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Around SBN: Bracketology 2012: Duke Finally Steps Up To The No. 1 Line

It's season preview season

Actually, this started last week in Canada (not distracted by the NFL starting up, they were able to get going early I guess.) but in the coming weeks there should be more and more season previews from people who know the Bulls well enough to say they need a low-post scorer.

Here is one that's better than most and worth the read (I know, it's by a Celtics fan, but apparently not all are mainlining green Kool-Aid). You always get brownie points from me when Ben Gordon is called "clearly one of the most lethal perimeter scorers in the Eastern Conference" instead of "short".

The conclusions are what I think we'll read a lot of: they should win a lot of games, but they may have trouble advancing in the playoffs. Well, sure, playing a good team in a series will be a bigger test than some of the lesser opponents over the 82 game schedule. But while the Detroit series all left a bitter taste in our mouths, next season's playoffs are so far away that this Bulls team may be incredibly different, most likely through some kind of internal development that we currently can't predict. (With any reasonable confidence, anyway, you can take a shot in the comments.)

(hattip: Celticsblog)

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Ill go first...I guess...
I think what im looking forward to the season is the development of the "core" players on the bulls. Not just Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon...but also Noch, Wallace, Thabo and Tyrus.

Deng, Thabo and Tyrus are probably the players with the most potential. Noch, Hinrich, Gordon need to finally break out and find thier roles on the team. Wallace, simply has to play like he wants to win.

This is what i see:

Deng

-At the very least he should play like he did last season, the mid range shots that seem like they never miss, opens up great attacks to the basket which either way leads to two points (sometimes three). Deng said that he would be shooting more threes this year, and i suppose thats nice, but i would be content if he didnt. His defense is great, and he knows when to pass it. If he actually does get better than last year, then we should be looking at a definite member of the all star team with him

Tyrus

-My biggest complaint with tyrus was his lack of b-ball iq. He had great instincts basketball wise, which resulted in incredible alley oops blocks and tip-ins. However, he is also the same person who would get back to back offensive fouls, that were the same calls, throw the ball inbound after stepping inbound himself, and other numerous turnover causing events. Still he also showed that given some time, he could become a dangerous blast of energy and ability, who could easily change the tides of the game. This year hopefully tyrus became a smarter player, and can boast a nice turn-around jumper from about 15. If he manages that, then other teams...beware.

Thabo

-The main goal for thabo is to take all of duhons minutes, really thats it. He has the build of a great guard, he has shown, in flashes, the ability of a great player. Hopefully last year, and this summer has given thabo the confidence and experience needed to utilize all his talents. If he can control the ball on point, without turning over, hit the open jumper, and continue his strong d, duhons minutes should easily be converted into Thabo-Time.

Nocioni

-Nocioni is dangerous. Before his injury he alone could jump start a potential loss into a win. Before the injury he had more confidence and grit than any of the other bulls, before his injury...we loved him! Then he got injured and suddenly everyone would cringe when nocioni got on the floor. He would give us hope that he had recovered and could play his crazy b-ball style, and instead we would get a chucker who couldnt even take the place of pargo. Nocioni is thus dangerous, we signed him to a grateful contract, and it will be a steal if nocioni goes back to the pre-injury noch. However, if he doesnt...we totally wasted money.

Gordon

-he is clearly one of the most lethal perimeter scorers in the Eastern Conference...however he is also short. Gordon cant change that, no one can, but luckily its not that big of a deal. Its true that big guards will continually rape ben when they have the ball, but if luol deng is the most scorer on the bulls, gordon has to be the BIGGEST scorer on the bulls. He can light it up faster than a microwave, he can attack from anywhere, and HE WANTS THAT GAME DECIDING SHOT... gordon just has to improve turning over the ball, and not limiting his defense to save for offense. Luckily i dont see any of this as impossible.

Hinrich

-There will be no more excuses this year round. Hinrich had the right percentages last year, but when the team needed him hinrich wasnt much of a savior. Whether on offense of defense he controls the tempo the team plays at, limiting fouls, moving teh ball around. Somtimes he passes like he is steve nash, somtimes he scores like he's chauncey billups...the problem is SOMETIMES he does this. Hinrich is still too inconsistent, and for whatever last year he seemed to dissappear more than ever. Hinrich has to be able to hit open shots (which he will get quite a bit with deng and gordon pulling double teams), and has to show the same court awareness as he did against the pistons. Last year he didnt improve much, and the reason might be the fiba games, hopefully this year he makes up for last year and takes another step in becoming the best white american point guard in the nba.

Wallace

-Even though he is aging, Wallace's biggest flaw last year was not playing like he wanted to win. His chemistry always seemed off with the other players, hopefully this year it is all behind him. I had a theory that wallace didnt play "beast like" because there was no decent player to take the center position if he got in foul trouble. With the adition of Noah, Wallace might finally be able to let himself go. Gotta love the crazy fadeaways though.

-All the rookies are x factors, and Joe smith is gonna be a decent role player, but i dont expect much of anything from him except solid production when he is in-

If the core develops well this year they can easily make up for the lack of the lowpost presence. A jump shooting team without a superstar CAN win a championship, this year will be the year that should prove just that.
GO BULLS!!!!!!!!

im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on Sep 9, 2007 11:37 PM CDT reply actions  

let's see
(in order of importance)
Loul Deng - his FG% is gonna take a dip. BUT he will stretch the defense even further with his three point shooting. i doubt it if he can be an all-star though all the talent in the Forward spot in the eastern conference.

Kirk Hinrich - i think he will improve his offensive  game, now that he doesn't have to chase all the bigger 2-guards that BG can't guard. thank you thabo!

Ben Gordon - contract year = break-out season. expect more turnovers though.

Ben Wallace - incremental increase from last season's production. i agree with what you said, piccolomair. with the addition of Joakim and Aaron, Big Ben can now do his thing..

Andres Nocioni - health will be the issue. If he does turn out to be the Noce of old, we're up for a 55-60 win season! (i hope)

Joe Smith - a starter but probably wont be the finisher. An upgrade over PJ.

Tyrus Thomas / Joakim Noah - these two will be used interchangeably to inject a dose of energy into the line-up. these "game-changers," as i would like to call them, will help the Bulls win a couple of ballgames.

Overall, i think we'll have a better season record. The playoffs is another story. I hope these Bulls learn things fast so we can advance past the second round this time..

by mark6237c on Sep 10, 2007 9:35 AM CDT reply actions  

all the forward talent?
who does he have to beat out? caron butler? o'neal? Joe Johnson? VINCE CARTER? PLease....

by milesgmsu on Sep 10, 2007 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions  

Miles
Until you apologize for this, you should refrain from criticizing anyone.
Pushing comments to the right for a while now!!!-------------------->

by bullshooter on Sep 10, 2007 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions  

ALL the forward talent
  1. LEBRON JAMES
  2. Kevin Garnett
  3. Chris Bosh
  4. Jermaine O'Neal
  5. Paul Pierce
  6. Vince Carter

by mark6237c on Sep 11, 2007 4:55 AM CDT up reply actions  

oneal is a center in the east
Pierces game will suffer with garnett. His numbers will not be better than Deng's with chucker Ray Ray still needing touches and shots. Carter is a SG. So please remove them from this list.

by Blacknight23 on Sep 11, 2007 9:22 AM CDT up reply actions  

Speaking of Joakim Noah
Does anyone have an update on his injury that kept him out of playing in the summer league.

by boerwinkle on Sep 12, 2007 7:48 AM CDT up reply actions  

There was this from the David Thorpe chat.
Matt, Champaign: Will the Bulls as currently constituted eventually contend for a title without getting a reliable low-post scorer?

SportsNation David Thorpe: Yes. I think Noah will be a legit scoring threat in time.

Joe- Chicago: Do you think Noah will be any good? Personally I think he's too skinny and will get beat up really bad down low.

SportsNation David Thorpe: I heard from a Bulls scout that he's up 14 lbs and looking amazingly agile. And his work ethic has already turned heads in Chi-town.

by Scotter on Sep 12, 2007 3:42 PM CDT up reply actions  

Not exactly a preview
but Ira Winderman has been ranking the different positions (Eastern Conference only) over the past couple of days.  SG still to go, but he has Ben Wallace and Luol Deng at # 3, Kirk Hinrich at # 6, and puts the Bulls' PF at # 9 for either Noc or Ty Thomas.  Not much analysis beyond the list though, since he is mainly concerned with where the Heat guys fit in.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/

"They had me do a psychology test and I asked Coach Skiles if that affected his coaching. He laughed and said, `No way.'" (Joakim Noah)

by wjb1492 on Sep 10, 2007 3:20 PM CDT reply actions  

They're pretty good lists, but
ranking Mo Williams and Raymond Felton above Hinrich is really strange.

by Scotter on Sep 10, 2007 5:07 PM CDT up reply actions  

I thought that, too,
although a relatively low opinion of Kirk seems to be the norm so far for season previews.  I wasn't sure what I thought of his suggestion that a healthy Jason Williams could be ranked above all 3 of them, either - that just may be from not having seen him healthy in so long, but I'm having a hard time remembering a Jason Williams even in his prime that I would have ranked that highly.
"They had me do a psychology test and I asked Coach Skiles if that affected his coaching. He laughed and said, `No way.'" (Joakim Noah)

by wjb1492 on Sep 10, 2007 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions  

Jason Williams???
Even when he was healthy, Williams was nothing but flashy. I dont know if i agree with arenas being at the top of the list, although he is a spectacular player, i still see him as more of a shooting guard type. Plus i question his defense. Kidd should be at the top followed by billups, and then arenas (if we are still considering him a pg) then hinrich. I guess he decided that kidd and billups were too old and thus it made sense to throw arenas towards the top.
im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on Sep 10, 2007 5:55 PM CDT up reply actions  

Nice to see TT's
been working hard this summer. He's put on 10 lbs. of muscle and has been taking 600 - 700 jump shots every day.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-070910mitchell,1,6450034.column?coll=chi_sports_util

by sue369 on Sep 11, 2007 11:48 AM CDT reply actions  

Thirty-Six Years since Brian's Song?!
Lucky me: I've only been forced to wait twenty-one years to see it in HD!

by jpx7 on Sep 13, 2007 3:39 AM CDT up reply actions  

Potentially too much Potential
With Tyrus and Noah coming in next season, maybe everyone is gonna flip out. Tyrus wowed us with athleticism alone last year, i think being in the bulls camp he will probably come out this year showcasing his basketball IQ.

Then we have noah, who is still a question mark, but if his work ethic is as high as ive heard, and if he has this wierd power to simply win....man this year might be more exciting than i could ever have imagined.

im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on Sep 12, 2007 5:26 PM CDT reply actions  

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