My wife got mad at me the other day for using the word penis too much in my blog posts. Since she hates basketball I am surprised that she even read the pads. But she is probably right. In the last 5 posts the word penis was probably the most used out of any individual word. And of those penis appearances, many related to Cam's penis and Greg Oden only knows how embarassing it is to have your penis all over the internet. So as a warning to all you pad lovers, expect less penises popping up on the pads in the future. On that note, many things have happened in the last week. School started. The NFL just kicked off (literally, I just watched the kickoff). Andrea Bargnani pretty consistently grabbed double digit rebounds in the Euro tournament. Valanwanker has made the most out of his extra alotment of minutes at the euros and has already shown that he can play with the big boys. AND the NBA has increased their labor talks which is a good sign. There have been many hints that these talks are promising and the likelihood of an NBA season has gone from 10% to 90%. I'm excited.
So what does this all mean for the cinderella chicago bulls? Nothing much. I think of all the teams the Bulls probably wouldn't be affected whether there was an NBA season or not. The players aren't aging and they are all pretty much under longish term contracts. The only thing might be that they would lose some momentum gained from last years dramatic turnaround, the MVP and Coach of the year award. There is lots to debate about the Bulls but not much will change for them going into the future so this might be one of the least exciting previews but one of the most debatable.
Current Situation: It has been widely documented that the Bulls need a shooting guard of the likes of Ray Allen. But couldn't every single team in the NBA use Ray Allen? Even the Lakers (not to replace Kobe but to play with him.). I agree with the idea that the bulls need a shooter to an extent. Yes they need a knock down shooter, but don't they need a shooter AND pseudo creator to take the load off of Rose? Someone like Joe Johnson (but not Joe Johnson). This is why the Bulls had high interest in Demar Derozan. He is a good mid range shooter who can somewhat create plays and get to the line with lots of room to grow.
Here's a question: If Lebron had stayed in cleveland and had the exact same stats as those he had in Miami, would he have won his third straight MVP? The answer is YES! So The Bulls have a pseudo-MVP, a defensively defficient all-star PF and a borderline all-star C. I just don't see this team ever being a contender unless they get another allstar player and I can't decide whether it has to be a BIG or a WING. This team is just a strange mix that seems to work out.
Moving Forward: It's hard to improve on the best record in the league and Chicago won't. Barring any major trades after the lockout the Bulls will wind up second in the east. Miami will be better next year and I don't think anyone will catch them. At this point they have to either find a diamond in the second round next year or make a steal of a trade if they want to contend with miami. If they could swing a deal with the Rockets in the likes of Boozer and a shooting guard for Martin and Scola then the bulls might be set to seriously contend. Sadly the bulls would probably have to give up Deng in that deal to make it work, which wouldn't be worth it.
On the flip side, the bulls could just sit pretty and consistently make it deep in the playoffs, which isn't a bad plan. This way they have a good chance of catching a break every year and going all the way. You never know what could happen in the playoffs.
I can't decide if I like the bulls or not. I hate Boozer and Noah but like Rose and Deng but if Full team trades (coaches included) were possible, I would trade the raptors for the bulls in a second.
Stay tuned for the Cavaliers preview from The Grey coloured Nathan.
