Seeding

As noted previously on this blog, a poll of 53 ESPN experts predicted the Bulls would finish as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference this upcoming NBA season.  This poll had the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat finishing ahead of Chicago in the conference standings.  The Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards rounded out the playoff teams.  ”Our voters have the Bulls winning as few as 30 games and as many as 55, and perhaps it comes down to what they think of reigning rookie of the year Derrick Rose, whose scintillating playoff performance was followed by a tumultuous summer,” the article says.  ”In any case, most of our panel is bullish on Chicago overall.”

There is good reason to be bullish about the team’s chances to make some waves in 2009-10.  The Bulls showed a lot of promise in their first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics last season.  If Luol Deng can return to his 2006-07 form, I think the Bulls can hurdle the Hawks and Heat and snag home court advantage in the first round.  Dwyane Wade could get sick of carrying the Heat again and I’m not sure if the Hawks can get much better than they already are.

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ESPN Honoring MJ

With Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan set to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame, ESPN is counting down the 23 most memorable moments of No. 23’s career.  Even if Jordan had never returned from his baseball sabbatical to win three more championships, he still would have been a lock to enter the Hall.  Jordan is considered by most to be the best player to ever step on a basketball court.  While that’s debatable considering different eras and positions, it’s undeniable that he revolutionized the game and brought a competitive fire that we’ve never seen since.

Jordan was the NBA when he played.  People thought of Michael Jordan the second they heard the word “basketball.”  He rose to the moment on the biggest occasions and hit more big shots than anyone else in the history of the game.  His game-winning shot against Cleveland in 1989 began his legacy of being one of the most clutch players in sports history and he never let up.  Winning six titles in six NBA Finals appearances is incredibly impressive.  It was almost as if Jordan just wouldn’t let his team lose when they reached that level.  Sure, he had some great teammates and a great coach, but it’s hard to argue against Jordan being the best there ever was.

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Gordon: No Bad Feelings Towards Bulls

Former Chicago Bulls players Ben Gordon recently sat down with HoopsHype.com’s Jorge Sierra for an interview in which they discussed free agency and Gordon’s feelings toward his former team.  Gordon said that the Bulls’ perceived lack of interest in re-signing him this summer did make him feel bad, but he understood what the team was doing.  “After being there for five years, I had a great understanding of how the organization operates,” Gordon said.  ”I had a better understanding from the inside, that people on the outside don’t see, of how things work.  And at the end of the day, it’s a business. Everybody in that position is going to make the decision that they feel is the best business decision.”

“As a basketball player, obviously with everything I’ve done here and the potential of the future with this team, to not be made an offer is kind of a slap in the face,” he continued.  ”But from a business standpoint, I fully understand why everything happened the way it did.  I don’t have any bad feelings.  It’s time to move on and start a new chapter in my career.”  Gordon will move on with his new team, the Detroit Pistons.  He played well during his tenure in Chicago and gave the fans some exciting moments while he was around.

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West Powers

So if the Bulls can somehow shock the Eastern Conference and make it to the NBA Finals, ESPN experts think that they’ll probably either play against the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs.  The reigning champion Lakers received 41 of the 53 votes in a poll conducted by ESPN.com of their NBA experts.  The Spurs received 10 votes while the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets received just one apiece.  ”As powerful and competitive as the Western Conference has been for the past few years, the Los Angeles Lakers or San Antonio Spurs have almost always been the last team standing,” the article says.  ”For 10 of the past 11 seasons, the Lakers or Spurs have represented the West in the Finals, winning the whole chalupa in eight of those 10 seasons.”

I think it definitely comes down to one of these two teams in the Western Conference.  The Lakers landed Ron Artest this offseason and retained Lamar Odom, while the Spurs landed Richard Jefferson for nearly nothing, lured Antonio McDyess via free agency and stole DeJuan Blair in the draft.  The Bulls would certainly have trouble beating either of these teams, but they’d be a different team than we think of them as now if they were to reach the NBA Finals.

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Eastern Powers

The Bulls did not receive a vote in an ESPN.com poll of 53 NBA experts when they were asked who will win the Eastern Conference this upcoming NBA season.  In fact, only three teams received votes, the Cleveland Cavaliers (32 votes), the Boston Celtics (13 votes) and the Orlando Magic (eight votes).  That means roughly 60 percent of the panel expects the Cavaliers to represent the conference in the NBA Finals.  “It’s no surprise to see so many votes for a team that has the reigning MVP and won 66 games last season,” the article says.  ”On the other hand, the Cavs had the same points in their favor in May, and were the heavy favorites to win the East at that time, too.  But Orlando took care of Cleveland thanks to some amazing shooting and the dominance of Dwight Howard, and the Cavs were left licking their wounds.”

I think Cleveland has to be the favorite, considering they have the best player on the planet, but I think the Magic are second in line.  The Bulls exposed a lot of the Celtics’ weaknesses last season in the their first round playoff series, albeit without Kevin Garnett on the floor.  Still, the Cavs’ acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal and the Magic’s of Vince Carter will help those teams much more than the Celtics’ acquisition of Rasheed Wallace will aid Boston in their hopes of returning to the NBA Finals.

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East Forecast

ESPN.com recently polled 53 of their NBA experts in an effort to forecast what the standings will look like in the Eastern Conference after this upcoming NBA regular season.  The Bulls ended up with the sixth seed, receiving an average prediction of 43 wins and 39 losses.  “Our voters have the Bulls winning as few as 30 games and as many as 55, and perhaps it comes down to what they think of reigning rookie of the year Derrick Rose, whose scintillating playoff performance was followed by a tumultuous summer,” the article says.  ”In any case, most of our panel is bullish on Chicago overall.”

While it looks like most people expect the Bulls to be good next season, not many are looking for them to make the leap.  Marked improvement from Derrick Rose could help, but it is difficult to see the team hurdling the clubs listed above them in the poll, Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta and Miami, in that order.  Still, a high of 55 wins and a low of 30 is a pretty big range.  I’d say if the team is going to go to any extreme, it’d be the high end.  Seems like the experts largely have confidence in the Bulls as well.

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Wade’s Future

ESPN.com recently polled 52 of their NBA experts on where they thought Miami Heat star and Chicago native Dwyane Wade would sign next summer.  Eight of the voters said Chicago, which was good for second place on the list of teams.  “Although LeBron gets to play near his home city of Akron, D-Wade is about 1,200 miles from home,” wrote Royce Webb.  ”Meanwhile, the Bulls have been canny in creating 2010 cap space, opening the door for Wade to make a hero’s return, somewhat like MJ in 1995.  And in Derrick Rose, Chicago could finally provide Wade with the kind of dynamic young point guard he has never had before.”

The idea of Wade coming to the Bulls is incredibly intriguing.  Not only is he a hometown player, he and Rose would form a hometown backcourt that would immediately be one of the post potent in the league.  Miami Heat President Pat Riley was hoping the Bulls would select Michael Beasley with the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft so he could pair Rose with Wade in Miami.  The Bulls don’t have a takeover perimeter player that can score at will and Wade would certainly be the best player to don Chicago Bulls red since MJ.

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Bulls Eyeing Arroyo?

The Bulls could be on the verge of signing point guard Carlos Arroyo to a one-year deal.  Arroyo played overseas last season, but has played in the NBA for several teams since 2001.  Arroyo had his best season in 2003-04 as a member of the Utah Jazz, where he started 71 games and averaged 13 points and five assists per game.  He most recently played for the Orlando Magic in the 2007-08 season.  Arroyo is a capable backup point guard and would give the team more depth in the backcourt.  The team currently has guards on the roster, Derrick Rose, John Salmons, Kirk Hinrich, Lindsey Hunter and Jannero Pargo.

Rose and Salmons figure to make up the starting backcourt, with Hinrich seeing significant time at both positions.  Hunter is basically a defensive specialist at this point in his career and Pargo is essentially an offensive specialist.  Brining in Arroyo would add another more balanced player into the mix.  Pargo and Hunter don’t project to see a ton of time on the court this season, and Arroyo could see some point guard minutes and give the Bulls a more traditional regular four-man rotation in the backcourt.

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Team Chemistry

One thing that should not be an issue for the 2009-10 Chicago Bulls is team chemistry.  ESPN did not list them on their rundown of teams that could experience some difficulties this season, as the team did not receive a single vote from the panel of 33 experts that voted.  With Ben Gordon out of town, the Bulls don’t look to have anyone who has caused much trouble in the locker room in the past.  Gordon had problems with his role at times in the past, something that is noted in the article linked above as a factor that could hurt the Detroit Pistons this season, as they tied for the most votes received.

The Bulls have a solid group.  Derrick Rose is the unquestioned franchise player and the playmaker of this team.  They got veteran guys with high character histories, like Kirk Hinrich, to help keep the rookies in check.  Joakim Noah reportedly feuded with Scott Skiles in the past, but Skiles relationship with the team at that time seemed universally contentious.  Luol Deng, one of the highest character guys in the league, will be returning from injury this season and will be looked to as the team’s second option behind Rose.

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Rose Ready to Lead

Derrick Rose says he’s ready to take over as a leader of this team.  Rose, selected first overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, won Rookie of the Year honors and played well in the team’s playoff series against the Boston Celtics.  The Memphis product expressed his confidence in the team and said he hopes that some new incoming players will help the squad.  “We’re going to be good,” he said.  ”Hopefully the players that come in will be able to get us a little better.  We’ve got to compete when we are out there and not think about the pieces we lost.  We got to build.”

Those incoming players include rookie forwards James Johnson and Taj Gibson, as well as guard Jannero Pargo.  “You want to get farther each year and get better each year,” Rose added.  ”We just want to make it past the first round and hopefully go to the championship.  That’s the goal.”  I’m not sure that either rookie will play a huge role for the team this season, but if one does it’ll likely be Johnson.  His versatility should allow him to play both the three and four positions, which gives the team some lineup flexibility.  Pargo, though, should see time, at least down the stretch, as he’s got a penchant for hitting big shots.

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