How far do you think the bulls will go this year? depending on how much deng has improved and tyrus, im thinkin finals. deng can play post and im positive he has developed it. he practices all summer harder than anyone in the nba. i know he's got it. im predicting a 56 win team. thoughts?

Middle 50s for wins is a nice number if you ask me. They are deeper than they have been, plus they have a year of experience under their belts for guys like Lu, Ben, and Tyrus. Joe Smith will provide a nice option on the block that they haven't had for 3 years now. I think the confrence will be tougher, so it is hard to say how far we will go in the playoffs until I see how the other teams progress.

Anything less than a mid-50 win season will be disappointing to me. 55-27 seems like a good record. This team has enough talent and work ethic to improve to a 60-win team, but that's probably a year or two off.

The team continues to improve and with adding the right players, anything is possible. I do like the addition of Joakim Noah and now Joe Smith which should only help. Would like to see if Pax decides to make any further changes to the line up. The only other thing I am concerned about is whether or not Skiles has lead this team as far as he is able to and whether or not there is a coach available to may be able to get the team to the pinnacle. Time will tell however, I agree anything less than 50+ wins is going to be a bit of a disappointment.

52-30, 2nd place Eastern Conference/ they'll beat the Pistons in the Conference Championship and lose in 5 in the NBA Finals.

Our low post scoring has improved yes, and that will bump up our win total.

But in terms of size in the backcourt we still have an isssue. Not that I dont trust thabo and griffin to guard bigger Gs, but until duhon is no longer on the roster thabo wont be backing the backup Pg mins, and therefore limiting his time to guard the other teams bigger Gs.

Its not like i mind duhon being on the team, and if kirk had any type of extended injury we'll be lucky to have him bc he really did run the offense well. But when kirk comes out, Skiles always brings in duhon. Duhon and gordon is too small in the backcourt.

If thabo can get decent minutes at both guard spots, that will also increase kirk's effectiveness.

56-26 --lose finals in 6

it would also help if we didnt always start slow and have to make up ground after the all star break

here's another question to just add in this thread along with record HOW MANY ALL-STARS THIS YEAR? WHO?

I think just 1. Deng. But gordon, wallace, and hinrich have shots as well. And you never know what TT will do.

its funny, b/c on cbssportsline, i said they would win 53 games and lose in 6 in the finals

Honestly, none. Wallace might come close just because he has a good rep and has been there before and people notice his name but besides him Deng isnt popluar enough. As we all know its a popularity contest.


As for playoffs, eh well we will make it no doubt but miss the NBA Finals, I still dont think we have our low post scorer and Im not about to jump on the Joe Smith bandwagon this early.

Around 52-30 I'd say. Probably good enough for 1st or 2nd in the East. With the core getting more experienced and hopefully the (last year's) rookies coming along the wins will increase. It sucks that we have that long stretch where we play like 8 games in a row away because of that circus.

We could win like atleast 5 or 6 out of those first 8 games but because of that long away stand we've gotten off to bad starts the last few years.

ALLSTARS: Luol Deng @ 21 ppg 8 rpg 2 apg 1 bpg & Ben Gordon @ 23 ppg 3 rpg 5 apg

Just a guess.. Gordon could have made it last year so I suspect he will next year if his numbers increase a tid bit and he keeps shooting it well from the arc.

As long as we hit 50 wins, I'll be happy. The problem with projecting this team is that they lack a superstar to take over a game, which means if the team isn't in balance, they can struggle. One key injury, or a stretch of bad play can put more pressure on the rest of the players, and we don't have that type of team. I think 55 wins is about the most you can hope for out of this type of team. If we had inside guy who could score 20 a night, this could be a 60 win team, until that happens, I don't think the Bulls can win that many.

Deng maybe. It will be harder to keep him off of the team if he hits the magical 20 points a game mark.

If the Bulls don't make the conference finals with this roster as currently constructed, then the coaching staff gets put on the "on notice" board for next year. With the improvement in the front court and another year of development, this team should be the #1 seed in the East, and should make the NBA finals.

Anything significantly below 55 wins and a conference finals birth, in this conference as currently built, will qualify as a big disappointment in my book. And if we only make the conference finals, i'll still be a little disappointed, because this team looks better than that.

The Bulls are probably the best team in Chicago right now. they have the pieces in place to make it to the finals. Winning them on the other hand is going to be a tall order. Its not impossible but they need to get hot at the right time, have the ball roll their way and need to stay healthy.

the sky have the bulls in that department by a hair or two...

Bulls will probably start w/ a shaky start, and then finish strong as they usually do under scott skiles. I predict 51-53 wins this season, 2nd seed. The East has gotten tougher, and overall, pretty much every NBA has improved this season.

IMO, Deng will be the only one from the Bulls making it this year to the All-star game. Gordon will have a hard time making it do to 2 many good guards in the East.... Carter, Redd, Joe Johnson, Ray Allen, Wade....

dont forget chauncey and rip

I would have said Deng prior to the Rashard Lewis signing but after that, unless there are a couple of injuries I just don't see how Deng makes it at SF. Lebron, Paul Pierce, & Lewis without an injury will probably make the all-star team. Then you also have Caron Butler, Rip who can go as either the SG or SF and Teyshaun Prince. Not to mention up and comers like Andre Iguodala who also is a 2/3.

However, with that said, I think the Bulls will have a 57-25 record next year. That is assuming that Noah doesn't need to go under the knife. If he does and has to miss half or the entire season I think that number will be more like 50-32. They'll be either 1 or 2 at the break and that means they'll have to have at least 1 all-star. That could be Deng but I think it's more likely to be Wallace, Gordon or Kirk. Not that Kirk will deserve it but he might have an easier road than Gordon who has a lot of people in front of him. I really think next year they'll have 2 all-stars. I would love for those 2 to be Gordon & Deng.

As for Tyrus, he'll be playing on all-star weekend. In the Rookie/Soph game. Not the all-star game.

I agree with all of you who said lose in game 6 of the finals. I hope they win it but I really think the Rockets will win it this year. Just more star power and unless they have major injuries, I just don't see how the Bulls could match up well with them. Yao would be to tall for Wallace (I think) & Tmac to tall for Gordon. Sefolosha would also have problems on him. Plus the Bulls tend to give up too many open 3's. Hopefully, that changes next season. \

Yao
Scola
Battier
Tmac
James

vs

Wallace
Smith
Deng
Gordon
Kirk

I hate to say it but I think the only position that hands down goes to the Bulls is probably Kirk. Although James could very well outplay him. As for not saying Deng, it's b/c Battier is a damn good defender and would give Deng problems all series long. Yao gets the advantage and I'm assuming Scola will be better than Smith. As for Gordon I'm sorry buddy but Tmac's better. As far as the bench the Bulls and Rockets are pretty close. However, maybe the slightest advantage to the Bulls depending on how much Tyrus improves and if Nocioni is healthy. However, a healthy, confident Wells is probably more dangerous than Nocioni.

Tyrus/Nocioni/Noah (assuming plays this year)/Sefolosha/Curry vs Alston (who won't be there)/Francis/Head/Wells/Mutumbo/Brooks/Snyder

Well, I think you overestimate Battier's defensive abilities to shut down Deng. And yes, I say "shut down" b/c that's what he'd have to do for him to be considered the better of the match-up. I guarantee Deng would put up 18-20 on Battier. I'm not saying Battier is a bad player, I just think Deng is really good offensively too.

Anyway, I don't think Scola, who's never done a thing in the Association, should be considered better than Smith - a proven vet - right now. So, by my count that 3-2 Bulls. The Rockets do certainly have the edge with Yao and Tmac, but Kirk is much, much better than Mike James. I don't even see how you can make an argument for James. As for the benches, I'd rather have ours, but I am biased.

EDIT: Okay, so I just looked up how Deng did against the Rockets last year, and he averaged 17.5 pts. Battier averaged 8. I understand Battier is more of a role player, but we're not looking at that. I think when comparing match-ups, you look solely at Player A v. Player B. That's why games always play out differently than they would on paper, so I'm not even sure this discussion should have too much merit.

yeap, you are absolutely right... also forgot about Jason Richardson

For once I think the Bulls will get off to a decent start. The problem the last few years is that the Bulls have been bringing in tons of new players at key positions, who have to get used to the Skiles system. This is the first year in a while, where the majority of the vast majority of the starters and rotation are returning from one year to the next. That will be a huge help to the Bulls.

I know exactly what you mean and where you're coming from... But i still have a feeling that we'll start off okay, and then be one of the best teams by the end of the season.

This why i have a feeling that the Bulls will start w/ an okay record in the beginning:

- Ben Gordon usually starts off slow
-Joe Smith, and Noah are new, and will see plenty of minutes in the PF, and C position. Both need to learn skiles's plays, and get used to with what their teamates like to do.... Should take a few months so that both will start feeling pretty comfortable w/ everyone.
-Circus Trip... Its very tough winning on the Road, especially when a team is playing some back to back games. Every Western Team is dangerous, especially at home.

By no means am I saying Battier is a better player. I'm just saying that we would for sure need a big series from Gordon & Deng to win the finals. I think that Battier will contain Deng so that his numbers are 25ppg.

As for just looking at the boxscore from those games that doesn't show how Deng played against Deng. In the 1st game he was 3-7 from the field while Battier was in the game. That means he was 3 for 4 while Battier was on the bench.

In the second game he was only 5-12 from the field while battier was in the game. That means he was 2 for 3 without him in the game. Also in both games Deng only got 5 rebounds. That is below his average. It's not that Battier is a super great defender, he just plays hard and makes sure that nothing comes easy for the player he is defending.

In the playoffs they will make sure he's defended by Battier most of the game. I still think he can put up 18-20ppg but they won't be easy points.

The good news for the circus trip this year is that at least the majority of the core of this team was actually here last year. Wallace, Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Duhon, Noc, Thabo, TT...unlike last year, we're not waiting on BWall to adapt to playing in a new system, we're not trying to develop TT, these guys are all at least a year into the system, with a recent playoff run in their background, and hopefully that will help a lot on the circus trip. But that will sure be a test of whether or not we're as good as we think we should be.

54-28. 1/2 seed in the East.