What are your expectations for the Bulls?

[Nyce_1]

a team with 3 dogs and some decent bigs. Everyone says shooting will be a problem but rondo/wade/jimmy will figure it out. 2nd round playoffs.

a lot depends on wade's health.

[evilpimp972]

How is their lack of spacing any different than prior years when they were the #1 seed or a 50-win+ team?

2011 Bulls
Rose/Bogans/Deng/Boozer/Noah
Who is their floor spacer there? Bogans was garbage, Rose still couldnt shoot, and Deng was decent from 3

2015 Bulls
Rose/Butler/Dunleavy/Gasol/Noah
So just Dunleavy, but we will have Mirotic in the line up this year.

I think people are underestimating this team - We have 3 legit playmakers in the starting line up and will stagger lineups to incorporate shooting. Im excited to watch Butler and Lebron battle it out, while Wade gets to have his way with JR Smith or Kyrie.

2nd seed, ECF.

Just forgetting that they had an elite defense, above everyone else (with Thibs) is just a mistake by a Chicago fan
The same way Boston with KG, Allen, Pierce won, with elite defense.
Now if you tell me that they will have an elite D this year, I can believe they will dominate.

[evilpimp972]

Sometimes I think the only skills that matter in the NBA are three point shooting and shot blocking.

I think they'll be pretty good, maybe a decent shot at home court in the first round.

Not it is the only thing that matters, but any team with Rondo at the point needs 3pt shooting to have a consistent offense, that's all.

[jptremblay]

Bigs without post presente like, only Gibson has it and he's probably gone...Mirotic is still looking to be consistent thought he can give good minutes to them...but then that backcourt....
Sorry, but a Wade-Rondo - Butler perimeter is probably the worst fit in NBA recent years...
- Butler wants to be a Lebron type point - forward...and what the Bulls FO do? Pair him with another ball dominant player who is a bad shooter that is useless without the ball. (RONDO).
- So what is the next move? Obviously, sign another ball dominant player who can't space the floor who plays similar to Butler and that probably wants to take something like 20 shots per night...(WADE)
- So well, those moves could have some logic if Butler was a reliable 3 point shooter, which he isn't...
- And to finish one of the worst fits in NBA recent years...add all those pieces who take a lot off ISOs and use to get to the post to a Head Coach that wants to run the floor with a lot of ball movement...
So congrats to the Bulls management, for making a worse team year after year.
And another important thing that may happen...is that while having not any realistic chance to go far in PO...they also have fierce competitors like JB, Wade, Rondo...that would prevent them to go in to the lottery.
So they're basically the definition of a treadmill team.

[Ugly0598]

How is their lack of spacing any different than prior years when they were the #1 seed or a 50-win+ team?

2011 Bulls
Rose/Bogans/Deng/Boozer/Noah
Who is their floor spacer there? Bogans was garbage, Rose still couldnt shoot, and Deng was decent from 3

Bogans only played like 18-20 minutes a game and Kyle Korver was coming off the bench.

I expect a 6-7 seed and possible upset.

[pelifan]

If what the Bulls are doing works we can get rid of the idea that non shooters can't space the floor. Hoping it does.

[NBAfan3024]

Need more shooters

Got nobody in that 5 who can spread the floor

[guille_4]

Few things people are missing looking at the Bulls. While the talk is of how washed up Wade and Rondo is, got to remember, Rose was statistically one of the worst PGs in the league last year impact wise, while Rondo was about average.

Wade is effectively replacing a Tony Snell level starter. Dunleavy missed most of the season and when he did play, was a shell of himself.

Noah also missed the majority of the season, so Lopez will be an upgrade.

It's actually the first year in like 5 seasons, going back to before Keith Bogans, the Bulls won't have a real big hole in the starting lineup on the wing.

Hoiberg would also expect to get a little better as a 2nd year coach.

So unless the Bulls have 200+ missed games to injury again, there is no reason they shouldn't have a better record and make the playoffs, with the upside ceiling actually being in the upper half of the seeding.

I'd also expect a few wins to be found just in better chemistry and less locker room drama. While the fit on the floor is troublesome without much shooting, its not like Rose and Butler ever worked well either. And in this case, Butler actually recruited Rondo, and both of them then recruited Wade. So these 3 guys DID choose to play together, and thus have a responsibility to try and make it work, even if their skills are conflicting, whereas last year the stars were not trying to make it work, and were at odds (Noah and Butler didn't get along either).

Any reason to leave out Pau Gasol of your argument? Robin Lopez essentially replaces Pau.

[Sofia]

6th seed.

Eliminated like every other year, an early round 6 or 7 game series in that no one wants to watch.

[RSP83]

Sad to see 2 of my fave Bulls, Rose and Noah, go. But the Bulls need a new identity. Only Taj and Butler is left from that MVP Rose/no. 1 seed years, which means majority are new guys and new identity will kick in. Butler will remain as one of the voice in the locker room, but now Wade and Rondo will join him, instant respect. Certainly better than Rose (who is known to be quiet and passive, but continuously saying crazy things to the media), and Noah (who I think lost the team a little bit due to his injuries and Butler's emergence). Gasol also wasn't much of locker room leader to my knowledge.

I think just by adding 2 leaders like Wade and Rondo, it will improve the team, at least I'd put Bulls' floor higher than last season's. But not necessarily higher ceiling. The Bulls were disfunctional the last 2 seasons, and lack of leadership was one of their biggest problem. I never thought I'd say this but I believe they've fixed that by moving on from Rose, Noah, and Gasol, and bringing in Wade and Rondo.

I think in a way this is addition by subtraction (people are questioning Wade's durability and Rondo's sanity right?). At least the pecking order becomes clearer now. Wade is the wise man, Butler is following his lead and learning how to be the man, Rondo is another vet who still has a lot to offer. Wade and Rondo are going to hold everybody accountable on the court. That role have been missing from this team. The young guys are really going to benefit from this.

I think the Bulls make the playoff as 6-8 seed. I think advancing to the 2nd round is definitely within their capability. Most importantly, the Bulls should be fun to watch again, last year was very frustrating.

[bulliedog8]

9-11 seed. Cant see them being worst than the nets 76ers and heat. They will fight the wizards for the 10-11 seed IMO

[bulliedog8]

Few things people are missing looking at the Bulls. While the talk is of how washed up Wade and Rondo is, got to remember, Rose was statistically one of the worst PGs in the league last year impact wise, while Rondo was about average.

Wade is effectively replacing a Tony Snell level starter. Dunleavy missed most of the season and when he did play, was a shell of himself.

Noah also missed the majority of the season, so Lopez will be an upgrade.

It's actually the first year in like 5 seasons, going back to before Keith Bogans, the Bulls won't have a real big hole in the starting lineup on the wing.

Hoiberg would also expect to get a little better as a 2nd year coach.

So unless the Bulls have 200+ missed games to injury again, there is no reason they shouldn't have a better record and make the playoffs, with the upside ceiling actually being in the upper half of the seeding.

I'd also expect a few wins to be found just in better chemistry and less locker room drama. While the fit on the floor is troublesome without much shooting, its not like Rose and Butler ever worked well either. And in this case, Butler actually recruited Rondo, and both of them then recruited Wade. So these 3 guys DID choose to play together, and thus have a responsibility to try and make it work, even if their skills are conflicting, whereas last year the stars were not trying to make it work, and were at odds (Noah and Butler didn't get along either).

Any reason to leave out Pau Gasol of your argument? Robin Lopez essentially replaces Pau.

To be honest, that is the biggest reason the Bulls might actually be better this year. Pau was atrocious. Him leaving could add like 10 wins and make the team a 50+ win team.

Spurs will drop to a 45 win team next year because of losing not only duncan, but also Boban, and Diaw, while adding Pau. Spurs will be a first round exit this year.

[Cliff Levingston]

What the 3 perimeter players are lacking in shooting, they excel at in breaking down guys off the dribble and collapsing defenses. Cliff Levingston would rather have too much of the latter than too much of the former, if there's a choice. We've also got some good shooters to mix in off the bench, so a quick hook for a guy like Wade in the 1st quarter in place of McDermott or Valentine balances the lineup nicely. Then Wade can come in when Butler and/or Rondo sit to key the offense that way.

As said, the Bulls were basically all hurt last year. It's no different now; if they can be healthy they'll be a solid team, there with a bunch of other teams that are hoping to compete for second in the East.

[JoseRizal]

As a basketball fan in general, I'm just curious to know how this team would be able to score against a zone.

[Rerisen]

Any reason to leave out Pau Gasol of your argument? Robin Lopez essentially replaces Pau.

Pau doesn't have a one to one replacement, but doesn't need one. Last year because of Noah's missed games, the team usually started Pau and Gibson up front. As a starting combo, I think you'd rather have your defensive guy at center (Lopez replaces Taj's defense) and your offensive guy at the 4 with Mirotic, who I do believe can replace Pau on offense, and even perhaps do the team better with being a stretch 4.

By last year, Pau's isolation game was essentially non-existent, and he no longer drew doubles. So all he was providing offensively was league average efficiency volume, created by someone else for him, mostly mid-range jumpshots.

He deceptively padded defensive rebounds by standing under the rim, while the team's Reb% was better for 2 straight years with him on the bench. And he was one of the worst defenders in the league at guarding PnR, that absolutely compromised the Bulls defense and went a long way to reversing the tough defensive mentality established under Thibs.

So long as Mirotic can shoot the 3 well this year, and Wade doesn't get hurt, Pau's average volume scoring will not be missed much I believe.

[guille_4]

Any reason to leave out Pau Gasol of your argument? Robin Lopez essentially replaces Pau.

Pau doesn't have a one to one replacement, but doesn't need one. Last year because of Noah's missed games, the team usually started Pau and Gibson up front. As a starting combo, I think you'd rather have your defensive guy at center (Lopez replaces Taj's defense) and your offensive guy at the 4 with Mirotic, who I do believe can replace Pau on offense, and even perhaps do the team better with being a stretch 4.

By last year, Pau's isolation game was essentially non-existent, and he no longer drew doubles. So all he was providing offensively was league average efficiency volume, created by someone else for him, mostly mid-range jumpshots.

He deceptively padded defensive rebounds by standing under the rim, while the team's Reb% was better for 2 straight years with him on the bench. And he was one of the worst defenders in the league at guarding PnR, that absolutely compromised the Bulls defense and went a long way to reversing the tough defensive mentality established under Thibs.

So long as Mirotic can shoot the 3 well this year, and Wade doesn't get hurt, Pau's average volume scoring will not be missed much I believe.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2016/on-off/

I'd like to know the full story because his on/off statistics would say otherwise (unless I'm misunderstanding On/Off statistics, I'm no expert!):

Offense with Pau: 105.2
Offense without Pau: 104.5

Opponent offense with Pau: 106
Opponent offense without Pau: 107.3

With Pau on the game the Bulls where 0.7 better on offense and 1.3 points better on defense.

[Leslie Forman]

The Bulls are a pretty deep team. Here's how their depth chart currently projects:

C.Lopez/Gibson/Felicio
PF.Mirotic/Portis
SF.Butler/McDermott/Zipser
SG.Wade/Valentine/Snell
PG.Rondo/Canaan/Grant/Dinwiddie

As you can see, this is a very deep team. There are some spacing issues here in the starting lineup, but we have quite a few shooters off the bench. I think we'll combat the issues in the starting lineup by staggering our lineups. Wade will get subbed out early for McDermott, and then will come back with the bench unit surrounded by shooters like McDermott, Canaan, and even Portis. I think it'll work, and this is clearly a playoff team to me.

You realize this bench is actually kinda garbage, no?

Just putting a bunch of random names and saying it's "depth" doesn't actually make them good. The backup PG/SG/SF situation is absolutely atrocious. Even if Valentine is good for a rookie, he's not actually going to be good for an NBA player. Rookies almost universally stink. Even most of the "good" ones.

[HomoSapien]

The Bulls are a pretty deep team. Here's how their depth chart currently projects:

C.Lopez/Gibson/Felicio
PF.Mirotic/Portis
SF.Butler/McDermott/Zipser
SG.Wade/Valentine/Snell
PG.Rondo/Canaan/Grant/Dinwiddie

As you can see, this is a very deep team. There are some spacing issues here in the starting lineup, but we have quite a few shooters off the bench. I think we'll combat the issues in the starting lineup by staggering our lineups. Wade will get subbed out early for McDermott, and then will come back with the bench unit surrounded by shooters like McDermott, Canaan, and even Portis. I think it'll work, and this is clearly a playoff team to me.

You realize this bench is actually kinda garbage, no?

Just putting a bunch of random names and saying it's "depth" doesn't actually make them good. The backup PG/SG/SF situation is absolutely atrocious. Even if Valentine is good for a rookie, he's not actually going to be good for an NBA player. Rookies almost universally stink. Even most of the "good" ones.

You're right, a lot does hinge on Valentine, who I feel pretty confident about, but I strongly disagree with it being garbage. Gibson, Portis, and Felicio are all very good bench big men. McDermott's young and improving, and managed to be one of the best three-point shooters in the entire league last season. Canaan's not going to play a ton of minutes, but has shown the ability to light it up. Grant and Dinwiddie bring size/length to the PG spot.

[Clint Eastwood]

The Bulls are a pretty deep team. Here's how their depth chart currently projects:

C.Lopez/Gibson/Felicio
PF.Mirotic/Portis
SF.Butler/McDermott/Zipser
SG.Wade/Valentine/Snell
PG.Rondo/Canaan/Grant/Dinwiddie

As you can see, this is a very deep team. There are some spacing issues here in the starting lineup, but we have quite a few shooters off the bench. I think we'll combat the issues in the starting lineup by staggering our lineups. Wade will get subbed out early for McDermott, and then will come back with the bench unit surrounded by shooters like McDermott, Canaan, and even Portis. I think it'll work, and this is clearly a playoff team to me.

You realize this bench is actually kinda garbage, no?

Just putting a bunch of random names and saying it's "depth" doesn't actually make them good. The backup PG/SG/SF situation is absolutely atrocious. Even if Valentine is good for a rookie, he's not actually going to be good for an NBA player. Rookies almost universally stink. Even most of the "good" ones.

Gotta disagree here. Taj, Portis and Felicia make for a very solid front court bench of defensive rebounding bigs who can put the ball in the basket (unlike a guy like Noah). McDermott is one of the best shooters in the NBA, and I expect improvement this year for him. Valentine will have his ups and downs, but I would expect him to be one of the types of rookies who actually contributes due to his 4 years of college experience. Grant showed promise as a starter in last 6 games last year. Dinwiddie has size at the position. Canaan has started games and is your microwave 3 point shooter when team needs a jolt.

Add in that the Bulls will always have one of Wade, rondo or jimmy in there at any one time (I wouldn't think they ever sub out together) and yes, I think this bench might be one of the better benches in the league.

I'm in Vegas now, and I'm going to the game tonight. After the game I'm going to bet on the bulls to win the division this year!!!!

[warmonger]

I think a 6-8 seed , first round exit is their ceiling, but a definite first round exit. I think health, chemistry, leadership, and most importantly, shooting will be their greatest challenges.