The East has gotten better, but the Bulls can still be the best

I've been a little bit surprised recently as I've read around the Internets about projections for next season.  All the talk seems to be about Cleveland and Detroit being the best in the East, and other teams contending like the Wizards, the Celtics now with KG, the Nets if they play well and are healthy, etc., ad nauseam.  Is it just the lack of sexy moves in the off-season for the Bulls, or do people really not believe they can become significantly better as a team next year?  People seem to see the Bulls as the "Baby" Bulls still (I name I don't like because that term referred to players who are mostly gone now) or continue to cite the now cliche "No Low-Post Presence" Argument, which really should have an acronym (NLPP) by now, or, like Rasheed Wallace, take the Bulls lightly because they are like that pesky little brother you can just slap away when they get annoying.  I have to believe that the Bulls will be better this year during the regular season, leading to a better post-season performance.  If anything, the Bulls should be better defensively this season, with more minutes for Tyrus and Thabo, better continuity with Ben Wallace in the fold for a season now, and replacing wispy Malik Allen and slow-footed PJ Brown with the younger and much more athletic Joe Smith/Joakim Noah combination.  Better defense means more easy baskets.  If the Bulls can win two or three games on the circus road trip, they will put themselves in a good position to get hot when they come back to the United Center.  I think not having that early hole to dig out of would really help the season, and, of course, if they had won only one more game last year it's conceivable they would have beaten the Pistons or Cavs and gone to the Finals.

Every year the media seems to underestimate the bulls. This is probably due to the fact that how they do the next season always depends on how much individual improvement goes on. If both Deng and Gordon keep on improving, and thomas, thabo and noah develop and skiles doesn't mess up things with rotation strategies....then the bulls should be favorites.  But thats a lot of ifs.  I think thats why a lot of "experts" understimate the bulls. A team with three sure all stars is ten times more likely to be picked to win than a team who didnt send anyone to the all star game last year(except a dissapointing grasshopper for the dunk contest) and thats because three all stars are a lot more reliable than a bunch of ifs.

That said, I could care less about superstar designations. Deng, hinrich, gordon, and wallace are all very skilled players.  Deng and Gordon get noticed more probably because they score more, but all of them bring valuable skills to the table.  You add the possible development of thomas, noah, and thabo and you likely have as you mentioned, the top team in the east. In some ways, I am glad the bulls are unpredictable because of their youth. It makes them more exciting (lots of ups and downs). Then again, in my opinion its a bit frustrating and it would be more fun at times to watch kobe dominate or Kevin Garnett control the game.

...on what this move means for the Bulls (and really, who gives a shit about any other meaning?):

http://thankyouisiah.blogspot.com/2007/07/is-three-enough.html

The key here is that Detroit and Cleveland haven't really made any significant improvements. Winning the Central will go a long way towards securing the #1 seed and advancing to the conference finals. The Bulls might not have made any mind-blowing upgrades but that continuity from last season will help them get off to a better start. I'm not ready to crown the Celtics asses just because they gutted their whole crappy team for KG. And who the hell knows if New Jersey, Washington or Miami can stay healthy enough to not get sent fishing in the first round?

Forgot to mention to start watching out for the toronto raptors.  Or should I call them the "baby raptors" cause they are going to be really good if things pan out in the next two years or so (kind of like the baby bulls situation).  Maybe the east will hold its own soon enough.

...with pretty much everything you said, Matt.  Let's break down the conference:

Atlantic Division
Toronto - Got dangerous towards the end of last season and played the Bulls very tough before ending up in a terrible playoff matchup for them.  Will be a team that has to be taken seriously, but shouldn't get more wins than the Bulls.  Bosh is a budding superstar, but the Noah/Smith acquisitions help greatly in dealing with him.

Boston - Major personnel improvements here.  But they only get so much by these moves, mainly because they still have one of the most overrated coaches in league history.  Yes, even though people are starting to wise up, I still think he's overrated.

New York - Isiah still coaching them?  I could stop right there, but...  As much as I expect a breakthrough year from Renaldo Balkman, and the fact that they have three strong players in the frontcourt, this team will be like the Westphal era Enver Nuggets on the defensive end.

New Jersey - Seems to me their window has closed, no?  They get Nenad back, but their three best players are all in the decline.  Plus, VC the year after a new contract - Bulls should have no problem with this team (put Thabo on Kidd and we'll be OK).

Philly - Iguodola is poised for a monster year, but beyond that, I'm not seeing a lot from this team.

Southeast Division
Miami - Over the hill.  Wade is one of the top three players in the league, but he can't do it by himself.  Shaq is still out of shape, even if he surrounds himself with chubby kids.  Bulls will sweep them this year.

Washington - See comments above on the Knicks.  Lots of scorers, but a weak front line and porous D means Bulls will have a better record.

Charlotte - Tons of potential here.  But not enough to contend yet.

Orlando - Did they improve?  Many don't think so, but getting rid of Darko has to have some positive impact.  Still not well coached, though.

Atlanta - Will contend with Chicago for "worst Hawks" in professional sports.

Central Division
Milwaukee - Don't sleep on the Bucks.  They have a solid roster and were decimated by injuries before going into full-on tank mode.  I think they'll be pretty good this year.  Not as good as the Bulls, of course.

Cleveland - Are they going to get better?  Are they working on anything?  Larry Hughes is still the PG, right?  With Eric Snow backing him up?  LeBron is amazing and all, but I'm not seeing a return trip to the Finals.

Indiana - A complete mess, right?  Jermaine O'Neal continues to be the most overrated superstar in the league and they've got little beyond him.  Who's coaching them now?

Detroit - Flip Saunders is a pretty good regular season coach.  We can all remember how badly he screwed up the playoffs the last two years, but that doesn't apply to this conversation, right?  The main thought here - there are a lot of miles on those Piston legs.  How will they hold up through another long season with a lousy bench?

Chicago - You've seen my tagline - I think this is the year Deng really takes off.  The team is deeper than last year - Hinrich, Gordon, Deng should all improve to some degree (hopefully lots) and Wallace should fit in better on the court.  I really felt like last year, his heart was still in Detroit.  That should change now with more history on the team.  Does he have anything left in the tank?  I think so - you see him play live and how much he frustrates opponents.  It's a thing of beauty.  Tyrus will improve greatly, right?  Thabo, too?  Noah is a major upgrade from Sweets & Malik.

So, it appears that in total, the East will be much better than last year - yes, that's not saying much.  I agree with Matt in that all the teams have flaws.  The Bulls have the least (or perhaps most manageable) flaws to contend with.  The top seed should be theirs.  This year's circus trip will be perhaps the most crucial in Barnum & Baily history...  Win at least half the games on that swing, and the Bulls should take the top seed, barring injury.

when i look at this trade i think it's a great move and that the celtics immediately become a contender.  however, viewed as a pound-for-pound matchup against the Bulls, i don't like this trade as much.  
without a doubt, the Celts are built to live or die on three players.  unfortunately for them, the youngest of these players is 30 and all of them have logged heavy miles carrying teams on their shoulders (particularly, their SG who's one sore knee away from being christened Ray Allen Houston).
After 82 games, who else can help lift this team come playoff time.  i know the company-line will be that nobody needs to pick up the slack for KG, Pierce and Allen-Houston.. ...i just disagree.  just about any championship team that I can recall had bench players make major contributions in key games.  playing the Bulls, who will undoubtedly go after the Celts by running (just like they did with the Heat), the bench will have to make a contribution.
I have to think that, defensively, the Bulls can check at least two of these three.  Hinrich better be able handle Allen (considering he's less of a threat to drive than he was 2 years ago) and Tyrus/Deng/Noce should be able to at least trouble Pierce.  If so, that puts a lot of responsibility on KG.  Granted, he's KG but we should be able to throw a lot of bodies at him on both ends of the floor and run enough that he gets gassed a few games in.
of course, this could all be overly optimistic.  but I like our team against the Celts.  Especially if Tyrus's mythical 15-foot jump shot becomes reality.

I'm not ready to crown the Celtics as "scary" and as a "contender" just yet.  They've definitely upgraded...but I want to see some things first.

This "trade in the works", as I guess I'll call it, eerily sounds similar to the Lakers fiasco of a few years ago.  When they tried to piece together an instant contender.  Anybody remember when they brought in Malone & Payton?  That was a complete disaster.  I'm not saying this will have the same result, I'd just be cautious before we label them as contenders just yet.

We have to remember that both Allen & Pierce are coming off of injury seasons.  Not only that, but both KG & Allen have to get adjusted to new cities, new teams, new coaches, new systems, new players, new conferences (style of play is important) etc.  They're going to need time to gel.

That being said, I believe, as Matt said, the Bulls ARE the team to beat in the East.  Last season's playoff standings were:

Detroit
Cleveland
Toronto
Miami
Chicago
New Jersey
Washington
Orlando

So who drops out?  Who moves up?  Who sneaks in?

As Mike said above, Detroit & Cleveland really haven't done much this offseason to upgrade themselves.  I'd maybe throw Washington in there too.  But other teams have made lots of improvements, at least on paper.  I think it's going to be a grind this season.  And if the Bulls aren't the top seed at the end, I'd be surprised.

However, Pax seems to be choosing "let's just hope our guys get better", which absolves him from having to make hard choices about which of the current players are truly capable of leading a team to a championship.  

from his chat today:

"Greg (Dundas, Ontario): How would you rank the top five teams in the East now?

 John Hollinger: Too early to say definitely since everyone's still shopping, but off the top of my head, with no numbers to back me up other than my intuition, I'll say Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, Toronto."

meh... I'll buy that the first four are compete for homecourt in the last month of the regular season...