How Predicta-Bull

When "Big" Ben Wallace was signed by the Bulls in 2006 for 60 MILLION DOLLARS, the entire country had high hopes for Chicago to do well and go far in the playoffs. How did the season end? The Bulls finished 49 and 33; this was good enough to get the 5th seed in the Eastern playoffs. They were then defeated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals by Detroit. That was an improvement from the year before when the Bulls were defeated in the first round by Washington. With this information at hand, along with the recent player additions, there will be even more improvement in Chicago. 'Improvement' has been the word to describe the Bulls over the past 3 or 4 years. Impatience is beginning to settle a little more in Chicago, and fans are beginning to demand AT LEAST an Eastern Conference Championship. Now let me first say that the Bulls are completely capable of achieving the Eastern Conference title. But because of that one missing piece, it will be a difficult road to get there.

Hoopsworld.com put out an article predicting the ups and downs of the 2007-2008 season for the Chicago Bulls. High hopes are always going to be in store for the Bulls. A true Bull fan, such as myself, already knows that the Bulls will live up to the hype as they did last year, regardless that they fell just short of the Eastern Conference finals. Whenever the Bulls lost last season, I would really be upset. I admit that there were many games that they should have won, particularly the one involving that last second game winning 3-pointer put up by the Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa. That one really pissed me off. But then I just said to hell with it because I knew most teams in the East wouldn't even come that close to beating Phoenix.

Chicago always found a way to bounce back. After blowing the 2 seed in the playoffs last year, the Bulls were on the brink of another first round failure, but this time it would be against the defending champions, the Miami Heat. I remember that my buddies and I called the sweep, but even we had trouble believing ourselves. Then it happened, and we almost pissed our pants.

So I made a list of three things about the Bulls that no one can ever forget:

1. The 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls were the best team in NBA history. The 72 and 10 record speaks for itself.

2. The Chicago Bulls had the privilege of possessing basketball's greatest legacy, Michael Jordan.

3. Don't fuck with Toni Kukoc. We will be remembered as a Chicago Bull and not as a Milwaukee 'Suck'.

So let's get some things straight about this upcoming season. Yes, the Bulls will be one of the best teams in the East. No, they will not be as good as the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. Yes, there is a very good possibility that the Bulls could win the East. No, the Bulls still don't have a scoring big man. Yes, the Bulls will do better than last season. No, the road to the top still won't be easy.

To all the Bulls fans out there, please understand the No's I have mentioned. I want the Bulls to kick some ass and take some names too, but for the love of God, show some patience and have a little more faith.

Who the hell is Joe Smith??

Apparently he's this guy. This is the guy Chicago picked up to replace PF P.J. Brown. Chicago lucked out on opportunities to retrieve such power forwards as Kevin Garnett, now in Boston, Zach Randolph, now in New York, and Jermaine O'Neal, still sadly in Indiana. I guess Joe Smith was the next best thing. I have heard of him though. He was that guy who came to the New World and fell in love with Pocahontas, right? I don't know...so I did some research on Joe Smith.

Drafted out of Maryland in 1995 by the Golden State Warriors as the number one pick, Joe Smith made an instant impact by putting up solid double figures in scoring, along with the occasional double digit rebounding. He averaged 17.1 points in three years while playing for Golden State. I found it interesting that he started all 211 games he played for Golden State. Once he was settled, Smith was shipped to Philadelphia in 1997. This is where he met the injury bug, as well as the bench. Almost every stat in the book went down, especially points, minutes played, and games played. Although there was a solid increase in personal fouls per game.

Smith is an avid traveler and loves touring the country. He has been all over the country in the last ten years. He spent one year in Philly, two years in Minnesota, and one year in Detroit. Smith decided to revisit Minnesota for two more years, and then settled in Milwaukee for three years. This past season, Smith started in Denver, but then ended up back in Philly as part of the Iverson trade. Now he wishes to find a home in Chicago.

<-This picture just screams irony. Thank God we have them both (I'm debating whether I'm being sarcastic or not).

There's no doubt that the Bulls need an offensive big man. After Chicago C Eddy Curry was sent to New York in 2005, the Bulls really never recovered their post game. The Bulls have relied mostly on the streaky shooting of Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, and Kirk Hinrich. These guys have done a great job, but something has to be wrong when your big man leader in scoring is Ben Wallace, who averaged 6.4 points in the 2006-2007 season. When Chicago traded Tyson Chandler to New Orleans for P.J. Brown at the beginning of this past season, Chicago was hoping that some sort of post game would be resurrected out of Brown that the Bulls have lacked for so long. What ended up happening? Basically, P.J. Brown flopped. There were some streaks of offense, but nothing that lasted long. He only averaged 6.1 points per game and was fourth in rebounding on the team. And to top it off, Tyson Chandler all of sudden decided to be good. He finished the season 2nd in the league in rebounding, averaged a career high 9.5 points, was one the candidates considered for Most Improved Player, and made the USA Men's National basketball team. What the hell?!

I'll tell you what the Bulls need. This is exactly what the Chicago Bulls need...

Just ignore the foreign language in this clip.

The Good, the Bad, the Joakim Noah

Let's face it...we won't see this guy on the cover of GQ anytime soon. Some people say it's the hair; others say it's his face. No one knows why F/C Joakim Noah looks this way, but at least people recognize him. And if you think his look is ugly, you should see his Shawn Marion-esque jump shot. But I don't think Bulls head coach Scott Skiles plans on using Noah for his "shooting abilities."

Scott Skiles is all about team basketball. You don't see this much now in the NBA, but I believe that the Chicago Bulls are the best example of team basketball. This is what Noah brings to the table. He was a part of the two-time National Championship winners, the Florida Gators. Noah has experience on how to be a part of a true team. Some say the Bulls should have gone with Washington C Spencer Hawes. I disagree. Hawes may possess a better post presence, but he is still lacking in defense. What Noah lacks in the post, he makes up for with outstanding effort and defense. Noah fights for every rebound, dives for the occasional loose ball, and is a block waiting to happen. I know, I know...the Bulls already have those things covered by Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas. The fact of the matter is that we know what Noah can do. Noah's fantastic finish his sophomore year in the NCAA tournament showed that he really has some kind of an offense. Maybe his junior year wasn't as stat-filled as his sophomore year, but he still got a championship out of it.

The Bulls had a hell of a second round in the draft. In my opinion, Pittsburgh C Aaron Grey was a late round steal. Give him a couple of years, he might be the next Luc Longley. One of the premiere centers in college, Grey brings the size the Bulls lack down low. And after seeing people repeatedly eating their testicles on Fear Factor, bulls usually don't lack in size in down low. But back to what I was saying...another second round pick was Oklahoma State G JamesOn Curry. I admit that I don't know much about him, but I did see that triple overtime thriller against Kevin Durant and the Texas Longhorns, which was in my opinion the greatest college game that I have seen. Curry put up 28 points, along with 9 rebounds. He will find himself on the bench most the season behind fellow benchmen, Chris Duhon and Thabo Sefolosha. But he will get his chance to play...eventually...when it's a blowout...probably against the Pacers.

All these guys have to remember that the Bulls are a true team and that they must learn to follow before they can lead. The rookies are behind a great non-all-star cast starring Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Andres Nocioni. Noah will get in his minutes (as in greater than 1, but less than 10), Grey will be able to at least put his feet on the floor every so often, and Curry will enjoy watching the game just like me...except against the Pacers...he will probably play.

I leave you with this. Enjoy!