ESPN Weekly Power Rankings

[panthermark]

I can't complain with #9 overall. This team is in the 48-50 win range and maybe the 2nd round if things play-out well. If this team stays healthy, and makes a small upgrade at PF, I think they can be a dark horse ECF team. The biggest issue being experience and chemistry.

[Lunartic]

Utah is a paper tiger as always

[MrSparkle]

Just to emphasize how much better the Bulls are this year (or at least how much more exciting it is to be a Bulls fan):

This season 6 games to 5 wins.
2020-2021... 13 games to reach 5 wins.
2019-2020... 15 games to 5 wins.
2018-2019... 18 games to 5 wins.
2017-2018... 25 games to 5 wins.
2016-2017... 9 games to 5 wins (with Butler/Wade/Rondo... the "retool, not rebuild" year).

Granted, there are some schedule wins this year, but I think regardless of that, we can say that we are AT LEAST as good as the retool year, and the eye test says we're significantly better than that.

Yeah. Main problem with the retool year was the horrible bench that brought virtually nothing to the game. Just pick-your-poison, basically. Then the shooting combination of the starting 5 — sheesh. Running Hoiball with exactly zero 3P shooters on the floor (kind of funny thinking back to it- what a horrible plan). Atleast they could’ve just moved Taj preemptively for a better return, avoided bringing in RoLo, and just played Niko/Bobby for some spacing.

This team would smoke them. Jimmy would throw a tantrum having to carry Bulls carcass.

[meekrab]

Just to emphasize how much better the Bulls are this year (or at least how much more exciting it is to be a Bulls fan):

This season 6 games to 5 wins.
2020-2021... 13 games to reach 5 wins.
2019-2020... 15 games to 5 wins.
2018-2019... 18 games to 5 wins.
2017-2018... 25 games to 5 wins.
2016-2017... 9 games to 5 wins (with Butler/Wade/Rondo... the "retool, not rebuild" year).

Granted, there are some schedule wins this year, but I think regardless of that, we can say that we are AT LEAST as good as the retool year, and the eye test says we're significantly better than that.

Yeah. Main problem with the retool year was the horrible bench that brought virtually nothing to the game. Just pick-your-poison, basically. Then the shooting combination of the starting 5 — sheesh. Running Hoiball with exactly zero 3P shooters on the floor (kind of funny thinking back to it- what a horrible plan). Atleast they could’ve just moved Taj preemptively for a better return, avoided bringing in RoLo, and just played Niko/Bobby for some spacing.

This team would smoke them. Jimmy would throw a tantrum having to carry Bulls carcass.

Yeah that "retool" team was obviously terrible to anyone with a clue about how basketball works. Outside of Wade and Jimmy shooting free throws there was exactly zero scoring.

[uppantera]

I love John Schuhmann's rankings. It's the only one I've seen that's really reactive to what we've seen on the court over the first 5 games (ignoring the preseason hype and what may or may not happen when guys like Kyrie or Ben Simmons come back)

1) Heat 2) Jazz 3) GSW 4) NYK 5) Chicago

https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-3

[coldfish]

Bulls are 3rd in SRS.

1. Heat
2. Jazz
3. Bulls
4. Knicks
5. Sixers

By the end of the week, Chicago will have played 4 games against the other 4 top 5 teams.

Oh, and screw it, I'm just going to say it. The Bulls are good. Their defense is legit and will probably finish top 5. The new rules really favor the Bulls on both sides of the court because they have no floppers. At some point, Vuc is going to stop shooting the worst in his career. Bradley is going to make a difference.

I don't know how many games the team will win because the league is extremely competitive but I would be outright surprised if the team didn't finish with a top 8 record if healthy.

[r1terrell23]

Just to emphasize how much better the Bulls are this year (or at least how much more exciting it is to be a Bulls fan):

This season 6 games to 5 wins.
2020-2021... 13 games to reach 5 wins.
2019-2020... 15 games to 5 wins.
2018-2019... 18 games to 5 wins.
2017-2018... 25 games to 5 wins.
2016-2017... 9 games to 5 wins (with Butler/Wade/Rondo... the "retool, not rebuild" year).

Granted, there are some schedule wins this year, but I think regardless of that, we can say that we are AT LEAST as good as the retool year, and the eye test says we're significantly better than that.

Retool team also started 3-0 lol.

[FriedRise]

Read on Twitter

[Jvaughn]

Didn't want to make a new thread, but BR dropped their new power ranking and has us up to #2 behind the Warriors. Tonight should be a real test.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2950352-nba-power-rankings-stephen-curry-and-the-warriors-are-officially-back

Previous Rank: 5

Record: 8-3

Net Rating: +7.2

Most figured the Chicago Bulls would have little trouble scoring this season, but some kind of an adjustment period would’ve been understandable. With two ball-dominant All-Stars in Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic already on the roster, adding DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball could’ve been tricky.

But instead of fighting over opportunities, the combination of these four players seems to have elicited the passing abilities of each as much as anything else. Ball, Vucevic, LaVine and DeRozan are first through fourth on the team in assists, with averages ranging from 4.5 to 3.8.

With the ball moving around and all three levels of scoring covered, Chicago is already boasting a top-10 offense.

Title Odds: +3500

[MrSparkle]

Read on Twitter

What is this an April Fool's chart?

Bizarro everything. Last year's final four all mediocre or negative. Thibs Knicks and Simmons/Harris-less Sixers peaking in offense but average defensive metric? Jokic and Luka's teams below average offense and strong defense?

I'm sure there's stat skew but it's on par with what's happening. Knicks and Sixers have been shooting lights out from the arc on high volume, and there still isn't a more efficient shot in basketball.

Good (for us) to see Kemba slowing down really hard after a blistering start first week of Oct. I'm certain we win next time, when he DOESN'T shoot 5-6 from the arc plus 3FTAs.

[jsleesl28]

I dont get why the knicks are high up on these lists.

Its true that they have high floor due to the fact that thibs is win every game approach, but their ceiling is like 6 inches from the floor.

Randle can create his own shot, but he aint Kevin Durant. and other guys are just role players.

Dont get why so many people are high on them.

[MrSparkle]

I dont get why the knicks are high up on these lists.

Its true that they have high floor due to the fact that thibs is win every game approach, but their ceiling is like 6 inches from the floor.

Randle can create his own shot, but he aint Kevin Durant. and other guys are just role players.

Dont get why so many people are high on them.

Yeah. I’ll be damned if Fournier kills anybody for 4 playoff games. And Kemba/Rose, naturally wouldn’t want to bet against their talents, but injuries are real and we know they probably can’t hold up for 4 games either. The squad is pretty nice and if everything goes perfectly well they can go far. In the meantime I think they were just well-prepared to hit this season running. I can’t imagine their 3P% stays as strong by Jan.

[Michael Jackson]

I dont get why the knicks are high up on these lists.

Its true that they have high floor due to the fact that thibs is win every game approach, but their ceiling is like 6 inches from the floor.

Randle can create his own shot, but he aint Kevin Durant. and other guys are just role players.

Dont get why so many people are high on them.

I like the Knicks... don't love them so I don't get it. That being said no team has really pulled away from the pack early in the season to say they are better than the Knicks yet. I doubt they will be ranked as well around the ASB.

[kodo]

I'd say the biggest surprises:

1. WAS & CHI leading the EC
2. CLE & MIA having the same record
3. The Knicks, not their 7th place record, but the fact that they flipped 180 from a top 3 defense into a bottom 3 defense and from a bottom offense to a top 5 offense. And they pretty much just jack up 3s like it's a team coached by JR Smith with Nick Young as the head assistant
4. Boston being a bottom 5 EC team

Most of the WC isn't surprising. GS may be a bit higher than expected, but they've had the easiest schedule in the league.

[Mbrahv0528]

I'd say the biggest surprises:

1. WAS & CHI leading the EC
2. CLE & MIA having the same record
3. The Knicks, not their 7th place record, but the fact that they flipped 180 from a top 3 defense into a bottom 3 defense and from a bottom offense to a top 5 offense. And they pretty much just jack up 3s like it's a team coached by JR Smith with Nick Young as the head assistant
4. Boston being a bottom 5 EC team

Most of the WC isn't surprising. GS may be a bit higher than expected, but they've had the easiest schedule in the league.

Misread lol.

Sent from my SM-F707U using RealGM mobile app

[ImSlower]

I truly hope the East has like 10 teams within 5 or 6 games of each other come late regular season.

[FriedRise]

Bulls #7 on ESPN this week:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/powerrankings-32629893/nba-power-rankings-week-5-golden-state-warriors-comeback-complete-plus-our-new-1-30-breakdown

[HoopsterJones]

Bulls #7 on ESPN this week:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/powerrankings-32629893/nba-power-rankings-week-5-golden-state-warriors-comeback-complete-plus-our-new-1-30-breakdown

They have the Wizards ranked at #4. They have definitely been a surprise team so far.

[FriedRise]

We're moving up fast!

#2 on nba.com (+7)
https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2021-22-week-5

Record: 9-4
Pace: 99.3 (15) OffRtg: 108.4 (13) DefRtg: 103.4 (5) NetRtg: +5.0 (6)

The Bulls’ loss at Golden State on Friday was their first that wasn’t within five points in the last five minutes. They were playing without Nikola Vucevic (health and safety protocols) for the first time, they got blitzed in the third quarter by the best third-quarter team in the league, and they got no offense beyond that of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. But the good outweighed the bad in a 3-1 week, with a big win over Brooklyn and road victory over the Clippers being the highlights.

DeRozan has taken 19 more mid-range shots than any other player in the league, but both he and LaVine attacked Blake Griffin early and often in the pick-and-roll on Monday, scoring 25 of their 52 points in the restricted area (14) or at the free throw line. Though there’s been some improvement in the last few games, the offense hasn’t been great (104.6 points scored per 100 possessions) with both scorers on the floor. It’s actually been at its best (114.5 per 100) with LaVine off the floor and DeRozan carrying a usage rate of 36%.

With Vucevic out and Tony Bradley totaling just 37 minutes in his two starts, the Bulls have been forced into some small ball. So games against Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic this week could provide a challenge for a defense that hasn’t been great in regard to protecting the rim.

[Chi town]

These national talking heads don't know the game. Some are way too much analytics and some are way too much last season predictor.

We are good and people are starting to admit it.