2009-10 NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls

2008-09 Record: 41-41

Anticipated Starting Five

PG- Derrick Rose
SG- John Salmons
SF- Luol Deng
PF- Tyrus Thomas
C-   Joakim Noah

Key Reserves: Brad Miller, Kirk Hinrich, James Johnson, Jannero Pargo, Aaron Gray

Biggest Strength: That guy in the picture above

Rose is and will be the catalyst for this franchise for a long time.  He impressed me immensely.  Right now his impact is almost all offensive.  He can score, pass and just cause havoc getting by defenders and into the lane.  With Ben Gordon gone and a year of experience under his belt I fully expect his usage to go up as a result.

If he improves I think the Bulls improve (slightly) even with the lose of Ben (who we really like on this blog).

Biggest Weakness: Who makes threes now?

Ben Gordon is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in the NBA and will go down as one of the best in NBA history when his career is over.  You can’t really replace that.  But what about Tim Thomas, Larry Hughes and Andres Nocioni?  All where above average three-point shooters last season.  Along with Gordon, Hinrich and a career year shooting the trey ball from Salmons the Bulls were the 6th best three-point shooting team in the NBA last season.  And Derrick Rose was the catalsts with his playmaking ability.

Who does he kick out to now? Deng doesn’t attempt many nor does he shoot them well when he does.  Expecting Salmon’s to shoot +40% again goes against the volume data points of his career average – which is he average.  Pargo is average.  So the only one left to kick to is Hinrich.  Something to keep an eye on.

I’d be remiss not to note defensive rebounding was a killer for Chicago last season as well (28th).  They will need to finish off defensive possessions in order to win this season without the fire power of Ben Gordon at the other end.

Key Player: Luol Deng

Pete and I agree on this one.  Deng is the wild card.  He needs to replace Ben Gordon on offense and help out Derrick Rose as his wing man.  If he gets hurt again or flat out sucks Chicago easily misses the playoffs after a great run at the Celtics last year.

Biggest Question: Are they lurking in 2010?

Most of the talk about the ridiculous 2010 free agent class has been about the Knicks, Nets, Heat and where LeBron will land, but one team that isn’t talked about all that much is the Bulls. They could be anywhere from $13 million to $20 million under that cap, and with a bunch of young talent, they might be enticing for someone like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire to come in and join forces with Rose. A core of Rose, Bosh and Deng along with quality young players like Noah and Thomas, could make the Bulls an immediate force in the East.

Best Individual Season of All-Time: Michael Jordan, 1988-89

32.5 ppg, 8.0 apg, 8.0 rpg, 2.9 spg, 53.5% FG%

Obviously this would be a Jordan season, but the question was which one. This might not have been a year the Bulls won the title, but statistically speaking, it was Jordan’s best. He had career highs in both rebounds and assists, while sporting his 5th best PPG and 2nd best shooting %.

Pete’s 2010 Outlook: 3rd place, Central division /  9th place, Eastern conference /  18th place, NBA

One the toughest decisions I had was how the bottom of East would end up and the final decision came down to the 8th seed and Chicago and Detroit. I think that the Bulls fall just short of the playoffs because they lost Ben Gordon and didn’t really replace him with anything. If John Salmons is really going to be their 4th quarter guy, I just don’t think it’s going to work. One wild card though is how Luol Deng plays. After averaging 19 and 7 while shooting 51.7% as a 21 year old in 2006-07, he has been hurt and regressed each of that last 2 years. If he can get back to form, they could sneak in.

Dannie’s 2010 Outlook: 2nd place, Central division /  8th place, Eastern conference /  16th place, NBA

I have Chicago making the playoffs because Derrick Rose impressed me soo much last year.  He is a leader and his college game translated to production much faster than I anticipated it too.  He will be much better this season, that’s just the type of worker he is.  Although they lost Gordon, they get back Deng who can be a very efficient offensive player and help on the defensive glass from the SF position.  James Johnson and Taj Gibson their rookie forwards have played well in the preseason thus far as well and should provide some depth and energy in the front court.

Chicago has enough talent and I think their youth and energy will carry them into the playoffs.  Plus I am not sold on Detroit or Toronto right now.

See all 2010 NBA team previews

October 12, 2009