It’s understandable to think that the Chicago Bulls won’t win this year’s NBA Championship. It’s … uh, interesting to think that someone doesn’t think the Chicago Bulls won’t make the NBA Playoffs altogether.
Let me start by saying this: there are no perfect people, experts, columnists, beat writers, etc., on the Internet. It doesn’t take much to find an outlandish opinion on the World Wide Web. Personally, I’ve said some stir-the-pot-type things on the web myself.
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On Wednesday, SB Nation’s Clips Nation blog provided some fun conversation in the form of a post called, “Why the Chicago Bulls will NOT make the playoffs”.
If you didn’t read — or flat-out refuse to read such a piece — the author broke down how the Bulls are overrated, how teams in the Eastern Conference improved (which is true), and how a coaching change to contribute to the Bulls missing their current title window.
The whole piece was interesting for 1) because it came from a blog of a Western Conference team and 2) the Bulls may not be the best team in the East, but to say the Bulls will miss the postseason as a whole is a little odd.
In the five years under Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls won no less than 48 games in each season (62 wins in Thibs’ first season in Chicago), and were no worse than a No. 4 seed in the East.
To further explain, here’s three reasons why the Chicago Bulls will in fact, make the playoffs this season.
The roster
Sure, the Bulls may possess one of the oldest rosters in the NBA, but it’s still a talented one.
Despite a second meniscus tear in his right knee, Derrick Rose got his legs underneath him in 51 games last year, and overall, had a really solid postseason performance. Rose was rather efficient through the Bulls’ six-game series win over Milwaukee (his first playoff series in three years), and had a couple huge performances, including a game-winner against Cleveland in Round 2.
The writer from the blog post mentioned how Rose was more efficient with days off. This season, the Bulls only have one “four-game-in-five-night” span, along with hovering at the NBA league-wide average of 17 “back-to-backs”. The schedule favors Rose’s body heading into 2015-16.
Jimmy Butler was last year’s NBA Most Improved Player award winner, Pau Gasol had one of his best statistical seasons of his career, and Nikola Mirotic made a late-season run at the rookie of the year award. Throw in an aggressive Bobby Portis into a deep frontcourt that also has Joakim Noah, and the Bulls will be just fine, even with a rookie head coach.
It’s perfectly fine to have questions about an older roster, but to have questions about a roster that won 50 games and was the No. 3 seed in the East despite some toxic situations last season, is a little curious to say the least.
Will Hoiball work?
Trust me, I was just like that blog post. I had (and still have) my fair share of doubts when it comes to Fred Hoiberg being the right man for the job in Chicago. (I even wrote about it, too.)
It’s more than OK to have doubts about Hoiberg being able to install his offense and principles with a new roster, but if Tom Thibodeau can win 50 games with the front office breathing down his neck, who’s to say Hoiberg doesn’t pull a Steve Kerr and bring a quick turnaround to the Bulls?
The NBA is in the midst of the “pace-and-space” era, where shooting the three-point shot is as important as it’s ever been the game. The game is evolving into possessing versatile stars with length and the ability to run up and down the floor. The Bulls have plenty of both, and Hoiberg’s offense is generated around finding good looks from deep. (Just watch old Iowa State film from Hoiberg’s days in Ames.)
Uh, it’s the East
The Eastern Conference has definitely improved. A healthy Miami roster could make some noise, Milwaukee pushed the Bulls last year and they’ll be hungry in ’15-16, while division rival Indiana gets Paul George back for a full season.
But, has the East really improved to the point where the Bulls aren’t playing at the end of April? Personally, I highly doubt it. Even with some first-year struggles between Hoiberg and his new roster, to say the Bulls will be so bad that they miss the playoffs in the Eastern Conference is a bit of a “reach” as some of my Twitter followers explained to me yesterday.
To be fair to the blog post author, he starts off the post with saying, “This is a bold prediction”. I have no issues with that at all, but that might be a little too bold to say a talented team like the Chicago Bulls will miss the postseason this year.
I respect the author’s opinion fully on the matter, but it’s an opinion I simply don’t agree with.
Next: Joakim Noah says last year was humbling & that he's hungry for 2015-16 season
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