Southeast Division Outlook: Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards
Our Southeast Division outlooks conclude with the Washington Wizards. Will the Chicago Bulls be able to stop a faster Wizards team next season?
Although the Chicago Bulls are considered the deeper team, Fred Hoiberg‘s bunch still need to prove they can go head-to-head with a faster and retooled Washington Wizards team.
The Wizards, led by All-Star point guard John Wall, play better when they’re running a small-ball offense, and they beat the Bulls badly late last year.
Derrick Rose used to lord it over the pass-first Wall. With the new Bulls’ back court, Rajon Rondo will have to hold his own against Wall, while Jerian Grant will be playing heavy minutes trying to contain the Wizards’ All-Star playmaker and his backcourt mate, Bradley Beal.
In the game below, the Bulls lost to a sweet-shooting Wizards team that attacked Pau Gasol in the post constantly.
This year, the Chicago Bulls will be relying on Dwyane Wade as the veteran scoring weapon against the Wizards. Jimmy Butler and Jerian Grant may take turns putting the clamps on Wall and the Wizards scoring wings’ Kelly Oubre Jr. and Markieff Morris.
Robin Lopez takes Pau Gasol’s role of post defender and he makes the job of Bobby Portis easier cleaning up the glass by putting a body on the Wizards post players.
This coming season may be the breakout year for Oubre Jr. as the team’s scoring machine. The Wizards also have Ian Mahinmi, formerly a starting Indiana Pacer playing in the second unit as a tough defender alongside Otto Porter. Mahinmi averaged 9.1 points per game with an effective field goal percentage of 58.9 percent, while adding 7.1 rebounds for the Pacers. He will provide the Wizards with strong defense covering the Bulls’ inside scorers.
The high octane back court of Wall and Beal should help the Wizards under new coach Scott Brooks play a stronger regular season.
The Chicago Bulls get to fully test their new pieces against the Wizards. Both teams playing fast basketball with strong post defenders could make for a fun season series.
On paper, the Bulls are the deeper team with Rondo and Denzel Valentine setting up Hoiball and Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott being should outshoot the Wizards in a slower, more physical game at times.
If the Wizards can run the Bulls to the ground, and keep the “Rifle Squad” from getting their rhythm, they can beat the Bulls.
Coaching: Fred Hoiberg vs. Scott Brooks
With the Wizards, Scott Brooks inherits an All-Star point guard and Bradley Beal at shooting guard. Brooks will play Kelly Oubre Jr., a freak athlete and a wing scorer at the small forward more, and may go small ball full-time with Otto Porter and Ian Mahinmi.
That will mean Wall, Beal, Oubre and Porter on the wing and Mahinmi. If they want more action in the post, Brooks can play Markieff Morris as a small-ball center, too.
A sleeper option at guard may be Danuel House, a Wizards draft pick and a strong three-and-D tweener guard-forward who plays the running game well. After these guys, the Wizards thin out like onion soup with aging backup guards like Marcus Thornton.
The loss of Nene puts a big dent in the Wizards offense and defense in the paint and Mahinmi may not be able to do it all by himself. Brooks might even slow the team down to keep his thoroughbreds from getting burned out or injured if the Wizards run out all game long.
When they do slow down, Marcin Gortat, ex-Bull Drew Gooden, and J.J. Hickson won’t strike fear into any of the Bulls’ “Bench Mob”.
Fred Hoiberg is going to walk the fine line of not getting too comfortable with each game the Bulls play or they may get wins snatched from them again like last season’s improbable losses to under-.500 teams. The Wizards ran at every opportunity and got their shooters into rhythm, something that the Bulls should be doing against other teams.
The Bench Mob should mop up a team like the Wizards if the pieces fit and are given plenty of playing time to close out games. Hoiberg’s new swarm-the-guard defense may force John Wall into some nasty turnovers.
Without Nene Hilario in the paint to bully anyone, Hoiberg can count on Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio and Nikola Mirotic to have field day in the post.