The Chicago Bulls recently concluded their 2008/2009 season with a loss in game seven to the Boston Celtics in what was seen by many as the best first round series of all-time. This was a season that saw a series of ups and downs for this young Chicago Bulls team that not only was young in the sense of being led by a rookie point guard and having a young average, but also in the sense that their head coach was in his first year of coaching.
The season started on a high note with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks and former Bulls head coach Scott Skiles. However, that win was quickly overshadowed by an embarassing loss to the defending champion Boston Celtics. From there the Bulls went through a series of wins and losses, never having more than two in a row of either until they reached their annual circus road trip. They went into this trip at .500, which at the time was a good sign for the team. They managed to then go a respectible 3-4 on the road trip, about as good as they've ever done since the Jordan era.
It was back to alternating wins and losses until they reached late December where they went on a string that saw them lose 14 out of 18 games, lasting through January 12. It during this stretch that things seemed to bottom out for the Bulls. Despite showing some hope with a huge win at home over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (on a night with -20 degree temperatures), things seemed to be falling apart. Vinny Del Negro held a press conference where he pretty much admitted that things were bad and promised some changes, and Jerry Reinsdorf also called the season a, "Disaster." Things were looking really bad.
The season then started to turn around in late January. Things looked to only get worse as the Bulls headed out on their second 7 game road trip of the season. It started off with a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game that they really should have won. However, after that the Bulls went on their first 3 game winning streak in almost 2 years. They finished the road trip at 4-3, their first winning record on a road trip of 4 or more games since Michael Jordan was running the city.
From the point of their first win on that road trip they went 7-3 before the move was made that really changed the course of the season. The Bulls made a big deal, sending away Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, and Cedric Simmons for veteran center Brad Miller and veteran wing man John Salmons. After that they traded away Thabo Sefolosha, a player who could play anywhere from point guard to small forward, but was buried on the bench for a first round pick, and then followed that by trading team cancer Larry Hughes (who hadn't played in quite some time) to the New York Knicks for sharp shooting big man Tim Thomas and Jerome James (who hasn't played much in the last two years, but has a contract that is insured and expires in 2010).
From the point of that trade the Bulls took a short time to find their team chemistry. They lost 3 of their first 4 games with the new players in the lineup, but followed that up by finishing the season 15-8 to end the season at 41-41. This was good enough to earn them the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference where they would play against the defending champion Boston Celtics. However, good news came for the Bulls before the series would even start. Boston coach Doc Rivers said that Kevin Garnett would not be playing during the playoffs. Expectations for the Bulls went from getting swept to being able to steal a game or two.
During game 1 there was an intense battle. Neither team was ever able to gather a very significant lead throughout the game before the end of regulation. The game went into overtime where the Bulls would pull out a win behind an amazing performance from rookie point guard phenom Derrick Rose. Game two would be another nailbiter, but the Celtics would win in regulation after Ray Allen hit a miracle three point field goal. Going to Chicago the Bulls had an advantage though as they had taken home court away from the Celtics. However, the Celtics wasted no time in taking home court advantage back by blowing the Bulls out in game 3. Game 4 saw the Bulls win once again in overtime. After that it was another overtime game, this time a loss in game 5. Game 6 was looking very bad near the end. The Bulls were down by 8 with very little time on the clock. However, Brad Miller, who had been the victim of a controversial foul at the end of game 5 after Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo punched him in the face and escaped with only picking up a personal foul, led a comeback to force the game into overtime. From there the game went into 3 overtimes, and despite Ray Allen's 51 points, the Bulls prevailed, sending it to a game 7. Game 7 was close until the game started to wind down and the Celtics prevailed, ending the series.
The Bulls had gone from a horrible mess less than 2 months away from the end of the regular season to a legitimate .500 team, then to giving the defending world champions, despite not being with their team leader, to their limit in an epic first round series.
So, how did the Bulls really do during this season? In order to figure this out you have to look at the expectations before the season. The Bulls finished the previous season at 33-49 after going 49-33 the season before that. Things were not looking too good going into the draft lottery, as the Bulls had clearly looked bad during the season and were looking at probably getting the #9 pick in the draft where they could get a good player, but no one to really change the team (it turned out that during the draft Brook Lopez fell all the way down to the #10 spot, and would have likely been available to the Bulls, if they would've been smart enough to take him). However the Bulls lucked out and wound up with the #1 overall pick.
After some controversy over who the Bulls should pick, they went with Derrick Rose, the hometown kid with insane athleticism, good size, and a good head on his shoulder. However, Rose was seen as someone who would be a project. We were warned to not expect him to come right out and completely change things around.
Knowing that, most predictions had the Bulls winning anywhere from 36 to 40 games. However, that was assuming that Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng would both bounce back from underwhelming seasons and that young players Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah would show immediate improvement from the previous season after showing strong signs at the end of that season. None of that was to happen, but the Bulls still beat those expectations due to Derrick Rose coming right in and showing the league that there was a new star in the league. Rose came out and wowed everyone, winning rookie of the year honors.
The team's performance didn't really go far beyond expectations, but the good came from different areas than expected. However, there were other very good things that came forward, mainly that John Paxson, who had been reluctant to make any big moves after his signing of Ben Wallace turned out to be a bad move, went ahead and made another move, acquiring Brad Miller and John Salmons, a move that would prove to be vital to the Bulls down the stretch and into the postseason.
Looking at the whole picture, as a whole, the Bulls deserve a B-. Giving them a C would be them meeting expectations, and the Bulls not only beat regular season expectations, but also surpassed their expectations in the playoffs while also putting themselves in a good position for the future.
Here are individual player grades:
Luol Deng - D-: Deng was likely hurt for the majority of the year, as he still seemed to not be able to move very well at all. When he was in he was mostly ineffective outside of a few very good games.
Kirk Hinrich - C-: Hinrich's low numbers are also accompanied by a huge cut in minutes. He still provided constant tough defense when he was in. Missing time due to injury also hurt.
Ben Gordon - C+: Yes, he was the team's leading scorer, but he also turned the ball over at a high percentage and would over-dribble the ball, leading to a turnover or a bad shot for him or a teammate, several times every game, never seeming to learn from his mistakes, rather just wanting to get his stats up. While his shooting numbers really raise him above expectations, his selfish play and lack of defensive ability still held him back from being as good as he could be.
Andres Nocioni - C: Put up slightly below average offensive numbers for himself, but was always playing hard. Really was able to keep the Bulls in several games with his great defense and even sometimes with his offense.
Drew Gooden - B-: Put up scoring numbers a little bit above what most Bulls fans expected, and really at times looked like the second best player on the team, as he was a great option on the pick & roll. His groin injury did cost him before he was traded.
Lindsey Hunter - C: He gets a better grade when you consider almost nothing was expected of him, and he really didn't bring much outside of occasional tough defense when on the floor. However, he did help out very much with his great mentoring of Derrick Rose throughout the season.
Thabo Sefolosha - C-: Still just couldn't break out. He's a kid that really is on the cusp of being a very good player, but he just never was able to do that on the Bulls, and that's why they traded him, as he became buried in the rotation.
Tyrus Thomas - B: Thomas started very slowly and with big time inconsistency. He was taking too many jump shots and missing almost all of them. Around the middle of the season he started to drive to the basket more, didn't settle for jumpers, and really turned his game around. Within a month he had backed off that style, but by that point his jumper had improved to the point of where it didn't hurt the team as much. His game made big strides over the course of the season, but he still has a long way to go.
Joakim Noah - B: Joakim also started very slowly, but he also improved as the year went on, and by the middle of the year was a very good rebounding and shot blocking presence down low. He brought some great energy throughout the season and was an emotional leader on the team.
Linton Johnson III - C: Nobody expected much out of him, and we didn't get much out of him. He did as expected, although an inc would also be an acceptable grade.
Aaron Gray - C-: There were some slightly higher expectations for Gray after he'd shown the ability to almost get 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game near the end of the season (although nobody expected him to be able to do it on a regular basis), but many Bulls fans thought he could give 6-8 points and 4-6 rebounds off the bench, and he did come close on the rebounds, but not close as far as the points go.
Anthony Roberson - C: Got his little bit here and there in garbage minutes, another case of someone without expectations pretty much doing as expected.
Demetris Nichols - Inc: As good as it is to see every little detail graded, 5 minutes out of the season isn't enough to grade.
Jerome James - Inc: Nice for financial reasons (contract expires after 2010 season and his remaining contract is insured), but didn't play a minute for the Bulls.
Cedric Simmons - C+: Expected nothing at all out of him, but at times actually didn't look bad at all, but during garbage minutes, he gets extra points for being involved in that trade though.
Larry Hughes - F+: Gets points for actually looking decent for a short time during the season, but in the end his selfish play and horrible attitude both on and off the court made him more of a pain to deal with than he was good for the team. If he could've kept his mouth shut and played his role without shooting too much then he could've at least got a C, but the guy was just a huge pain.
Tim Thomas - C+: Missed some time due to injury, but when he was able to play he did a good job, really spreading the floor and hitting some long distance jumpers regularly.
Brad Miller - B: Brought toughness down low on the defensive end as well as giving the Bulls a pick & roll option every bit as good as Gooden on the offensive end with a couple of post moves as well. A very crafty and smart veteran that gets the most out of all of his physical abilities.
John Salmons - B+: When he came in it was said that he was just having a good season because of the poor team he played on. In actuality he didn't miss a beat when he came to the Bulls, providing great offense, and it all came in the flow of the game. Without him the Bulls are not even in the playoffs. A very good pick for both offense and defense.
Derrick Rose - A: A pretty easy grade, as he clearly wasn't as near perfect as he would have to be to get an A+, but he was very easily an A, keeping him away from A-. Rose went above and beyond all (believed to be) reasonable expectations. Words cannot describe what he brought to this team.
So, there's the player grades, and the team as a whole gets a B- for beating expectations both in the regular season and the playoffs. As a whole this was a very exciting and interesting season. There was always something going on with this Bulls team, and it was a season that was never dull. The Bulls have done a great job in setting themselves up for future success, and next season should be another very exciting season.
No comments:
Post a Comment