I’ve seen most of the Bulls games this season. The highlight for the Bulls is clearly Derrick Rose’s play. Derrick has tremendous speed and can get to the basket with most players. Derrick is 6′-3″, so he can outrun most guards, as he has a 40″ vertical jump. Watching Derrick, he has extra gear when he needs it.
Derrick can also handle the ball equally with both hands. I expect Derrick to show more improvement as he grows in his confidence. I have high expectations for Derrick and he can become an All-Star and a great player for many seasons for the Bulls.
Derrick needs to improve his defense and has had too many turnovers. Derrick also needs to improve his outside shooting. I am very happy and satisfied with his game at the start of the season. Derrick is only 20 years old and only played one year in Memphis.
I watched the second half of the recent game against Cleveland. The Bulls didn’t play badly but they couldn’t stop LeBron in the fourth quarter. LeBron scored 41 points and the Bulls just couldn’t stop him. Ben had another good scoring game with 29 points.
The biggest problem for the Bulls was clearly expressed by Kenny Smith on TNT. The Bulls don’t have a low post option, so they can’t shoot the ball in the low post. This lack of a double option prevents a two-man game that most teams can play. The Bulls don’t have someone who will attack the rim and then pass the ball out for an open shot.
The Bulls aren’t consistent with their offense. They still take too many jump shots and fail to get the ball to the basket and to the free throw line. Derrick is our only player who can draw the defense to him when he drives to the basket. The Bulls are still one of the worst shooting teams in the league. The Bulls miss too many open shots.
The Bulls have now lost Captain Kirk for up to 3 months which will hurt the team. Kirk isn’t consistent every night, but he can run the offense and hit some outside shots. Our best shooter is clearly Ben Gordon, but he’s too small and his defense isn’t very good.
The Bulls gave Luol Deng a new contract and his play has been inconsistent. I think Luol has a lot of ability and needs to be more aggressive. He can shoot the outside jumper and can drive to the basket. We need more of Luol on the offensive end.
I’m happy with Drew Gooden’s game as he plays hard and does a good job on the board. Drew can score but he doesn’t have a good low post game. I am very disappointed in the poor filming of Tyrus Thomas. He can play good defense and rebound and block some shots, but he’s inconsistent.
As for the center position, we can’t expect to have success playing an undersized Drew Gooden. We’re not getting much out of Joakim Noah and he doesn’t stand a chance. He can play defense and rebound but he’s just a decent backup in my opinion. As for Aaron Gray, he is too slow in all aspects of the game.
I hope Larry Hughes can give us some scoring when he returns from injury. Thabo should return to the bench as his shot is very poor. I’m happy with Noch’s game from the bench. He can score when he’s hot and hits the 3-point shot. He also plays hard and does a good job on defense.
I don’t expect the Bulls to make the playoffs this year. I hope they win something in the 35 game range. The Bulls should be back in the draft lottery next year and we need to draft a post player. I’m disappointed the Bulls didn’t make a trade.
The Bulls should have made a trade during the offseason. It may be difficult to make a deal now, but we should still try. Not making the Gasol trade last year was a mistake. We know that Jerry turned down the deal because he had to pay a luxury tax. I feel like Jerry has always been more interested in money than earning and spending some money.
I also blame Paxson since most of his picks are disappointing. The Bulls need to make some changes next year if they want to compete and get back to the playoffs. The next road trip to the West Coast is likely to be a disaster for the Bulls. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid this is going to be a long season for Bulls fans.