Would be a stretch but not impossible to get to .500. So yes the Bulls are a bottom half team and with no player advancement and/or bad injury luck a bottom quarter or worse. And? They have some nice looking young players (I'm counting not yet big contract players Ayo and Coby too), a deep roster that can backfill no problem if a star consolidation trade happens (not an empty cupboard) and all their picks and swaps to pull off such a trade. I hate what the front office has put us through as well but that's a good position to build on (irregardless of the past).
technically that's not a word either, ha. I just didn't know what 70% of your previous response was referring to. 'irregardless' being a nonword is a 2 decades old meme, I was just noting that, it's a surprise if someone is using that unironically
But "irregardless" is a word. All it takes is a quick Google search to confirm this... Is it a dumb word since it's basically just a double-negative, but somehow still means the same thing as "regardless"? Absolutely. It's still a word though.
What's incredible about this team is that the floor is so high. No superstar, low ceiling, but high floor due to a deep roster of replacement level players. The team has many contract year players that have incentive to try, and management that has no tank edict and so have incentive to try. The team does have character, it does have continuity. It does have 6 or 7 players that you'd expect to be better just based on year-to-year improvement.
The earned negativity around this team is all based on AK's refusal to pursue a more aggressive asset-based strategy to acquire a possible superstar (and his clear incapacity to execute that strategy), but that doesn't mean the team will be bad, and this team is clearly not going to be very bad. If someone doesn't watch the game in protest of a Reinsdorf owned marketing-forward profit milking team that should be spending like the LA Dodgers based on the brand's outsized reputation in a huge city, then that is your right and commendable. But the negativity around the players is misplaced aside from a couple prominent low-lateral-speed starters. This team will play fast, will be fun to watch, and will have qualities that in different situations you would appreciate.
This is the first non-LaVine season since.... 2016. He was a curse of a player, a low-iq, low defensive effort, crunch time cringing, ball-stopping, rotation missing player who was the marquee player following a 7 year run of inspirational play highlighted by a transcendent, generational and ultimately tragic sensation of a player. LaVine could never fill the empty space and was a complete drag.
This team doesn't have that drag. This team is guaranteed to win 35 games and I think there are pathways for 45 wins.
this will be a referendum on LaVine as a vortex of suckitude
will that counteract his ability to shoot? Because I see a team that will try hard, play fast, but miss a lot of shots and give up a lot of easy shots and lose a lot. Until later in the season when there are more schedule victories.
I think the guarantee is 30 wins and upside is also 30 wins
and roster-wise, the depth is just that they have 3rd stringers that can be serviceable 2nd stringers. The 2nd stringers are average and the 1st stringers are among the worst in the league.
Matas looks great. I think he’s going to be a good player this year.
Overall, I think the team will most likely have a pretty predictable season. They’ll be fun and streaky on offense. They’ll be really bad on defense. They’ll lose games in the middle of the season. They’ll win games at the end of the season. They’ll make the play-in tournament. They won’t make any trades at the deadline, because AK is still their team president.
My predictions for the East are the following:
1) Cavs
2) Knicks
3) Magic
4) Bucks
5) Celtics
6) Hawks
7) Pistons
8) Pacers
9) Bulls
10) Heat
That’s right. Bulls vs. Heat: Episode 4. The Death Star blows up at the end of this one.
I wanted to know how many second year players are objectively good rather than just relatively good. Various AIs came out with 6-8 players typically but project fewer this year based on last year’s worse draft class.
Here’s what ChatGPT when I asked: based on projections of advanced modes, which second year players project to be objectively good: should be, probably will, have an outside chance. I don’t necessarily agree with this “exactly” (I love Alex Zarr, but it’s not based on objective reasoning and I’d be surprised to see him being objectively good), but I think it’s generally a good list.
Should reach “objectively good” (starter-level impact most nights)
• Stephon Castle — reigning ROY; two-way guard whose rookie impact profile + role stability make him the safest sophomore bet. 
• Donovan Clingan — rim protection + screening/finishing translate cleanly; centers like this tend to grade well in EPM/DPM early. (Methodology refs). 
• Alex Sarr — tools + defensive versatility with passing flashes; projection systems typically like bigs with event creation/versatility. (Methodology refs). 
Probably will (average-plus rotation now, starter by mid-season if usage/minutes hold)
I might even move the Bulls up to 7th, as I don't think the Neemias Queta/Sam Hauser Celtics intend to win, nor do the Aaron Nesmith/Isaiah Jackson Pacers. The Bulls never take a gap year from mediocrity.
I suspect Psycho Joe's gonna be at T Bell grinding his spork against the table leg by mid-season. Carlisle's vibing on nostalgia for the wonderful 24-win 2017 Mavs, led by HOFer Yogi Ferrell.
I'd move Celtics down and Pacers up. I thnk Indy can still win around 42 games even without Hali. As long as they can get ok center play, they can make it work.
I have been a Bulls fan since the year I graduated high school (1990). This team has been mediocre at best, since the Three Alpha`s / Gar-Pax regime. Buzelis basically fell into the front office`s lap when they drafted him, and thankfully so. I don`t speak for everyone, do I hope this team win games and possibly makes a playoff push (and I mean more then the play in)? Yes. But, do I think this team is going to do anything as far as winning goes in the foreseeable future, No. I`m hopeful they`ll sign Coby & continue to build around him and Buzelis, but they`ll probably trade Coby, and this team will end up completely jettisoning everyone on the roster and rebuilding again in another couple years. And I thought Gar-Pax was bad.
I occasionally worry that the victims are the players. Will the Bullszelis become the player that the Buckszelis might have been? Maybe. Buceltis? Maybe not.
1. Doing it in pre-season is pretty fucking dumb. I kind of blew it off as BS when the Bulls said this was going to be a point of emphasis, because people always say shit like that. And because what kind of insane weirdos would have their players out there taking charges in pre-season games??
2. If they were serious about taking charges, they should bring in some people to actually explain and practice how to do it right (probably a judo instructor would be best, and you'd want to spend a non-trivial amount of time learning how to do it right). I'm trying to see video of it, but the nature of the injury makes it seem like he was trying to brace his fall which is the opposite of what you ought to be doing.
KC Johnson is Bulls PR performance art. I have no idea why this was necessary to post:
@KCJHoop
One consistent thing regarding Coby White: Organization and White are both in lockstep on White taking big picture view for season. They want him fully healthy for long haul, as does he to impact winning in contract year.
This is the part of the season where the Bulls always suck; they're saving him for after the All-Star break when they can make a run at the play-in game.
If other blogs/commenters are too lenient with the Bulls, I feel the thematic undercurrent with this blog is slightly too punitive. Predictions for "unintentional tank" keep being made year after year, and the team keeps showing us it's not really "bad"... It's just also not "good." There's a middle ground the Bulls wallow in. I'm not happy about it (it's better to be bad, or good) but they have enough competent/average players and a competent/average/proud coach that I feel confident predicting the following for this season:
-Season record: 40-42
-Team finishes in a tie for 8th in standings
-Bulls sneak through the play-in tourney to get 8th seed in actual playoffs, lose 4-1 in first round
-Vucevic not traded, but we do make one minor in-season deal that doesn't measurably improve us or set us up for the future
-AK spends the summer crowing about the team's "improved record" and the potential they showed in their lone playoff win
I think the unintentional tank is just the result of not being happy about it. We know they won't intentionally tank, but we'd like for circumstances to push them into it.
The juxtaposition certainly is fun to see! You have r/ChicagoBulls debating whether the Bulls will finish with 45 wins or 50 wins. Then you have everyone on this site thinking the Bulls will finish in the 30-35 win range.
I'm not sure I'm quite as confident as you are, but I do expect the Bulls to finish with at least 37 wins this year. There are a bunch of teams that are either really bad or are missing key players due to injury. We also know the Bulls will be doing everything they can to win this year, which means they'll likely finish with a better record than some teams that intentionally tank the final few months of the season.
So yeah, the whole "unintentional tank" thing usually just strikes me as wishful thinking and that's totally fine, if unrealistic. I think the only way this team truly unintentionally tanks is if injuries absolutely wreck them. Like all of Giddey, Coby, Vooch, and Matas would need to miss significant time in order for that to happen.
I do think they have more downside than most are thinking because I just don't think they have anyone who can replicate what Coby does. Maybe Huerter + Matas provides enough shooting to keep them running over the first month or so, but I don't picture a that lineup being functional at the "winning games" level.
i'm feeling 33 wins....36 wins max. i don't see them getting to .500 unless Matas makes a huge leap. And with Coby out for a while, they are gonna start out really slow.
Would be a stretch but not impossible to get to .500. So yes the Bulls are a bottom half team and with no player advancement and/or bad injury luck a bottom quarter or worse. And? They have some nice looking young players (I'm counting not yet big contract players Ayo and Coby too), a deep roster that can backfill no problem if a star consolidation trade happens (not an empty cupboard) and all their picks and swaps to pull off such a trade. I hate what the front office has put us through as well but that's a good position to build on (irregardless of the past).
"irregardless"
If a grammar comment, cool, tks man! Definitely want to speak the King's English on BaB, for sure (even in a time of No Kings).
If you can't *forget* the past, well what else are you going to do? Team is moving forward, irregardless ;)
???
Dunno, Bob.
technically that's not a word either, ha. I just didn't know what 70% of your previous response was referring to. 'irregardless' being a nonword is a 2 decades old meme, I was just noting that, it's a surprise if someone is using that unironically
But "irregardless" is a word. All it takes is a quick Google search to confirm this... Is it a dumb word since it's basically just a double-negative, but somehow still means the same thing as "regardless"? Absolutely. It's still a word though.
I could care less.
What's incredible about this team is that the floor is so high. No superstar, low ceiling, but high floor due to a deep roster of replacement level players. The team has many contract year players that have incentive to try, and management that has no tank edict and so have incentive to try. The team does have character, it does have continuity. It does have 6 or 7 players that you'd expect to be better just based on year-to-year improvement.
The earned negativity around this team is all based on AK's refusal to pursue a more aggressive asset-based strategy to acquire a possible superstar (and his clear incapacity to execute that strategy), but that doesn't mean the team will be bad, and this team is clearly not going to be very bad. If someone doesn't watch the game in protest of a Reinsdorf owned marketing-forward profit milking team that should be spending like the LA Dodgers based on the brand's outsized reputation in a huge city, then that is your right and commendable. But the negativity around the players is misplaced aside from a couple prominent low-lateral-speed starters. This team will play fast, will be fun to watch, and will have qualities that in different situations you would appreciate.
This is the first non-LaVine season since.... 2016. He was a curse of a player, a low-iq, low defensive effort, crunch time cringing, ball-stopping, rotation missing player who was the marquee player following a 7 year run of inspirational play highlighted by a transcendent, generational and ultimately tragic sensation of a player. LaVine could never fill the empty space and was a complete drag.
This team doesn't have that drag. This team is guaranteed to win 35 games and I think there are pathways for 45 wins.
this will be a referendum on LaVine as a vortex of suckitude
will that counteract his ability to shoot? Because I see a team that will try hard, play fast, but miss a lot of shots and give up a lot of easy shots and lose a lot. Until later in the season when there are more schedule victories.
I think the guarantee is 30 wins and upside is also 30 wins
and roster-wise, the depth is just that they have 3rd stringers that can be serviceable 2nd stringers. The 2nd stringers are average and the 1st stringers are among the worst in the league.
Matas looks great. I think he’s going to be a good player this year.
Overall, I think the team will most likely have a pretty predictable season. They’ll be fun and streaky on offense. They’ll be really bad on defense. They’ll lose games in the middle of the season. They’ll win games at the end of the season. They’ll make the play-in tournament. They won’t make any trades at the deadline, because AK is still their team president.
My predictions for the East are the following:
1) Cavs
2) Knicks
3) Magic
4) Bucks
5) Celtics
6) Hawks
7) Pistons
8) Pacers
9) Bulls
10) Heat
That’s right. Bulls vs. Heat: Episode 4. The Death Star blows up at the end of this one.
I wanted to know how many second year players are objectively good rather than just relatively good. Various AIs came out with 6-8 players typically but project fewer this year based on last year’s worse draft class.
Here’s what ChatGPT when I asked: based on projections of advanced modes, which second year players project to be objectively good: should be, probably will, have an outside chance. I don’t necessarily agree with this “exactly” (I love Alex Zarr, but it’s not based on objective reasoning and I’d be surprised to see him being objectively good), but I think it’s generally a good list.
Should reach “objectively good” (starter-level impact most nights)
• Stephon Castle — reigning ROY; two-way guard whose rookie impact profile + role stability make him the safest sophomore bet. 
• Donovan Clingan — rim protection + screening/finishing translate cleanly; centers like this tend to grade well in EPM/DPM early. (Methodology refs). 
• Alex Sarr — tools + defensive versatility with passing flashes; projection systems typically like bigs with event creation/versatility. (Methodology refs). 
Probably will (average-plus rotation now, starter by mid-season if usage/minutes hold)
• Zaccharie Risacher — scalable 3-and-D wing indicators; consensus “sophomore to watch.” 
• Dalton Knecht — real NBA spacing right away; shooting efficiency in year 1 gives him a clear, impact-positive path. 
• Matas Buzelis — size/handle/finishing with defensive playmaking; if the jumper holds, models tend to warm fast. (Methodology refs). 
• Reed Sheppard — shooting + instincts; preseason pop and on-ball events point to near-term positive impact if minutes are steady. 
Decent chance (credible path, but hinges on role/minutes or swing skills)
• Rob Dillingham — microwave shot creation; defense/size determine whether impact metrics net out ≥0. (Methodology refs). 
• Kel’el Ware — rim running + shot blocking profile; on NBA.com’s soph list. 
• Tidjane Salaun — motor/defense with budding shot; positive if efficiency climbs. 
• Nikola Topić — PnR table-setter; health/usage will decide early impact grade. (Methodology refs). 
• Cody Williams — wing size + touch; needs volume/3pt confidence to push models above water. (Methodology refs). 
• Ron Holland II — event creation/transition juice; shooting/turnovers are the swing items. (Methodology refs).
Not bad, although I'm much more bullish on Kel'el Ware's prospects.
I might even move the Bulls up to 7th, as I don't think the Neemias Queta/Sam Hauser Celtics intend to win, nor do the Aaron Nesmith/Isaiah Jackson Pacers. The Bulls never take a gap year from mediocrity.
Rick Carlisle and Joe Mazzulla would carve out their own kidneys with a plastic spork before they’d willingly lose games.
I suspect Psycho Joe's gonna be at T Bell grinding his spork against the table leg by mid-season. Carlisle's vibing on nostalgia for the wonderful 24-win 2017 Mavs, led by HOFer Yogi Ferrell.
I'd move Celtics down and Pacers up. I thnk Indy can still win around 42 games even without Hali. As long as they can get ok center play, they can make it work.
I have been a Bulls fan since the year I graduated high school (1990). This team has been mediocre at best, since the Three Alpha`s / Gar-Pax regime. Buzelis basically fell into the front office`s lap when they drafted him, and thankfully so. I don`t speak for everyone, do I hope this team win games and possibly makes a playoff push (and I mean more then the play in)? Yes. But, do I think this team is going to do anything as far as winning goes in the foreseeable future, No. I`m hopeful they`ll sign Coby & continue to build around him and Buzelis, but they`ll probably trade Coby, and this team will end up completely jettisoning everyone on the roster and rebuilding again in another couple years. And I thought Gar-Pax was bad.
I occasionally worry that the victims are the players. Will the Bullszelis become the player that the Buckszelis might have been? Maybe. Buceltis? Maybe not.
Asked elsewhere: Anyone doing an active but not crazy fantasy basketball that thy need someone in?
Matas good. Bulls bad. The perfect crime.
Zach Collins broken wrist, surgery 4 weeks until even an evaluation
he's always hurt, never should be seen as a reliable option (and to be fair to the Bulls I don't think they felt that way either)
Oh he was holding his wrist after taking a charge, from Randle I think. God, maybe the Bulls shouldn't be taking charges.
I got no problem with taking charges, but
1. Doing it in pre-season is pretty fucking dumb. I kind of blew it off as BS when the Bulls said this was going to be a point of emphasis, because people always say shit like that. And because what kind of insane weirdos would have their players out there taking charges in pre-season games??
2. If they were serious about taking charges, they should bring in some people to actually explain and practice how to do it right (probably a judo instructor would be best, and you'd want to spend a non-trivial amount of time learning how to do it right). I'm trying to see video of it, but the nature of the injury makes it seem like he was trying to brace his fall which is the opposite of what you ought to be doing.
Bulls just ruled out Coby White for at least 2 weeks, meaning out for first 6 games of season
Has the tank started, on accident?
KC Johnson is Bulls PR performance art. I have no idea why this was necessary to post:
@KCJHoop
One consistent thing regarding Coby White: Organization and White are both in lockstep on White taking big picture view for season. They want him fully healthy for long haul, as does he to impact winning in contract year.
Yum! Word salad ala KC!
What an oddly worded statement. I wonder if the Bulls have a secret handshake extension with Coby when he hits free agency this summer.
This is the part of the season where the Bulls always suck; they're saving him for after the All-Star break when they can make a run at the play-in game.
“We really felt that we could have built on the end of last season when we went 15-5. But when Coby got hurt, it made things very difficult for us.”
GET READY FOLKS, IT’S COMING.
If other blogs/commenters are too lenient with the Bulls, I feel the thematic undercurrent with this blog is slightly too punitive. Predictions for "unintentional tank" keep being made year after year, and the team keeps showing us it's not really "bad"... It's just also not "good." There's a middle ground the Bulls wallow in. I'm not happy about it (it's better to be bad, or good) but they have enough competent/average players and a competent/average/proud coach that I feel confident predicting the following for this season:
-Season record: 40-42
-Team finishes in a tie for 8th in standings
-Bulls sneak through the play-in tourney to get 8th seed in actual playoffs, lose 4-1 in first round
-Vucevic not traded, but we do make one minor in-season deal that doesn't measurably improve us or set us up for the future
-AK spends the summer crowing about the team's "improved record" and the potential they showed in their lone playoff win
I think the unintentional tank is just the result of not being happy about it. We know they won't intentionally tank, but we'd like for circumstances to push them into it.
i think it was just last year?
and I would've been right if not for the lucky shooting (and opponent shooting) down the stretch
The juxtaposition certainly is fun to see! You have r/ChicagoBulls debating whether the Bulls will finish with 45 wins or 50 wins. Then you have everyone on this site thinking the Bulls will finish in the 30-35 win range.
I'm not sure I'm quite as confident as you are, but I do expect the Bulls to finish with at least 37 wins this year. There are a bunch of teams that are either really bad or are missing key players due to injury. We also know the Bulls will be doing everything they can to win this year, which means they'll likely finish with a better record than some teams that intentionally tank the final few months of the season.
So yeah, the whole "unintentional tank" thing usually just strikes me as wishful thinking and that's totally fine, if unrealistic. I think the only way this team truly unintentionally tanks is if injuries absolutely wreck them. Like all of Giddey, Coby, Vooch, and Matas would need to miss significant time in order for that to happen.
I think we will show continued improvement from our young core this year. I will say 43-39, 6th place finish, 4-3 loss in the first round.
This is going to be a good off season for young free agents, and a good year for the Bulls will help us in adding another young star.
Is it worth debating 35-40 wins?
I do think they have more downside than most are thinking because I just don't think they have anyone who can replicate what Coby does. Maybe Huerter + Matas provides enough shooting to keep them running over the first month or so, but I don't picture a that lineup being functional at the "winning games" level.
is anything 'worth' debating with this team?
not the best blog sales pitch...
https://www.blogabull.com/p/predictions-are-useless-but-fun-like
We are definitely light in scoring. I don't think we have anyone else that can go iso besides Coby.
Beasley would help, although we'd have to clear a roster spot to do it. (And then cross our fingers that he stays out of jail.)
i'm feeling 33 wins....36 wins max. i don't see them getting to .500 unless Matas makes a huge leap. And with Coby out for a while, they are gonna start out really slow.