As long as Lebron James is healthy and in his prime, the Chicago Bulls are not going to the NBA Finals any time soon. You knew that before the series with the Cleveland Cavaliers series, but denial kept you from acknowledging it. The Bulls won’t get past Lebron next year or the year after that; unless you have a plate tectonic shift in the NBA.
Yes, the NBA Eastern Conference is the AAA affiliate of the Western Conference, which gives the Bulls a chance, but hey, there’s still that Lebron guy.
This Chicago Bulls team had a 12 point lead late in third quarter of a game that would have put them up 3-1 on Lebron on the Cavs. They couldn’t close. Down just one in the second quarter, the Bulls faced a Cleveland team with their second best player (Kyrie Irving) out with injury, Lebron in foul trouble and their best player wasn’t even able to play in the series to begin with.
And yet the Chicago Bulls couldn’t even…well, let’s just look ahead to the NBA talking season and the 2015-16 season.
Let’s look at what the future might hold.
Coach Tom Thibodeau- Saying there’s no rift between Thibs and the front office is like saying the Earth is 6,000 years old and climate change doesn’t exist. Yes, people do make these claims, even though everyone knows it’s not true. Hopefully, the Bulls can trade Thibs and get something in return. The New Orleans Pelicans are the favorite, but the Orlando Magic are interested too.
Fred Hoiberg will likely be Thibs’ successor. The names Adrian Griffin and Alvin Gentry have been tossed around, but Hoiberg is supposedly the guy.
Derrick Rose- he’s not an All-Star or All-NBA anymore. He can still bring it, and he’s still the guy that this franchise is built around, but he’s not going to be what he was pre-2012. His complete disappearance in the second halves of the least two games, with everything on the line and a banged up Kyrie Irving defending him, verifies this thesis. Rose’s contract dictates everything the Chicago Bulls do given the salary cap restrictions, and a potential luxury cap hit.
Jimmy Butler- he’s the team’s best player now, not Rose. Give him a max contract; because somebody will. Next.
Joakim Noah– regressed this year after peaking in 2013-14, maybe he’ll return to form with an extended off-season to convalesce? So much of what the Chicago Bulls do runs through him, so that’s a pretty big if. Oh, and hopefully, Ohio State QB Cardale Jones has let the beef with him go now.
Mike Dunleavy/Doug McDermott- How many teams have a lottery pick who is a total non-factor (even when healthy) on their roster? It’s another example of why Thibs won’t be coaching here next season. Dunleavy is a free agent, and the Bulls will need cap space. In other words, the Chicago Bulls will probably have to let Mike Dunleave, and develop McBuckets into something substantial. Especially since they traded up to get him.
Taj Gibson- Remember how loads of NBA pundits said that the Chicago Bulls had a frontcourt advantage over any and all teams in the East? Well, so much for that. They couldn’t even take out a Loveless Cavs side. That’s not all on Taj, but as he hit age 30, we’ve seen his ceiling.
Nikola Mirotic- Maybe we all went a little nuts with Nikomania, I know I did, because after all he is the shiny new object. Thibs could have used him more, but didn’t due to defensive issues. Still, he’s a key piece along with Rose and Butler.
Pau Gasol- not the best defender, but great offensively, and although he’s on the wrong side of age 34, this was a very quality signing. He won’t guide the Chicago Bulls to a championship, but he is quite good.
Kirk Hinrich- Yeah, hey, thanks for coming.
Aaron Brooks- solid role player.
Review: The loss to the Cavs was terribly predictable. It’s a shame that the NBA postseason can be ridiculously predictable at times. The Chicago Bulls are not in the proverbial “NBA Hell,” (also known as the default setting for the Utah Jazz franchise), but they’re not winning a title any time soon.
Outlook: It’s hard to imagine that Derrick Rose will play much longer than 2-3 more seasons, and this year we learned that will not be the best guy on the team the next time the Chicago Bulls win a title. From 2011-until this postseason, we believed the complete opposite of that statement.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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