A while ago there was a post about why we (we being the members of this blog) were Bulls fans. The most accepted answer ended up being Geography...but the truth is that was never the reason any of us are bulls fans...not really.

The atmosphere on this site  has been completely cynical, enough so that posters are whining about posters whining. But theres also something else that I've noticed about this website recently...theres been alot of activity on the site lately...

Why is that? Why are there more people posting more things on this site this offseason, as opposed to any of the other offseasons in the past? If the team is doing so bad, if the team is growing worse day by day, with no light at the end of the tunnel, then why do people persist on posting? Doesnt it simply make sense to just stop posting, stop paying attention, divert attention to your second best team, follow your favorite player (ben gordon fans) or favorite superstar? Its not like non of that is possible what with the ability to stream or download games, and its the offseason....only die hards follow their teams or players in the offseason. So then the question comes again, why are we fans....no....die hard fans....of this poorly run, cheap, emotionally attached team? The answer: This horrid thing called hope....

Whether this community will admit it or not, we all have high hopes for this team, even in its current state. Blame John Paxson (oh wait...we pretty much do) for showing us that even a crappy team with no real star and less talent can fight and claw with the best of them. We all know though, we arent a less talented team without a real star. This team even in its current state, is just as good as the 2006 team.

Or so i believe...

And i wish for you to believe...

I agree that losing ben gordon hurts this team a lot offensively. I wasn't a huge fan of ben gordon, but I understood what he brought to this team...he was a game changer. He could single handedly bring back a team on brink of death, he was the only one who could step on another teams throat (or rather stab them through the heart with a 3 pt Dagger) but that doesnt mean this team joins the lottery automatically.

Its called a leap of faith...and i am free falling...

There are so many what ifs, who can accurately predict anything? Statistics are a great way to predict the future but somtimes there are things that stats dont predict. A player like John Salmons couldnt shoot for anything a few years ago, and suddenly  he is having his best shooting season out of nowhere. Is that an outlier, a fluke, some statistical noise prevented it from being predicted? Whatever is the cause of his sudden offensive outburst, i believe in it.

Lets consider the bulls roster in its current state:

First lets talk about Kirk Hinrich. Its no secret that I am a huge Hinrich fan. As a Hinrich fan ive realized that theres nothing i want more than for Hinrich to go to Portland. He will instantly become a star there (I think he already sort of is) and helps that team go over that huge per. defensive hurdle that existed last season and make them a contender. As a bulls fan I am indifferent about Hinrich's fate. Whether he stays or not i dont think truly has that much hold on the bulls fate. As a Hinrich fan i believe that kirk hinrich is probably working heavily on his jumper, though he will never hit ben gordon like ability to shoot the ball, having a much more consistant jumper (he shot 43% this year on pretty much all jumpshots, which isnt horrible) is definetly possible since in his best season he shot close to 45%. His defense may not be spectacular 1on1 but Hinrich definetly helps the team defensive scheme mainly because he can pick up most switches on the per which allows the interior defense more ability to stay in tact, with tyrus and noah showing great ability on defensive end  last year i can see hinrichs involvement on defense to truly help the team defensive scheme a great deal more than it did last year (more because of the return of deng and noah and tyrus having more of a handle on team defense). As a bulls fan, i am hoping hinrich plays well, even if not up to extent of what i wrote above, because i want portland or other teams intrested in him to be EVEN MORE intrested, thus allowing us to get something more than just instant cap relief (rudy?)

Then there is public enemy number 2, Luol Deng. Just two years ago luol deng was being considered by many experts as one of the best small forwards in the game. A guy who really brought back the art of the midrange game, and was heralded for his ability to move without the ball. This year Luol Deng was bothered by nagging injuries (which the doctors told him to play through?) and an unfamiliar play scheme by a rookie coach that seemed to have no room for the sf. Luol Dengs game took a hit, however recently i was watching some of the games from earlier this season, Against toronto and cleavland, and i was reminded that luol deng really is a good player. I dont think anyone thinks that 2006 was a fluke for luol, but more the question was could he stay healthy. I think with the addition of john salmons the bulls were able to put Luol deng on a true healing process (damn that word) which will bring him back 100% next season. With so much time to heal, work on his jumper, and learn how to get his shots off in vinny's system (if such a thing exists) luol should be back in true form. If that becomes the case, luol (for at least 3 quarters) can supply alot of the offense and attention ben gordon did.

Derrick Rose is a stud, but can anyone tell me what his ability is going to be next season. his ability to slash to the rim is amazing, how many times did we believe he got fouled when he didnt. Getting to the free throw line is one of the ways the greats scored so many points, take Dwayne wade as an example. Wade led the heat during the 05 championship by living at the line. Although D. Rose may not have the complete arsenal that wade now does, he does have that same tenacity that wade (and also jordan) had, which was going at the defense. Again, its hard to tell how much rose will improve next year, but with gordon gone, i fully expect rose to try to take over on the offensive end, and i dont think thats as large a leap of faith as my thoughts on hinrich are.

The bulls bigs have the second most ammount of potential on this entire bulls team. Both tyrus and noah showed huge strides from the season before, more apparent from noah. Tyrus seems to be putting things together, and with all the talk about the bulls needing a pf (or drafting TWO) thomas should (if he has any desire of returning to the bulls) have his most focused season yet. Especially with Noah finally getting a taste of what winning in chicago feels like, i am sure tyrus can finally find some allys to help him grow more focus going into the next season. Both tyrus and noah have shown great ability in terms of hustle and defense, and the two of them together and focused, thats one strong defensive front court and a great rebounding one to boot!

With my expectations for the rest of the team to be fairly similar to what they produced this past season (for the rookies, anything they contribute is a plus) i dont see how team cant be exciting to watch. Although ben gordon may be gone, I still am excited to see how each of the individuals above do next season, instead of trying to guess who fits with rose and who doesnt, next season is the chance for the entire league to find out what rose can do as well as the rest of the roster. If nothing more, next season's trade deadline will be super duper exciting, since by that time it will become apparent what the bulls are and what they should try to be, plus having a team with focused players, each individual players stock should rise up quite a bit.

Ultimately next season truly excites more than perhaps any other season this decade,  but i suppose it may all be because of that horrid thing called hope....but i dont have to tell you about it....you already know....