not outrageous at all for Salmons to lead the Bulls in scoring this season. Other than Ben Gordon, Salmons was the team's top scorer last season with 18.3 points per game, but as the slotted starting shooting guard for 2009-10, expect those numbers to go up a bit. This should be a career year for Salmons in a lot of ways, not the least of which will be his increased offensive output.

 

Top Defensive Player: Tyrus Thomas – Believe it or not, Thomas actually finished 8th in the league in blocked shots last season with 1.91 per game—the only player in the top 15 shorter than 6'10"—and nobody had a better blocks-per-game average than him in the postseason (2.86). Sure, the Bulls only participated in seven playoff games, but that's an impressive number. His nose for blocking shots is one of the best in the game, and there's no reason to think he couldn't average 2 or more bpg this upcoming season. Along with Joakim Noah (15th in the league in bpg last year), they create a pretty interesting defensive frontcourt for Chicago. If only they were more gifted offensively.

 

Top Playmaker: Derrick Rose – All you had to do was watch him in the playoffs last year to know that he can get to the rim pretty much any time he wants. He's one of the quickest players in the game right now, his handle is tight, and his athleticism allows him to do some ridiculous stuff around the basket. Nobody else on this team even comes close.

 

Top Clutch Player: Derrick Rose – We saw glimpses of what he's capable of in the second half of his rookie season. By the end of the year it was almost difficult to view him as a rookie because of the plays he'd make for the Bulls down the stretch in close games. This is a Bull headed for superstardom, and that's the sort of guy you have to rely on for the big shot. He'll be even more responsible for clutch play this season, but with his cool head and outstanding ability, that shouldn't be a problem.

 

The Unheralded Player: Brad Miller – There have been whispers this summer that Miller is a player doomed for a sharp decline this season, but even if that's true he does things for this team that can't be measured. He's a tough guy that can throw 'bows with the best of him, and he knows how to get referees' attention. He's slow—painfully slow—at this point in his career, but defenders are still going for that head-fake and he's still getting his shots. As long as he can pull that off and bring his trademark physicality, he's going to be the most valuable bench piece Chicago has.

 

Best New Addition: Jannero Pargo – On draft night, smart Bulls fans were mouthing the words "Dejuan Blair" over and over again in preparation for Chicago's selections, both at #16 and #26. But Chicago opted to go for James Johnson and Taj Gibson instead—two guys that are anything but sure things. Pargo, on the other hand, is a pretty predictable player. A key bench piece to that Hornets team two seasons ago that surprised the entire league, Pargo brings offense off the bench on nights when Salmons might not be feeling it. He's from Chicago, has played for this franchise before, and even has become more accomplished playing the pick-and-roll after his season overseas. He's a great fit for this group, and while he doesn't even come close to replacing Ben Gordon, he's certainly a better dollar-for-dollar value at 1 year and $2 million versus Gordon's 5 years and $55 million.

 

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Who We Like

 

1. Derrick Rose: But who doesn't? There wasn't a single coach in the league last season who didn't sing this kid's praises as a rookie. He's only going to be better this season.

 

2. Luol Deng: Having missed most of last season's second half he really wasn't given much opportunity to play alongside the Derrick Rose that had bloomed into a legit point guard, but this year he'll get that opportunity and should benefit from it. Deng is still one of the smartest players on this team and his forte—midrange spot-up jumpers—are going to be something Rose can help create with his penetration abilities. Luol has had it rough with injuries in the past, but he's a perennially unheralded player and should experience another solid season.

 

3. Tyrus Thomas: This is his year to break out. If he's ever going to be a star in Chicago we're going to have to see it soon, because he's up for an extension this summer and the Bulls have to be thinking about what their long-term solution is at power forward. Defensively and athletically Thomas is top-notch; it's his offensive game and decision-making we're hoping to see improvements upon this season.

 

4. Joakim Noah: In the regular season Joakim Noah put up mediocre numbers to the tune of 6.7 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game to go along with 1.4 blocks and a 56% field goal percentage. But when the playoffs got underway we saw this whole new Joakim—10.1ppg, 13.1rpg, and 2.1bpg while maintaining a respectable 51% field goal percentage. If he's able to reproduce those playoff numbers this upcoming season, the Bulls will have their center of the future. The interesting thing is, a lot of really smart NBA people fully expect him to be that guy. He's matured a ton the last couple of off seasons, and that's made a load of difference on the floor.

 

5. John Salmons: Not everyone is as optimistic about Salmons's role in the offense, but he's really come onto the scene as a legit NBA player the last couple of seasons. He seems as poised as anyone to have a breakout year, and 20 points per game is not a stretch for his ability, minutes, and shots. If the Bulls plan on doing much winning, they'll need him to score at least that much.

 

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Strengths

 

Shooting percentages, Rebounds, Defense. For being a team so often criticized for lack of post play, the Bulls are best in categories typically dominated by solid big men. Both Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah finished in the top 15 for blocked shots last year, and the team was fourth overall in team blocks with 5.52 per game. They were also 9th in the league in steals with 7.5 a game.

In terms of shooting the Bulls are a pretty accurate overall group. They were sixth in 3-point percentage (38%) and seventh in free-throw percentage (80%). Ben Gordon helped the team lead in those categories, but the rest of the roster was pretty effective as well and those numbers should remain high in 2009-10.

 

 

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Weaknesses

 

Assists, Turnovers, and maybe Scoring. We know that Derrick Rose is growing as a player, and that his assist numbers should be on the rise. However that doesn't mean the rest of the team is off the hook. Outside of Rose, the player with the highest assists per game last season was backup point guard Kirk Hinrich with 2.9 per contest. John Salmons and Joakim Noah were the only other guys on the roster with more than 2 assists per game (each averaged 2.3apg). It doesn't help that the turnovers have been bad as well, finishing 20th in the league with 14.5 per contest.

 

Correction: Brad Miller finished the season averaging 3.3 assists per game, which was higher than Kirk Hinrich's total. But that does nothing to disprove that the Bulls need to do a better job passing the ball.

 

Some believe scoring could be an issue wit the loss of Ben Gordon, and that very well could be a concern. With BG the team scored over 102 points a game, good for eighth in the league. Without him there's no telling what will happen, but it'll take huge efforts from Rose, Salmons, Thomas, and others to make up for what they've lost in their departed leading scorer.

 

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The Coach's Chair By Mike Moreau

What Needs To Be Said On Opening Day....

 

We are building on last year's success with a terrific young core of players, some great additions, and returning veteran leadership. Having Brad and John with us in training camp are a big plus, and with the return of Luol and the continuing development of Derrick, Joakim, and Tyrus, we are excited about trying to take the next step into a contenders role. Jannero Pargo was a great signing for us, adding additional speed and scoring to our backcourt, and James and Taj give us even more depth up front. We need to be a better rebounding team, which will allow us to get out and run even more.

 

- Mike Moreau

 

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The Burning Question

 

Are the Bulls as consistently good as they appeared to be in last season's playoff series with the Boston Celtics? No one seems able to agree on whether the Bulls' incredible showing in the first round of last season's playoffs was a fortunate peak at the right time against an ideal opponent, or if this young team actually has arrived. There's no doubt that Rose is legitimately on his way, but there are about four or five players on this roster that have to transcend for the Bulls to be that team on an everyday basis. If Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and John Salmons can come into their own, the Bulls can probably finish with a 4 or 5 seed. If not, it's possible they could even miss the playoffs entirely. Their fate is in their own hands, but nobody has any idea yet what exactly that fate will be.

[ZoomSlowik]

That's pretty iffy calling defense and rebounding strengths given what the Bulls did last year. Sure, Tyrus and Noah block shots, but they also allow plenty of offensive rebounds and let a number of pretty average big men have a big impact (ie Big Baby in the playoffs).

[Steve9347]

That's pretty iffy calling defense and rebounding strengths given what the Bulls did last year. Sure, Tyrus and Noah block shots, but they also allow plenty of offensive rebounds and let a number of pretty average big men have a big impact (ie Big Baby in the playoffs).

This.

[southsider2k5]

That's pretty iffy calling defense and rebounding strengths given what the Bulls did last year. Sure, Tyrus and Noah block shots, but they also allow plenty of offensive rebounds and let a number of pretty average big men have a big impact (ie Big Baby in the playoffs).

 

I really could see the Bulls missing the playoffs without the scoring of Ben Gordon to save them at times.

[ThunderBolt]

I think the Bulls will do fine. I'm sure they'll tread water a bit without Gordon, but i can see them being competitive behind Rose, Salmons and Deng.

[ZoomSlowik]

I really could see the Bulls missing the playoffs without the scoring of Ben Gordon to save them at times.

 

I expect them to be a lot like last year: some nights they'll look like world-beaters and pull out wins against teams like Boston and Cleveland while other nights they'll look like a clueless lottery team that losses to teams like Charlotte and Sacramento. That's the problem with their roster, several of their guys have inconsistent effort levels and their offense is inconsistent because they have no interior scoring.

 

They have a budding star in Rose and some clearly talented players, so I think they'll make the playoffs barring injury. However, I don't think they'll be good or consistent enough to be more than about a 6-seed and a first round out unless we see some significant improvements from their trio of young guys.

[Balta1701]

I think the Bulls will do fine. I'm sure they'll tread water a bit without Gordon, but i can see them being competitive behind Rose, Salmons and Deng.

The Bulls this season will go as far as Tyrus and Deng can take them. Salmons I expect to be solid but not great and to improve our defense in the backcourt. Rose should take a solid step forward at the least, hopefully adding to his jump shot game, getting to the line more, and no longer being a sieve on defense. Noah will hopefully keep improving on both O and D, hopefully such that he isn't getting outmuscled as much by guys in the post or on rebounds. That assumes he's hit the weight room this summer.

 

Tyrus and Deng though...I really have no idea what to expect from them. If we get the Deng we should have had 2 years ago...the 20 PPG, 8 RPG guy with the solid outside shot who can also create by driving the lane on occasion, yay. If we get the Deng from last year who stood in the corner not doing much...well. And Tyrus...well...what more can be said. If we're back in the boat where our small lineup is our default lineup...uck. How does Salmons, Hinrich, Rose, Pargo, Deng sound to you as a lineup?

[southsider2k5]

The Bulls this season will go as far as Tyrus and Deng can take them. Salmons I expect to be solid but not great and to improve our defense in the backcourt. Rose should take a solid step forward at the least, hopefully adding to his jump shot game, getting to the line more, and no longer being a sieve on defense. Noah will hopefully keep improving on both O and D, hopefully such that he isn't getting outmuscled as much by guys in the post or on rebounds. That assumes he's hit the weight room this summer.

 

Tyrus and Deng though...I really have no idea what to expect from them. If we get the Deng we should have had 2 years ago...the 20 PPG, 8 RPG guy with the solid outside shot who can also create by driving the lane on occasion, yay. If we get the Deng from last year who stood in the corner not doing much...well. And Tyrus...well...what more can be said. If we're back in the boat where our small lineup is our default lineup...uck. How does Salmons, Hinrich, Rose, Pargo, Deng sound to you as a lineup?

 

Well that and Deng has to stay healthy enough to play 75 or so games.

[Balta1701]

Well that and Deng has to stay healthy enough to play 75 or so games.

I did say standing in the corner doing nothing right? I figured that counts. He has to stand to walk to the bench in whatever suit he has that night.

[southsider2k5]

I did say standing in the corner doing nothing right? I figured that counts. He has to stand to walk to the bench in whatever suit he has that night.

 

That could have meant standing around on offense too, which was a staple of his offense on the rare occasions that he did play.

[nitetrain8601]

The Bulls this season will go as far as Tyrus and Deng can take them. Salmons I expect to be solid but not great and to improve our defense in the backcourt. Rose should take a solid step forward at the least, hopefully adding to his jump shot game, getting to the line more, and no longer being a sieve on defense. Noah will hopefully keep improving on both O and D, hopefully such that he isn't getting outmuscled as much by guys in the post or on rebounds. That assumes he's hit the weight room this summer.

 

Tyrus and Deng though...I really have no idea what to expect from them. If we get the Deng we should have had 2 years ago...the 20 PPG, 8 RPG guy with the solid outside shot who can also create by driving the lane on occasion, yay. If we get the Deng from last year who stood in the corner not doing much...well. And Tyrus...well...what more can be said. If we're back in the boat where our small lineup is our default lineup...uck. How does Salmons, Hinrich, Rose, Pargo, Deng sound to you as a lineup?

 

Deng really has no place as a SF in this offense. In a fast paced offense, you need to have at least one of two abilities if you're not playing PF or C. That would be either quickness or the ability to hit the three. He has neither. He would work great as a PF though since he can hit the 18 foot jumper. He also has a nice touch around the rim. The thing is, he never really bulked up or worked on any post moves since entering the league. In fact, he really hasn't work on anything.

 

As far as Tyrus, he wants to play SF, but same with Deng. He can't hit a 3 point jumper. His best bet would be to develop as a PF, but he doesn't want that. He's a potential game changer sort of like a rich man's Chris Anderson when on. He could maybe one day be a SF, but he needs more work. One thing I notice is when he actually took his man off the dribble from 18 feet out, he actually had good dribbles and good moves, but then when he got to the rim, he would throw up a crazy shot instead of just dunking the ball or making an easy layup. So that's what he has to work on because his moves to the rim are strong, it's just when he gets there he gets in between of throwing a powerful dunk and shooting a finesse layup.

[SoxAce]

If anyone cares, the Bulls first preseason game kicks off tonight. Good chance to take a look at the rooks and to see how much Rose and the others have improved, and hopefully see Deng look okay.

[Balta1701]

If anyone cares, the Bulls first preseason game kicks off tonight. Good chance to take a look at the rooks and to see how much Rose and the others have improved, and hopefully see Deng look okay.

Deng already skipped at least 1 practice this week. He's not 100% yet. Hopefully 1 more month does it, but I'm alreday concerned.

[Nyx81]

Taj Gibson looked pretty good.

 

I did only watch the last quarter, but I liked what I saw

 

 

[Steve9347]

I'm having a hard time getting the care up for the Bulls this year.

[kjshoe04]

I'm having a hard time getting the care up for the Bulls this year.

I'm the opposite, I've been looking forward to the Bulls since August. The Bears don't do a whole lot for me and I couldn't care less about the Blackhawks.

[Balta1701]

I'm the opposite, I've been looking forward to the Bulls since August. The Bears don't do a whole lot for me and I couldn't care less about the Blackhawks.

I'm more nervous than excited about the Bulls right now. Without Gordon...there's a real legit chance that this team could start off slowly, hit the circus trip, tune out Skiles VDN completely, and just be an abject disaster this year.

[DrunkBomber]

My mom works for American Airlines and is working the Bulls charter plane home from London. She asked me which players she should ask for autographs and I had what could have been the greatest idea of all time but couldnt go through with it because it could have gotten her in trouble. I was going to tell her to go up to Derrick Rose and tell him that he is her sons favorite player and I have been following him since he was in High School and that he even went to the college I dreamed of going to but the reason I didnt was because I didnt do as good as he did on my ACTs.

[nitetrain8601]

I'm more nervous than excited about the Bulls right now. Without Gordon...there's a real legit chance that this team could start off slowly, hit the circus trip, tune out Skiles VDN completely, and just be an abject disaster this year.

 

Agreed. Alot is going to depend on Salmons and Rose. Salmons is our most important offensive player because even with Deng was good, he wasn't an explosive scorer. Salmons can be that. Good thing is he can score in multiple ways.

[Balta1701]

Agreed. Alot is going to depend on Salmons and Rose. Salmons is our most important offensive player because even with Deng was good, he wasn't an explosive scorer. Salmons can be that. Good thing is he can score in multiple ways.

Salmons never really struck me as "Explosive" either; he struck me as fairly sound. The only explosive scorer we had was Gordon. We've lost that ability until someone like Rose or Deng shows it. The difference, we have to hope, is that we won't need as much of an explosive scoring ability if Salmons and Deng and Rose and Noah and Thomas can be a solid group on the defensive end. That requires improvement from Rose, most notably.

[BigSqwert]

PORTLAND, OR—Speaking with members of the Portland media Tuesday, veteran forward Juwan Howard announced between spoonfuls of complimentary tomato soup that he was excited to be a part of the Trail Blazers' organization, and was "proud and grateful" to wear the team's free uniform. "It's exciting to be a part of this team, but the fact that [team owner] Paul [Allen] promised me free rye bread here today was really the determining factor," said the 6-foot-9 power forward, who arrived to the press conference shirtless. "I look forward to contributing in any way I can. Hey, I'll be getting an away jersey, too, right? Gets so cold at night." Howard was the fifth player selected in the 1994 draft, and ever since has been wearing the Washington Bullets hat the team gave him that night.

 

LINK

[ThunderBolt]

James Johnson hits a buzzer beater in London. Bulls rookies looking competent.

[SoxAce]

James Johnson hits a buzzer beater in London. Bulls rookies looking competent.

 

Have we finally found our man to take the game winning shot? Even though it's preseason, James Johnson has already shown he has bigger stones than Luol Deng.

[southsider2k5]

Have we finally found our man to take the game winning shot? Even though it's preseason, James Johnson has already shown he has bigger stones than Luol Deng.

 

That really doesn't say much. Most beaches have biggest stones than Luol.

[knightni]

Did you guys hear the BBC announcers doing the game?