2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews: Chicago Bulls
Posted by Neil Paine on October 22, 2010
Welcome to our 2010-11 NBA Blogosphere Previews, in which we contact the finest team bloggers on the web and ask them to contribute their thoughts on the squad they cover. What follows is their take, along with the team's depth chart (courtesy of ESPN.com), projected 2011 stats via our Simple Projection System, and polls where you get to have your say. Enjoy!
Chicago Bulls
Coach: Tom Thibodeau
2010 Summary:
Record: 41-41, Finished 3rd in NBA Central Division
Pythagorean W-L: 36-46 (18th of 30)
SRS: -1.63 (18th of 30) ▪ Pace Factor: 93.1 (11th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 103.5 (27th of 30) ▪ Defensive Rating: 105.3 (11th of 30)
2011 Depth Chart (with 2010-11 projected per-36 minute stats ... yellow = newcomer)
| Pos | Player | Age | PTS | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FG% | 3PM | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Derrick Rose | 22 | 19.2 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 0.496 | 0.2 | 0.271 | 0.780 |
| PG | C.J. Watson | 26 | 13.8 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.467 | 0.9 | 0.342 | 0.807 |
| SG | Ronnie Brewer | 25 | 13.2 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.508 | 0.3 | 0.273 | 0.694 |
| SG | Kyle Korver | 29 | 14.1 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 0.461 | 2.0 | 0.436 | 0.845 |
| SG | Keith Bogans | 30 | 9.4 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.398 | 1.8 | 0.351 | 0.786 |
| SF | Luol Deng | 25 | 16.6 | 6.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.470 | 0.4 | 0.390 | 0.774 |
| SF | James Johnson | 23 | 12.9 | 6.2 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 0.464 | 0.8 | 0.342 | 0.742 |
| PF | Carlos Boozer | 29 | 20.0 | 11.4 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 0.544 | 0.0 | 0.344 | 0.736 |
| PF | Taj Gibson | 25 | 12.4 | 9.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.498 | 0.1 | 0.358 | 0.661 |
| C | Joakim Noah | 25 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 0.517 | 0.1 | 0.350 | 0.728 |
| C | Kurt Thomas | 38 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.475 | 0.1 | 0.317 | 0.763 |
| C | Omer Asik | 24 | ||||||||||
2010-11 Blogger Outlook by Matt of www.blogabull.com
The Bulls should have a team with extremes on either end of the floor: A potentially fantastic defense, yet struggling offense.
Anchored by Joakim Noah (one of the best help defenders in the game and an improving shotblocker) and supplemented by an underrated perimeter defender in Deng, Thibodeau's defense-first mindset should fit in well with this roster. They’ve upgraded the size of their off guard position with the additions of Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans, and the frontcourt bench is deep with defense-first players in Taj Gibson, Kurt Thomas and Turkish shotblocker Omer Asik.
But especially with Carlos Boozer already missing significant time, the offense could struggle. A team often too reliant on long two-point jumpers, Boozer at least had addressed the long drought of inside scoring. There will likely be a continuing issue with 3-point shooting, with the Bulls near the bottom of the league in attempts and makes, and only Kyle Korver (as well as hoped improvement from Deng) to try and keep opponents from packing in the lane.
The good news is that the offense can be tasked with simply keeping the game close, and giving Derrick Rose a chance to take over. While not at MVP level yet, he’s shown the ability to take over late games, which should give the Bulls some wins they may not have otherwise had a chance in.
Poll Time
December 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 am
I love how you layed out the polls for your users to project what they think the outcome for certain aspects of the games will be. I am going to have to use that! Thank you!