# What are your predictions for the Bulls as a team and individually?



## truebluefan (May 27, 2002)

Lets discuss it now. Then come back and revisit the thread in April.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

Team Prediction = 43 wins; we remain a fast-tempo, more offensively oriented team. We marginally improve the defense thanks to better size, defensive rebounding, and experience up front.

I think we have potential to do better than this; for example, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we reach close to 50 wins (although, hitting 50+ wins would definitely surprise me, in a good way of course). We could also of course sink down to 35 wins again, though I don't really see that happening unless we have major injury problems.

Health is always a concern, and especially this year I'm a bit paranoid about good health. Deng's tibia, Salmon's groin, Miller's age in general...if we start losing guys to injury, we are seriously screwed, as most teams would be.

Individually I predict (again, assuming injury is not an issue):

-- Rose elevates his game on both ends; better defense and posts 21 ppg, 7 assist type of numbers. Makes the all-star game as well.

-- Salmons scores a steady 16 ppg with good defense. Unfortunately I see his percentages dropping a bit, but still decent. 45% FG and 37% from 3-pt range.

-- Hinrich I think will have a great year, as so much pressure is off him now. He will be all-NBA defense and post solid efficiency scoring wise. Remember, this guy didn't have much wear & tear last season and is right in his prime (or should be at least).

-- Deng...I honestly have NO idea what to expect. He could have a great bounce back season, but could also flop.

-- James Johnson is also hard to predict. He's so talented but not many mid-1st rounders contribute as rookies. I would say a modest 8 ppg, 5 reb numbers in 20-24 minutes is reasonable. He'll mainly be a spark plug off the bench I think.

-- Tyrus Thomas should at the very least match his production from last year. I personally think he could build from it slightly. Let's say 12 ppg, 8.5 reb, 2.5 blocks in about 30 minutes.

-- Noah will have a solid year IMO as a rebounder and defender. I think he's learned alot by now and showed he is ready to bust out. I'll say 9 ppg, 11 reb, 2.0 blocks in about 32 minutes.

-- Miller should be steady and predictable as always, even if he's slowing down a bit. 10 ppg, 7 reb, 3 assists in hopefully 25 minutes or so.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

9 and 11 is a breakout year?


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## jnrjr79 (Apr 18, 2003)

thebizkit69u said:


> 9 and 11 is a breakout year?



That would've been 4th in the NBA in rebounding last year.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

My prediction for the team: 47-51 wins and 4th or 5th spot in the East.

Rose: 21ppg, 5 rpg, 7.5 apg
Noah: 10ppg, 11 rpg, 1 bpg
Deng: 17ppg, 7 rpg, 33 3pt%
Salmons: 18 ppg, 5 rpg, 38 3pt%
Hinrich: 11 ppg, 5 apg, 40 3pt%
Thomas: 12 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.5 bpg
Miller: 8 ppg, 5 rpg
Johnson: 5 ppg, 3 rpg

And I guess this will be the 8 man rotation for the year.

Who am I missing?

Taj, Pargo, Hunter, James, Gray, yeah, those guys are not going to matter much, unless Taj outworks Tyrus.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

*I have no faith*



Good Hope said:


> My prediction for the team: 47-51 wins and 4th or 5th spot in the East.


You're really living up to your name here. I predict 39 - 41 wins, barely make the playoffs, first round exit.

What can I say? I have no faith in these fools. But on a brighter note, I think Rose will be very entertaining this year.

P.S.: Who gon' replace Gordon's 20+ ppg?


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

*Re: I have no faith*



taco_daddy said:


> You're really living up to your name here. I predict 39 - 41 wins, barely make the playoffs, first round exit.
> 
> What can I say? I have no faith in these fools. But on a brighter note, I think Rose will be very entertaining this year.
> 
> P.S.: Who gon' replace Gordon's 20+ ppg?


Good to see you around Taco man!

Yeah, even I think I'm going out on a limb with that many wins. But I have a good feeling for this year. This is Derrick's team, now. 

But after Derrick, I'm thinking Noah is going to be the biggest difference-maker.


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## SausageKingofChicago (Feb 14, 2005)

Hello Men

We're back again.

OK...I am pinning a 46 win season on the Bulls 


*The Defense*

If this team is serious about defense and is serious about Derrick Rose truly becoming its leader this year then Derrick needs to lead the defense from the perimeter- both by way of example and by becoming more directional/assertive 

Everyone can talk about or poor anchor defense last year and that we were 28th in the league in defensive rebounding or whatever but this was due to a number of things which I am not prepared to lump squarely on Jo and Ty's shoulders ( there isn't much space there after all right bizkit ? ) 

As the Chairman said - we had a novice Coach. The constant switching defense frequently had our bigs, Joakim in particular , way out of position. Then , our perimeter defense just wasn't up to snuff in the first place and quite frankly Derrick was just awful last year ( defensively ). Then when you consider we had a 2nd year Center who wasn't in condition until December and a 3rd year PF still learning the game - and for the fact that both of them were needing to get stronger then yeah they are essentially the summation of the reasons.

But to address this issue , Derrick in being the leader *must* direct the defense as well as the offense. We know he can run an offense. Now let's see him run a defense with support and commitment from Kirk, Salmons and Deng 

If these 4 guys are committed to the perimeter then this commitment with Derrick's god given gifts and instincts that _should_ make him an elite defender ( we saw more of this come out in the Boston series ) ....Lu's length , Salmons's intelligence and deceptiveness and Kirk's technique and efffort.....then our defense should all start here that makes things easier for Joakim and Tyrus

Beyond Derrick's attrocious 1st year ( defensively ) we were outsized and mismatched out on the perimeter last year. But this year with genuine size and length at the 2 and 3 spots with Salmons and Deng capable of being genuine 2 way players ( although Lu more so than Salmons IMO ) On top of this Lu and Kirk have apparently put on muscle / strength and we know Derrick is as strong as hell anyway

So if the perimeter holds up , hopefully we can abandon this switching defense and Jo and Tyrus can play straight up more , focus on their defensive rebounding positions and help each other out on double team /weak side help if they have strength mismatches on 1 on 1's . One thing for sure is they shouldn't be getting beat by quick bigs very regularly.

Probably one the biggest keys to our defense is the offense. If we're going to push and put teams back on their heels then our transition defense simply has to get a whole lot better. And a significant part of this is simply effort in getting back and then being smart enough about how and where to position yourself in getting back on teams that are trying to fast break you.

*Derrick Rose*

20ppg, 8apg, 4rpg, 46% FG% 80% FT , 1.5spg

Allstar

*John Salmons*

16ppg, 3apg, 4rpg, 42% FG% 36% 3 point shooting.


*Kirk Hinrich*

10ppg, 4apg, 3rpg,40% FG% , 38% 3 point shooting , 1.5spg

*Luol Deng*

16ppg, 2apg, 7rpg, 45% FG% 1spg, 1bpg


*Tyrus Thomas*

14ppg, 9rpg, 1.5apg, 1spg , 2bpg, 45% FG% , 75% FT %

*James Johnson*

8ppg, 5rpg, 2apg, 42% FG%

*Joakim Noah*

10ppg, 13rpg, 2apg, 1spg, 2bpg , 50% FG% , 72% FT%

*Brad Miller*

8ppg, 7rpg, 3apg, 48% FG%, 80% FT%


The team still puts up 102 points a contest and gives up 99 for defensive FG% of 44% which puts it in the top third of defensive teams in the league when you also take into account shotblocking , steals and defensive rebounding categories


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

SausageKingofChicago said:


> Hello Men
> 
> We're back again.
> 
> ...


I wish I had written this.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

narek said:


> I wish I had written this.


I wish that this would happen. I miss Scottie!


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

SausageKingofChicago said:


> Hello Men
> 
> Beyond Derrick's attrocious 1st year ( defensively ) we were outsized and mismatched out on the perimeter last year. But this year with genuine size and length at the 2 and 3 spots with Salmons and Deng capable of being genuine 2 way players ( although Lu more so than Salmons IMO ) On top of this Lu and Kirk have apparently put on muscle / strength and we know Derrick is as strong as hell anyway


Yeah, this issue is a big one, no pun intended. We have legit two way players at those two positions, and we hope, Derrick becomes the third that shores up the perimeter.

But we have to acknowledge that neither Tyrus nor Joakim are two way players just yet, and not yet proven even to be one way players. 

But if they get even close, we'll be alright and ready to welcome a superstar into our midst by 2010.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

thebizkit69u said:


> 9 and 11 is a breakout year?


Absolutely, it is. I'll take that from our center position 7 days a week and twice on Sundays.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

narek said:


> I wish I had written this.


'Specially the "hello men" part?


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

yodurk said:


> Absolutely, it is. I'll take that from our center position 7 days a week and twice on Sundays.


Well yeah I would take that from Noah but are we so used to mediocrity that a decent season would be called a "break out" year? 

A breakout season for me when talking about Noah is him averaging around 14-15 ppg, I know he can rebound we SHOULD expect him to be a good rebounder since hes very average at everything else. 

Hes going to get the minutes to be a top 10 rebounder so thats a given, hes also going to get the minutes to at the very least put up double digit points every game and he doesn't do that I dont know how you can call a 9-11 season breakout.


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## Dornado (May 26, 2003)

thebizkit69u said:


> Well yeah I would take that from Noah but are we so used to mediocrity that a decent season would be called a "break out" year?
> 
> A breakout season for me when talking about Noah is him averaging around 14-15 ppg, I know he can rebound we SHOULD expect him to be a good rebounder since hes very average at everything else.
> 
> Hes going to get the minutes to be a top 10 rebounder so thats a given, hes also going to get the minutes to at the very least put up double digit points every game and he doesn't do that I dont know how you can call a 9-11 season breakout.


I guess I disagree with the sentiment that someone has to fundamentally change the way they play the game, or what their strengths are to have a break out year.... can't a guy just get better at the things he already does well? We didn't draft Noah to be a scorer... we drafted him to be a defensive anchor, leader, and energy guy... if he's among the top 5 rebounders in the league, I think that's a sign of him fulfilling his potential.


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## SausageKingofChicago (Feb 14, 2005)

Good Hope said:


> 'Specially the "hello men" part?


Papa Burgundy apologises

( apology directed at narek )


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## narek (Jul 29, 2005)

SausageKingofChicago said:


> Papa Burgundy apologises
> 
> ( apology directed at narek )


Hey, no problem.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Dornado said:


> I guess I disagree that with the sentiment that someone has to fundamentally change the way they play the game, or what their strengths are to have a break out year.... can't a guy just get better at the things he already does well? We didn't draft Noah to be a scorer... we drafted him to be a defensive anchor, leader, and energy guy... if he's among the top 5 rebounders in the league, I think that's a sign of him fulfilling his potential.


I think asking for 10 ppg and up isn't really asking for a fundamental change, and NO team should ever draft a player because they want an energy guy who can rebound those are wasted picks.

Smart teams dont waste a top 10 pick on a good rebounder, rebounder's are easy to find. Noah needs to turn into a top 10 defender and top ten rebounder to be considered to have a break out year. 

They drafted him because thats what they expect him to max out to be, so hopefully he can live up to those expectations.


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## Dornado (May 26, 2003)

thebizkit69u said:


> I think asking for 10 ppg and up isn't really asking for a fundamental change, and NO team should ever draft a player because they want an energy guy who can rebound those are wasted picks.
> 
> Smart teams dont waste a top 10 pick on a good rebounder, rebounder's are easy to find. Noah needs to turn into a top 10 defender and top ten rebounder to be considered to have a break out year.
> 
> They drafted him because thats what they expect him to max out to be, so hopefully he can live up to those expectations.


I agree that the defense has to come along with the rebounding, no debate there.

The scoring, eh... I guess you can focus on his draft slot and come up with some acceptable point per game number... just seems sort of arbitrary to me. And weren't you saying 14-15 ppg? Not 10? That's what I was responding to, at least.


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## thebizkit69u (Feb 12, 2003)

Dornado said:


> I agree that the defense has to come along with the rebounding, no debate there.
> 
> The scoring, eh... I guess you can focus on his draft slot and come up with some acceptable point per game number... just seems sort of arbitrary to me. And weren't you saying 14-15 ppg? Not 10? That's what I was responding to, at least.


I would personally call 14-15 ppg breakout but a 10 and 10 season should be expected at the very least.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

*I'm jumping band wagons to Boston this year .. the Bulls have sucked for ten years...*



taco_daddy said:


> I predict 39 - 41 wins, barely make the playoffs, first round exit.


Did I really say this? At this rate we'd be lucky to get over 30 games. And as for the playoffs, well... I guess we might claw our way in. Maybe, maybe not.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

Uh oh, looks like Taco Daddy could be way off. Right now the Bulls are 29 - 27 with 26 games left. In order to beat my revised prediction of 37 - 45, the Bulls would simply need to win 8 games. It's not likely the Bulls would fare as bad as 8 - 18 the rest of the way. In fact, if they just went 12 - 14 the rest of the way they would end the season at .500.

WOW. We've come a long way since the beginning of the season. Here's the last 26 games we have left and my predictions:

H: Indiana - W
H: Portland - L
A: Indiana - W
H: Atlanta - L
H: Memphis - W
H: Dallas - L
H: Utah - L
A: Orlando - L
A: Miami - W
A: Memphis - L
A: Dallas - L
H: Cleveland - L
A: Philadelphia - W
H: Houston - L
H: Miami - W
H: New Jersey - W
A: Detroit - W
H: Phoenix - L
A: Washington - W
H: Charlotte - W
H: Milwaukee - W
H: Cleveland - L
A: New Jersey - W
A: Toronto - L
H: Boston - L
A: Charlotte - W

I count at least 13 W's we should be able to get. That would put us at 42 - 40 at the end of the season. Not too shabby.

What seed will we end up at? Hopefully we can get high enough up that we get a weak team we can pick off and advance to the second round this year.

Does Taco Daddy need to change his avatar and come back home?


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## mvP to the Wee (Jul 14, 2007)

H: Indiana - W
H: Portland - W
A: Indiana - W
H: Atlanta - W
H: Memphis - W
H: Dallas - L
H: Utah - L
A: Orlando - L
A: Miami - W
A: Memphis - L
A: Dallas - W
H: Cleveland - L
A: Philadelphia - W
H: Houston - W
H: Miami - W
H: New Jersey - W
A: Detroit - W
H: Phoenix - W
A: Washington - W
H: Charlotte - L
H: Milwaukee - W
H: Cleveland - L
A: New Jersey - W
A: Toronto - W
H: Boston - W
A: Charlotte - L

I'm hopeful


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

P to the Wee said:


> I'm hopeful


18 - 8 ???? Even Good Hope wouldn't co-sign that.


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## mvP to the Wee (Jul 14, 2007)

taco_daddy said:


> 18 - 8 ???? Even Good Hope wouldn't co-sign that.


Well aren't we like 19-10 our last 29 games or something like that? Nothing tells me we're slowing down. We'll probably have some brain fart losses but this team makes up for them by beating teams we really shouldn't beat


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## BullsBaller (Oct 6, 2002)

Here is the Bucks forecasted WIN/LOSS Schedule

Indiana W
Miami L
Atlanta L	
Washington L 
Washington W
Cleveland L
Boston L
Utah L
Indiana W
LA Clippers W
Sacramento W
Denver L
Atlanta L 
Philadelphia W
Miami L
Memphis L
LA Clippers W
Cleveland L
Charlotte L
Phoenix L
Chicago L
NJ W
Philadelphia W
Boston L
Atlanta L 
Boston L


9-17

We should be ahead of them in the standings come playoff time barring injury.


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

H: Portland - L - 30-28
A: Indiana - W - 31-28
H: Atlanta - L - 31-29
H: Memphis - L - 31-30
H: Dallas - W - 32-30
H: Utah - W - 33-30
A: Orlando - L - 33-31
A: Miami - W - 34-31
A: Memphis - W - 35-31
A: Dallas - L - 35-32
H: Cleveland - L - 35-33
A: Philadelphia - W - 36-33
H: Houston - W - 37-33
H: Miami - W - 38-33
H: New Jersey - W - 39-33
A: Detroit - W - 40-33
H: Phoenix - L - 40-34
A: Washington - L - 40-35
H: Charlotte - L - 40-36
H: Milwaukee - W - 41-36
H: Cleveland - L - 41-37
A: New Jersey - W - 42-37
A: Toronto - L - 42-38
H: Boston - L - 42-39
A: Charlotte - W - 43-39

My predictions back in october was 42-46 wins, even if not posted here. It is still possible.


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## TwinkieTowers (Jul 16, 2002)

45 wins, baby! Besides the 07-08 season, the Bulls have been locomotives metaphorically.

I also predict that Joe Alexander will be playing in at least one game (most likely #82).


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

30-27 is pretty sweet considering the rough start to the season. And almost amazing with the fire Vinny rumors swirling around in Dec.

My original prediction was 43 wins and I'm happy to say we're right on track.

Just need to go 13-12 for the rest of this season. I think that's both fair and realistic. Not to burst anyone's bubble, but our schedule gets VERY difficult in March. So, a .500 type of finish would be not only expected, but reasonably successful.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

Good Hope said:


> My prediction for the team: 47-51 wins and 4th or 5th spot in the East.
> 
> Rose: 21ppg, 5 rpg, 7.5 apg
> Noah: 10ppg, 11 rpg, 1 bpg
> ...


Hmmm. Apart from Salmons...who really hurt us at the beginning of the season, oh, and Johnson, I'm not too far off. Deng has been better than I hoped, Noah just a bit better offensively than I hoped, Gibson has given us what I hoped Tyrus would, and Murray is now not too far off of what I was looking for from Salmons. 

Still, 47 wins is going to be hard to get to. If they do, that will be quite the accomplishment, since, as Yodurk mentions, the remaining schedule ain't so easy.

Go Bulls!

And Taco Man, you're still too green, brother.


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## BullsBaller (Oct 6, 2002)

BullsBaller said:


> Here is the Bucks forecasted WIN/LOSS Schedule
> 
> Indiana W
> Miami L
> ...



*REVISED*

Indiana W W
Miami L W
Atlanta L L	
Washington L W	
Washington W W
Cleveland L W

Forecast
2-4

Actual
5-1

At this rate, we will be forced to switch picks with them. I believe we were going to trade the 1st rounder anyway in free agency, but a lotto pick is much more enticing to a team that has a FA this summer. Good thing I provided a disclaimer, "barring injury".


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

*Bulls Suck!*



taco_daddy said:


> Uh oh, looks like Taco Daddy could be way off. Right now the Bulls are 29 - 27 with 26 games left. In order to beat my revised prediction of 37 - 45, the Bulls would simply need to win 8 games. It's not likely the Bulls would fare as bad as 8 - 18 the rest of the way. In fact, if they just went 12 - 14 the rest of the way they would end the season at .500.


This has been a wild season. At first it looked like I was dead on with my 37 - 45 (.451) prediction. Then near the end it looked like the Bulls would surpass my prediction and become a .500 team. Now, once again it looks like my prediction was dead on.

REVISED PREDICTION:
Currently: 33 - 38
H: New Jersey - W (34 - 38)
A: Detroit - W (35 - 38)
H: Phoenix - L (35 - 39)
A: Washington - W (36 - 39)
H: Charlotte - L (36 - 40)
H: Milwaukee - L (36 - 41)
H: Cleveland - L (36 - 42)
A: New Jersey - W (37 - 42)
A: Toronto - L (37 - 43)
H: Boston - L (37 - 44)
A: Charlotte - L (37 - 45)

Forget the playoffs. This is cyclical anyhow. We make the playoffs every other year anyhow. 2011, we'll make the playoffs, possibly even second round (woo hoo!!!). Then in 2012, we'll be back to missing the playoffs. Mark my words.

Or my name isn't Taco Daddy, baby!


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

*Re: Bulls Suck!*



taco_daddy said:


> REVISED PREDICTION:
> Currently: 33 - 38
> H: New Jersey - W (34 - 38)
> A: Detroit - W (35 - 38)
> ...


I can see about 2 wins more. One against Boston and one against Raptors or Bobcats.


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## taco_daddy (Jun 13, 2004)

*Re: Bulls Suck!*



bullsger said:


> I can see about 2 wins more. One against Boston and one against Raptors or Bobcats.


You really think we can beat Boston? I know we've beat them already, but we're very inconsistent and Boston is a good team. I agree with the Raptors and Bobcats, those two could go either way.


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## bullsger (Jan 14, 2003)

*Re: Bulls Suck!*



taco_daddy said:


> You really think we can beat Boston? I know we've beat them already, but we're very inconsistent and Boston is a good team. I agree with the Raptors and Bobcats, those two could go either way.


Yes. If Bulls have a good day, then they can win against Boston. One game. Not a series, but a game.


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## Good Hope (Nov 27, 2002)

Are 47 wins out of the question?


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

If Noah wouldn't have gotten plantar fascitis, and Rose wouldn't have been knocked around by Howard on 2 occasions, I easily see us hitting 43-45 wins. 

That doesn't even consider the early season issues that Rose had, as well as missing Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas during a long stretch.

I guess you have to assume some level of injury happens to all teams, but even so, I think this Bulls team at full strength is the clear #5 behind CLE, ORL, BOS, ATL. Certainly better than MIL and MIA! (Btw, I am pretty surprised at how healthy MIL and MIA have been all season...correlation to success?)


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