Three Alphas sounds like the name of a pleasant tasting micro-brew on tap at your corner pub. It’s not a beer though. It’s actually the catch-phrase defining the Chicago Bulls upcoming season.
It’s a proverbial “Great Experiment” to say the least. An Alpha Dog, by definition, is solo. Like Highlander, “there can only be one,” but Chicago trots out three this year in Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo.
The Bulls have undergone what is perhaps the biggest roster makeover of anyone in the entire league. The NBA has followed the trend set by college basketball- the over-emphasis on small ball.
Anyone who’s exceedingly tall is pretty much automatically ascribed exorbitantly overvalued NBA Draft stock. Thus, they leave school well before they should and the college game is forced to go smaller.
Many teams start three guards, and it’s not uncommon to see four guard line-ups on the floor these days. That used to be a rarity.
The NBA has followed suit by becoming a more guard oriented league, seeing the true legitimate Center become an endangered species.
Also, many of those big men bust, only verifying the idea that they left college long before they were properly seasoned.
Solid bigs are in shorter supply and the Chicago Bulls let both of their star big men leave, replacing them only with Robin Lopez, who’s best claim to fame is being mistaken for his twin brother Brook Lopez, who is much better.
It’s like being a writer for the Washington Times (as I once was), the best thing that happens to you is people mistaking you for a Washington Post writer.
The Bulls used to have one of the best front courts in the league. it was their strength. Now they’re back-court oriented, first and foremost.
Reggie Miller, franchise icon of one of the Bulls former quasi-rivals, the Indiana Pacers is now an Analyst with Turner Sports. He did a media conference call to preview the upcoming season.
Miller on the Rondo-Wade-Butler trio:
“They are great open court players. With the league going towards three-point shooters, if you look at their numbers they would be at the bottom of all players in the NBA. You need dribble penetration.”
“If you put Wade, Butler in [isolation] situations or pick and roll situations, you are talking about three of the best layers in the league. For Chicago, it is going to be about timely three pointers.”
Miller then rhetorically asked a question on Chicago Bulls fans minds everywhere as the season approaches-
“Can these guys be consistent at making threes at critical times? I understand one-on-one basketball and Butler, an All-Star, and Rondo, a former All-Star, they know how to play.”
“Looking at their preseason games, the chemistry is there. Looking at how the NBA is tending now, teams are playing smaller which is a plus for Chicago.”
Being guard oriented, but not having three-point shooters is kind of rare. It’s a bad scenario. It’s like eating a lot of pizza, getting all the trans fat, calories and cholesterol, but none of the great taste or fulfilling nutrition.
Sports Betting Dime gives Chicago the 8th best odds out of anyone to win it all; which is quite shocking. What’s not surprising? The actual odds of the Chicago Bulls capturing the NBA title, at 80/1.
They also give the Chicago Bulls the 4th best odds of winning the Eastern conference at 20/1.
It’s hard to imagine that there will be truly be enough balls to go around, proverbially speaking, with this Chicago Bulls team. “Too many chiefs, not enough indians” as the anachronistic, and politically incorrect saying goes.
It would truly help if they had a “big government” kind of chief who believes in leading in a strong, centralized manner.
Hoiberg has his positive attributes, but being the kind of hardliner that this team needs is absolutely not one of them. He was basically basketball Marc Trestman in his first year leading the Bulls; i.e. a total disaster.
Maybe this year will be much better, but it’s also worth noting that Sports Betting Dime has Fred Hoiberg with the second most favorable odds of being the first coach dismissed at 9/2.
Maybe the Bulls really will go from the lottery to the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference. Maybe the personalities will clash, Hoiberg won’t be able to control it and it all implodes on everyone. Other houses in Vegas are much less “bullish” on Chicago this year.
I’ve seen them with a season over/under of just 37.5 wins in numerous places. It’s all about team chemistry and thus far in the preseason, it’s certainly been there, but to quote the title song from “Hamilton,” which has now completely taken over this town through the sheer power of Hamilaria, “just you wait. just you wait.”
(Or you can quote one of Aaron Burr’s solo songs- “I’m willing to wait for it, wait for it.”
For what it’s worth, Kevin McHale was on the same exact call and he thinks Hoiberg can make this thing work with Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls:
“I’ve coached Fred and worked with him in the front office. He’s going to use those guys in different positions. You will see a lot of swing-swing of the ball, slot driving.”
“And those guys will all have to be facilitators and that is when the three-point shooting becomes effective. You are going to see Fred use Rondo as a facilitator.”
The Chicago Bulls open the season Thursday night when they host Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.
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