They signed the premier free agent on the market during the summer, but many suggested they’d paid too much, that he had slowed and his game was declining.
No, not this season’s Bulls with Ben Wallace, but the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, who after signing the supposedly fading and overpaid Steve Nash went from a 29-53 record to an NBA-best 62-20.
The Suns’ style was offense, but the Bulls’ style should be defense. Don’t be surprised if they win 55 to 60 games.
“You can surprise people,” said Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, whom Phoenix hired early in that 29-53 season. “You need to see signs the year before. Our last [13] games, we were above .500. So when the season ended, we thought we were a 40-win team.
“You add [a free agent like] Steve and get a little more juice.”
Winning 60 games requires a measure of luck and good health, and rarely should teams be held to that standard. Though this Bulls team will wince at such a prediction, it could meet that standard.
That still might not translate to playoff success because the Bulls lack a half-court, low-post scoring game.
But the elements are there for a season that should produce excitement and memories of past great Bulls teams.
To continue the parallel with the 2004-05 Suns, the Bulls edged Milwaukee for fourth in the Central Division the last week of last season with a run of 12 victories in their last 14 games. With rookies Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha, Wallace and additions like Adrian Griffin, P.J. Brown and Viktor Khryapa, the Bulls are looking at a different roster. They return their top four scorers from last season–Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni–but there’s that interior scoring question with Wallace and Brown the big men.
First, let’s address Wallace, the big, $60 million man.
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Though it seemed to some Detroit gave up its supposed heart and soul too easily, Wallace slumped in the Pistons’ disappointing postseason amid whispers that his play is declining with aging legs.
Everyone knows Wallace for his wild hair and wilder free-throw shooting. But he’s also something of an orphan of a player–undrafted and traded twice–who reacts best with a chip on his shoulder. It was hard to find that chip last season with all the acclaim and success the Pistons had.
Now, given up on by his old team and doubted by outsiders at 32, he should be motivated to produce the best of Big Ben again, at least for a year or two.
Figure Wallace starts with Brown, along with Deng, Gordon and Hinrich. But that’s just one potential combination.
I would go with Nocioni at power forward instead of Brown, or maybe have him at small forward instead of Deng to make up one of the tougher frontcourts in the NBA. There would be no more kicking sand in Hinrich’s face. Wallace, Brown and Nocioni can let guards turn the corner and see if they like what they find.
At least for starters, though, it seems like Nocioni or Deng at small forward with Brown probably in for defense on centers. Don’t be surprised to see Hinrich in a big backcourt with Sefolosha, who has shown point guard instincts and rugged defense in summer games. Or Sefolosha running the offense with Gordon. Though Thomas will not be pushed into big minutes, he can grab some in a trapping, pressing lineup with his ability to block shots and guard on the perimeter.
Brown can back up Wallace or start with him, playing big centers and enabling Wallace to roam from the weak side. Griffin is another tough defender who gave Dallas a new identity last season, and Chris Duhon is a nice backcourt defensive option, assuming his back is healed.
The Bulls should get a lift from rules changes this season.
Contact on the perimeter is out, so the NBA will have more of a drive-and-kick game, which the Bulls play as well as anyone. Post play becomes more limited. Who was the difference for champion Miami last season: Shaquille O’Neal or Dwyane Wade?
Going small is the new trend. Plus, the Bulls’ primary opponents are reconfiguring. Indiana might struggle to make the playoffs. Detroit lost Wallace, its defensive soul. Anyone think O’Neal is going to kill himself when he showed last season you can win in the playoffs without home-court advantage?
The biggest challenger to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference looks like Cleveland because of LeBron James.
It’s going to be like late ’80s Bulls and Cavs again. And the Bulls-Pistons games will be the highlight rivalry of the season with Wallace against his old team.
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