I said that if you think the Bulls will post MORE than 46 wins. the 46-36 option is there for a reason, not just to subject yourself to ridicule.
But more than 46 wins would definitely be improbable, don't you think?
Jermaine O'Neal's stats from his second year:
60 games, 9 starts. 3.4 rpg, 4.5 ppg, .97 bpg in 13.5 mins. Not bad at all, if you think about it. But Chandler's going to get a lot more PT than Jermaine, huh.
Jermaine's "break-out" year, with more minutes:
12.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.81 bpg in 80 starts getting 32.6 mins.
Those are fantastic numbers with rebounding and blocks... but it was Jermaine's FIFTH year in the league.
However, other than Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant (who were both more NBA ready than Curry, Chandler, Kwame, or any of the rest of them were when they came out), players like Jermaine O'Neal, Al Harrington, T-Mac... they did really well to develop on the bench. One might say it was just a matter of playing time, that if they had received a chance, they'd have been tearing it up.
But regardless, these H.S. players learned by observation and good coaching, and now they are some of the most talented players in the league.
Curry and Chandler are really the first not-so-NBA ready high schoolers to be thrown into starting minutes and laden with so much responsibility. They will definitely get better, and I'd expect the learning to be accelerated, but let's not expect a KG year from Chandler or Curry.
DeShawn Stevenson is also looking to be a good story. He might really break out this year... it will be his third year in the league. Maybe we can expect a similar breakout in the third year of C and C. Which is, of course, a year away.
Sadly (and this is not based purely on summer league performance), I think Amare Stoudamire might be a little bit advanced in where he's at. I'd say that if he was drafted top 6, say instead of Wilcox, the team would have been getting full value.
Thus, I am in the 28 win camp. Maybe 30. MAYBE 35, if the team stays healthy. But that's as optimisitc as I'll get.
Don't get me wrong, and no one will deny that there is a VERY bright future ahead. In addition, those 30 games that we might win are going to be crazy exciting, along with a good deal of the games we lose.