I really think the Bulls are one player away from becoming the next Pistons. We need a an athletic PF that can score in bunches and knock down 15 foot J. Just look at our roster and compare it to Pistons head-2-head: All of the match ups are VERY close except for the PF position.

Billups vs Hinrich - is Billups really better than Hinrich?
Hamilton Vs Gordon - both can light it up anytime but BG is a better 3pt shooter.
Prince vs Deng - i would say both are = offensively but Prince is better defensively.
Rasheed vs [insert] - that player would kill Sheed's sorry a$s.
Big Ben vs Chandler - this would be a lot closer if Chandler had a good PF playing next to him.


Does anyone else agree that we are 1 player away from being a title contender like Detroit?

Are you serious?

Only comparison that is even in the same ballpark is Deng/Prince.

With the exception of maybe Steve Nash or Tony Parker (which is a stretch in itself), and that's a maybe, Billups is the best point guard in the NBA. While I think Hinrich is a very solid point guard, he's not Billups, probably never will be.

Rip Hamilton does everything better then Gordon at this point. Who knows if Gordon will reach Hamilton's level.

Wallace/Chandler? That one puzzles me man.

So to answer your question, no... not even close.

All those guys on Pistons are scrubs that have found good chemistry. No one is "star" on that team. Nobody.

Billups is NOT the best PG in the league. NO f'n way! Billups is and was a bum and will never be anything more than that. Everybody knows that.

Billups vs Hinrich - is Billups really better than Hinrich?

Yes


Hamilton Vs Gordon - both can light it up anytime but BG is a better 3pt shooter.

Hamiton is bigger and a better defender

Prince vs Deng - i would say both are = offensively but Prince is better defensively.

This is close


Rasheed vs [insert] - that player would kill Sheed's sorry a$s.

We had this "player" his name was Elton Brand. F-U Jerry Krause


Big Ben vs Chandler - this would be a lot closer if Chandler had a good PF playing next to him.

Chandler needs to visit Barry Bonds trainer to come close to matching Big Ben



We still are a few players away...but I have faith in Pax.

Actually Id say the gap between Billups and Hinrich is smaller than a lot of people make it seem to be. Look at what Hinrich has done on this team and imagine at what he would do on the Pistons. Also look at what Billups did b4 being on the Pistons.

Chandler is in the same mould of Wallace and if we added another big to play on the floor with him I can see where you are going with the comparison. But still Wallace is the greater player but it seems the people on this thread dont look at Chandlers defense which is really good too.

like its been said Prince and Deng is a fine comparison. I think Deng is a better scorer but Prince provides a little more of a matchup problem.

Hamilton blows Gordon away at this point. Dont really need to say more.

We are a little more than 1 player away from detroit. As much as I like Gordon, he does not even come close to hamilton in terms of defense. You can't compare chandler to Big Ben...Big ben is a far better player in every facet of the game, plus he plays smart, while chandler still plays like a rookie.
We have the potential...but realistically, we need a real PF (have chandler come off the bench) and a real Center....PLus a tall sg so Gordon can come off the bench.

We are still at least 2 years away.

Like most people here, I'm going to say it's more than 1 player unless that player is A LOT better than Sheed. I.e. you stick KG or a healthy Tim Duncan in there and you're right on, but I don't think we're going to pull off that sort of luck.

The things we are away from being another Detroit:

1. The Insert here player. Requirements: 20 points, 8 rebounds, a few assists per night average, at least 6'10". Anything above that is better, but those are minimums. We need a post scorer who can create shots for other people like nobody's business.

2. Defense at the guard spot. As others have pointed out, Gordon just doesn't match up with a guy like Hamilton on the defensive end. He may wind up being able to shoot better, but unless he can slow down a Wade or a Hamilton or a Bryant...he isn't the complete package.

3. Time. We are still a ridiculously young team, and unless we wind up with KG in the offseason, we're going to be even younger. These guys still are developing, getting adapted to the game, practicing, etc. The average age of the 4 guys you list as starters is 23. The oldest of them, Kirk, is 25. The youngest, currently, is Deng, who turns 21 in a couple weeks. The good thing about this is these guys can grow together and be a damn good team for a damn long time. The bad thing about it is they need time to grow together.

Its an interesting post but Ben is no where close to being as consistant as Rip, also Billups is one of the best clutch shooters in the league he doesnt compare to Hinrich.

Was Billups recognized as a great clutch shooter when he was 25?

The Bulls are not one player away from the Pistons... unless that player is Kobe Bryant.

I'm confused. Since when does what a player did in the past matter in his current evaluation as a player? So Billups was once mediocre, that doesn't really affect things right now. He's about as efficient as a shoot-first PG could be, and there aren't a whole lot of PG's that are playing better. The same goes for Hamilton and Ben Wallace. All of those guys are extremely well rounded, and the first two were top 10 picks.

In terms of pure talent, we're somewhat close. Billups, Prince, and Ben Wallace aren't much more skilled than Hinrich, Deng, and Chandler. Those guys are playing at a higher level though. Gordon is somewhat close to Hamilton in terms of pure skills, but Hamilton is a lot more refined and is a lot more efficient. Also, Rasheed is much more talented and playing much better than any of our other big guys. We'd at least need to add a solid post scorer that isn't a complete defensive liability and replace Gordon with a solid defensive 2-guard that is at least okay on offense. even then, it'd probably take a year or two for us to get the same level of chemistry that Detroit has.

i would say that Roy from washington would be a good match up one day soon for him which i would love for us to get him to chicago.

Are You serious? If they were one player away then they would still be good, the Bulls arent even good so they are not even close to as good as the Pistons. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!

Plus, the Pistons have been starting the same people for 3 years now!! The Bulls cant even keep a lineup for more than a month!!

Its all about Chemistry and they certainly have it, The bulls better get way more talent to even be considered as good as the Pistons

We aren't even close to being the Pistons. We could be 1 player away from a championship, if we are talking about getting a guy like Kobe, Lebron, or Duncan.

People always say that the Pistons have no stars, but Ben Wallace is one of the Top 10 defensive players in NBA history. That's like having Patrick Roy. That's like having Randy Johnson. Ben is a motherfucking superstar, all the way.

And I keep telling people this, but they don't want to listen.

And umm, someone actually said that Chauncey Billups is nothing special? He is the absolute best 4th Quarter performer in the NBA. There, I said it. You want to talk about a guy with ice in his veins? You want to talk about a PG who never makes mistakes, hits clutch shots, and always sinks his free throws when the game is on the line? Wake up and smell the Folgers.

Rasheed Wallace in a system where he is the #1 scoring option = superstar.

Tayshaun Prince = Defensive Legend in the making, right there with Ron Artest and Bruce Bowen in terms of perimiter and mid-range D.

Pistons>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Bulls

Superstars are Lebron, Kobe, Shaq, Wade........ not Wallace and Billups. To be a superstar doesnt mean your neccesarily a better player.

Ben Wallace, in MLB terms, would be the best SP. In hockey terms, he'd be the best goalie. In football terms, he'd be Ray Lewis.

How does that not qualify as a superstar?

Also, other than Nash and Kidd, who is a more valuable PG than Chauncey? Nobody. In a championship sense, he's one of the 10 or 15 most valuable players in the NBA right now. I don't care about what he did early on in his career. He is peaking as of now.

These guys are superstars. Maybe their rookie cards ain't worth jack spiff or whatever, but they are superb pieces.

And conventional NBA views are there for me to poop on. I don't need some dumbass on television to tell me that the Pistons don't have any stars, or that Scottie Pippen wasn't one of the Top 50 players of all time, etc. People sleep on the most important aspect of organized sports (defense), and it disturbs me to no end.

yes defense is underated overall by the general public we all heard you say it a thousand times. But everyone that knows you from soxtalk and hell even the newbies on this forum can say you overate defense so much its silly. In the NBA defense is important but with how its officiated and the rules its offense that you need to win to go along with good defense. And like I said no one on the Pistons is a superstar they are stars but if they were superstars you wouldnt have to argue cases for them being superstars.

With a dominant Power Forward, the Bulls can be better than the current Pistons (in about 3 years). The difference between the teams is experience. The Bulls are a young team and will only get better over the next couple of years, while Detroit is at or near their peak.

Check out these numbers:

Billups - 9 years - 14.3 PPG, 5.1 APG Lifetime (5th team)
Hinrich - 3 years - 14.5 PPG, 6.5 APG

Hamilton - 7 years - 17.7 PPG Lifetime (2nd team)
Gordon - 2 years - 15.7 PPG

Prince - 4 years - 11.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG (only team)
Deng - 2 years - 12.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Nocioni - 2 years - 10.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG

R. Wallace - 11 years - 15.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG Lifetime (4th team)
(INSERT PLAYER)

B. Wallace - 10 years - 6.6PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.3BLK Lifetime (3rd team)
Chandler - 5 years - 7.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.4BLK

--Looking at career numbers, Hinrich will be better than Billups and his current numbers already are, and Billups has 6 years on him. Gordon and Hamilton are close and Gordon seems to have a ton of potential to score. It is amazing that Deng's numbers are better than Prince's and how Nocioni is really close. When comparing Wallace and Chandler, Wallace only has the edge in the Rebounds and Blocks, but he also have 5 years on Chandler.

So the biggest difference is experience. As long as the Bulls don't have to face Detroit in the first round, they might be able to pull out a series vs Miami or NJ.

I do feel that a dominant Power Forward would solidify this team as a playoff team for years to come.

I think with a little more experience and one bigger inside man, i think our bulls will be a force to reckon with in the coming years. I like the chemistry on this team, but they just need more experience especially in playoff situations. That is why i get all mad when people are ready to ship off and trade half of our roster for someone like KG...basketball is a team sport, and we have team that plays well with eachother...like detroit. Detroit doesnt really have a Kobe or Lebron who shoots up more points than the rest of the team every single night...Basketball is more fun when you dont really know who is gonna have the big game of the night, and it keeps the opponents on their toes too
So...to answer the question at the beginning of this thread..are bulls 1 player away from being the next pistons? No..we are one player away from being the next Bulls Dynasty.