thebizkit69u

I'm used to it. People laugh, then come end of season time.... I'm right again. Nothing New.

The Bulls will not compete with the elite teams in the NBA. Heck its going to take a freaking grind it out effort every night just to beat teams like the Kings. You can laugh off the idea that its going to be a long season, but its just the truth.

jnrjr79

I'm just laughing at your ability to seethe so much invective all the time. It's pretty remarkable. Yes, the Bulls aren't going to be great this year. No shit. Their superstar player is out. So, what, you're annoyed they had a relatively narrow win over a bad team when they were playing without Rose? Get used to it. The Bulls are going to lose some games to bad teams, steal some games from good teams, and generally do those things that decent but not great teams do. It's not something to get worked up about. This season is going to be all about treading water until after Rose returns.

I'm not laughing at the notion that it's going to be a long season. Of course it will, in some regard. I'm laughing that the fact it will be a long season is somehow turned into an excuse to piss and moan about the team. The Bulls are worse without Derrick Rose. Hold on, let me retire to my fainting sofa in the parlour and gather my strength...

Further, I wouldn't get too excited about being proved "right" this year. You are the one who has repeatedly declared that the Bulls are a lottery team without Rose. Your theory will be tested this year. Let's see how much of that relentless refrain on your end is proved true, eh?

thebizkit69u

I'm not mad at all to tell you the truth.

As for the lottery prediction, well if last nights game was any indication on how they will perform this season without Rose, I'm right on track with that prediction.

For years I have been talking about how poorly this team's offense is without Rose, for years I have been bitching about how this team wasn't built all that well around Rose. How can I be mad when everything I was talking about for YEARS, came true? I'm not happy that the Bulls are stuck in neutral now, but to be honest, I think this season will finally bring about some changes in the near future. Listen to some of Pax's current radio interviews and the guy is starting to finally admit that the team lacks stars and that they aren't going to compete for a title, that kind of honesty is truly refreshing.

jnrjr79

Got it. So for the record, as of the day that Rose comes back this season, your position is the Bulls will not be among the top 8 seeds in the East. I just want to make sure that's confirmed.

thebizkit69u

I can easily see a sub .500 team as the 8th seed in the east, obviously the return of Rose changes everything, but I predict the that East is so bad that any team has a legit shot at that 8th seed.

jnrjr79

So are you saying the Bulls will be sub-.500 without Rose?

All I'm trying to do is get an honest assessment of how you think the team will perform without him. Before you always said it's a lottery team without him. Now you seem to be abandoning that. So where does that leave us?

thebizkit69u

I think the Bulls are a lottery team without Rose.

Sub .500 is a lottery team, depending on how bad the rest of the NBA is. I'm not saying the Bulls are a top 5 pick without Rose but they will be in that 10-15 pick range which is the lottery as well.

Fergus

The idea that the Bulls need more "star" players is probably right. Deng, Noah, Boozer and Hamilton are all decent players and would be great 3rd or 4th options on many of the better NBA teams. However, none of the players would seem like legitimate #2 scoring options beside Rose.

However, the missing factor is the team first, defensive oriented concept that coach Thibodeau brings to the table. To me, that allows the current Bulls to be competetive now and a legitimate threat to win the NBA championship once Rose returns.

If you watch a lot of NBA games, there definitely seem to be a lot of teams that do not play as well as the Bulls. They may have some very talented players, but when they go 5 on 5 vs the Bulls, the Bulls have a very good chance to win.

jnrjr79

Well, you said they might get the 8th seed. If they do, they are not in the draft lottery, which is reserved for non-playoff teams. So what I was trying to assess is whether you think the Bulls would be on pace to earn a playoff berth as of the day Rose comes back (i.e. are they a playoff team or aren't they without Rose?).

thebizkit69u

Like I said, depending on the rest of the worst. The east is sooo bad, but the Bulls play hard. They will be competitive in every game because of Thibs, while other teams will just give up and lay down, I don't see the Bulls doing this.

In the grand scheme of things, getting that 8th seed is nothing to be proud about. But I will stick to my prediction that without Rose, they won't make the playoffs.