Post by Rommie on Jul 29, 2007 23:08:05 GMT -5
The Bulls seem to be a in dynasty mode right now. They won the championship last year and with players just now in their prime it looks like the championships may keep on coming.
With that said there are a few teams out there that could knock them off. Here they are.
New York Knicks
They acquired Jason Richardson after last season in hopes that he would be the missing piece to their team. Richardson has been fabulous leading the team in scoring with 26 points per game while shooting almost 50% from the field. They have a couple of 20 and 10 guys in Yao Ming and Tony Parker. (Obviously Ming with the rebounds and TP with the assists.) Sammuel Dalembart is a stud on defense and gives them 16 points per game.
Randy Foye may be what is holding this team back. He should be a fine player in the future but right now Ruben Patterson, CJ Miles, and Tony Allen beat him out for minutes. The Knicks are very close to having a legit chance of knocking off the Bulls but right now I think they are a shooting guard behind them.
Don't rule out a trade for the Knicks. They have Foye, Vladimir Stepania's contract, and 2 lottery picks so they can make a deal for someone big.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons just made a big time deal swapping Lebron James for Chris Paul. Both are great talents but Paul is a franchise point guard and the Pistons are deep at the 2-3 with Ron Artest, Taysan Prince, and Charlie Villanueva.
With the talent on the perimeter the Pistons have 3 guys basically averaging double doubles. Theo Ratliff is a defensive wall but has been injured most of the year. They do have Darko Millicic. Just 21 years old Millicic is just now starting to tap into his skill set and has done so nicely for being a young player. Anderson Varejao has been leading the big men with Theo out and done a nice job. Andrew Bynum is the young stud they acquired for Shaq. While Bynum is raw he will be great for the future.
Since they just acquired Chris Paul they did play the Bulls. They lost by 5. They had a good 2nd and 3rd quarter but it wasn't enough. If this young team can get consistent they could knock off the Bulls. Granted this game may not have been a good telling at what the playoff series could be. Chris Paul and Ron Artest didn't shoot the ball well and neither did Manu Ginobli.
I think that if the Pistons still had Shaqiule they might be able to knock off the Bulls. Maybe. But they don't so I still see the Bulls as the better team. However next year things should be a lot more interesting.
Toronto Ratpors
The Raptors are a great team. They will win over 60% of their games. As far as talent goes, they are right there with Chicago. The problem is the Raptor's talent in all in the back court.
Dwyane Wade is a flat out stud. A 30 point scorer teams can not handle him. His sidekick is Gilbert Arenas who is a stud himself. Both are similar but Arenas is better with the point duties. Then you have Kirk Hinrich who is an excellent young point guard averaging a double double.
As I said though all these guys are guard. But due to their lack of depth up front Wade, at 6'4, must play small forward. Also their big men, Robert Traylor and Joel Przybilla, don't score the ball well. They are good role players and do a great job of doing the little things though it's not enough when you have to face Dirk Nowitzki and Elton Brand.
They do have what looks like 2 lottery picks so maybe if they don't want to make a deal they can land a big man here.
Even with all their talent I think the Bulls are just to strong up front for the Raptors. It's a tough task to face for 7 games.
Los Angeles Lakers
They played really well as of late. They are like the Bulls and have a lot of great young talent all across the board.
Lets start with their back court. Deron Williams and Devin Harris should both be studs in this league. Williams is more of a floor general and Harris is more of a scorer. Either way you can't go wrong, each gives you something a little different and each will be an absolute stud at the point.
You look at their shooting guard position and they have rookie Brandon Roy. He is young and good but will get a lot better. He actually is similar to Bull's shooting guard Joe Johnson, both are all around 2 guards who do everything well.
Then you go the front court and this is where the Lakers are really loaded. Luol Deng is the best player on the Lakers. He is like a lot of the Lakers, long and athletic. At 6'10 he stands taller than most small forwards and also is quick. He shoots the ball well from the outside but also has some post moves and can suffocate his man on defense. They also have Danny Granger. Very athletic player who can shoot and defend well. Danny is best at the 3 but also can play some 2 and 4.
They have Boris Diaw at the 3. The guy is long, athletic, and versatile. He does everything good. He could play some point if he had to. He shoots the ball well and is capable of posting his man up. The man in the middle is Amare Stoudamire. One of the best big man a GM could ask for. A double double guy capable of going off on a scoring rampage if you are not careful.
The Lakers actually may have the best chance out of all these teams of beating the Bulls. They don't really have any weakness. They have well developed guys in Luol Deng, Amare Stoudamire, and Boris Diaw but I don't know that it will be enough. Like I said with the Pistons, assuming the young guys are kept, next year should be very interesting.
As good as the Lakers are, I think they will end up first in the West no disrespect to San Antonio, the Bulls are still well the Bulls. They are the team to beat.
I think there are some good teams out there that are right behind the Bulls. It looks like the Bulls have another championship for sure but after that things are not so certain.
With that said there are a few teams out there that could knock them off. Here they are.
New York Knicks
They acquired Jason Richardson after last season in hopes that he would be the missing piece to their team. Richardson has been fabulous leading the team in scoring with 26 points per game while shooting almost 50% from the field. They have a couple of 20 and 10 guys in Yao Ming and Tony Parker. (Obviously Ming with the rebounds and TP with the assists.) Sammuel Dalembart is a stud on defense and gives them 16 points per game.
Randy Foye may be what is holding this team back. He should be a fine player in the future but right now Ruben Patterson, CJ Miles, and Tony Allen beat him out for minutes. The Knicks are very close to having a legit chance of knocking off the Bulls but right now I think they are a shooting guard behind them.
Don't rule out a trade for the Knicks. They have Foye, Vladimir Stepania's contract, and 2 lottery picks so they can make a deal for someone big.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons just made a big time deal swapping Lebron James for Chris Paul. Both are great talents but Paul is a franchise point guard and the Pistons are deep at the 2-3 with Ron Artest, Taysan Prince, and Charlie Villanueva.
With the talent on the perimeter the Pistons have 3 guys basically averaging double doubles. Theo Ratliff is a defensive wall but has been injured most of the year. They do have Darko Millicic. Just 21 years old Millicic is just now starting to tap into his skill set and has done so nicely for being a young player. Anderson Varejao has been leading the big men with Theo out and done a nice job. Andrew Bynum is the young stud they acquired for Shaq. While Bynum is raw he will be great for the future.
Since they just acquired Chris Paul they did play the Bulls. They lost by 5. They had a good 2nd and 3rd quarter but it wasn't enough. If this young team can get consistent they could knock off the Bulls. Granted this game may not have been a good telling at what the playoff series could be. Chris Paul and Ron Artest didn't shoot the ball well and neither did Manu Ginobli.
I think that if the Pistons still had Shaqiule they might be able to knock off the Bulls. Maybe. But they don't so I still see the Bulls as the better team. However next year things should be a lot more interesting.
Toronto Ratpors
The Raptors are a great team. They will win over 60% of their games. As far as talent goes, they are right there with Chicago. The problem is the Raptor's talent in all in the back court.
Dwyane Wade is a flat out stud. A 30 point scorer teams can not handle him. His sidekick is Gilbert Arenas who is a stud himself. Both are similar but Arenas is better with the point duties. Then you have Kirk Hinrich who is an excellent young point guard averaging a double double.
As I said though all these guys are guard. But due to their lack of depth up front Wade, at 6'4, must play small forward. Also their big men, Robert Traylor and Joel Przybilla, don't score the ball well. They are good role players and do a great job of doing the little things though it's not enough when you have to face Dirk Nowitzki and Elton Brand.
They do have what looks like 2 lottery picks so maybe if they don't want to make a deal they can land a big man here.
Even with all their talent I think the Bulls are just to strong up front for the Raptors. It's a tough task to face for 7 games.
Los Angeles Lakers
They played really well as of late. They are like the Bulls and have a lot of great young talent all across the board.
Lets start with their back court. Deron Williams and Devin Harris should both be studs in this league. Williams is more of a floor general and Harris is more of a scorer. Either way you can't go wrong, each gives you something a little different and each will be an absolute stud at the point.
You look at their shooting guard position and they have rookie Brandon Roy. He is young and good but will get a lot better. He actually is similar to Bull's shooting guard Joe Johnson, both are all around 2 guards who do everything well.
Then you go the front court and this is where the Lakers are really loaded. Luol Deng is the best player on the Lakers. He is like a lot of the Lakers, long and athletic. At 6'10 he stands taller than most small forwards and also is quick. He shoots the ball well from the outside but also has some post moves and can suffocate his man on defense. They also have Danny Granger. Very athletic player who can shoot and defend well. Danny is best at the 3 but also can play some 2 and 4.
They have Boris Diaw at the 3. The guy is long, athletic, and versatile. He does everything good. He could play some point if he had to. He shoots the ball well and is capable of posting his man up. The man in the middle is Amare Stoudamire. One of the best big man a GM could ask for. A double double guy capable of going off on a scoring rampage if you are not careful.
The Lakers actually may have the best chance out of all these teams of beating the Bulls. They don't really have any weakness. They have well developed guys in Luol Deng, Amare Stoudamire, and Boris Diaw but I don't know that it will be enough. Like I said with the Pistons, assuming the young guys are kept, next year should be very interesting.
As good as the Lakers are, I think they will end up first in the West no disrespect to San Antonio, the Bulls are still well the Bulls. They are the team to beat.
I think there are some good teams out there that are right behind the Bulls. It looks like the Bulls have another championship for sure but after that things are not so certain.