NBA Draft Press

Skiles the Limit

Chicago’s hope runs very high for these Bulls

For the last decade the Chicago Bulls-Detroit Pistons has been extremely one-sided. With Ben Wallace leaving ‘the D’ for ‘the Chi,’ this rivalry will be balanced again. It will also be much fiercer; during ’06-’07 this rivalry will be as heated as Lindsay Lohan vs. Hillary Duff was in 2003. Although some Bulls fans may claim the New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers as their rival, Detroit is the true blood feud. The ‘Jordan rules’ were used to stop Chicago from advancing past the Conference finals for years; then MJ and company swept the ‘Motor City Bad Boys’ in 1991, ending the Piston dynasty and effectively starting their own. When April comes, the Central division will not be ‘the court of King James’ as many experts predict. Instead, Chicago and Detroit will fight for the top spot with LeBron James’s Cavs a few games behind.

Guarded Optimism

The Bulls four main scorers, Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni, and Loul Deng all have a solid outside shot as a crucial part of their game, which is important because low post scoring isn’t exactly Chicago’s strong suit. The good news is that all four are very young (an average age of 24.5) and are likely still entering their prime. Hinrich and Gordon comprise a very solid backcourt tandem. The USA National team had to ‘hard-sell’ Hinrich on competing in the FIBA championships, but he finally accepted and the added experience will accelerate his game. Gordon was the NBA Sixth man of the year in 2004-05 and the Bulls’ leading scorer (16.9 ppg) last season. I am proud to say that I was in attendance for his perfect 9 for 9 3-pt shooting game versus Washington on April 14^th. As history was being made, I heard a fellow fan shout out “Michael Jordan style, mang.” This was of course, a bit presumptive, but I share his optimism for the glory days ahead. Since the franchise’s zenith featured a two-guard with a similar sounding last name swishing outside jump shots, these types of comparisons will likely continue.

Wallace, Thomas are front and center

Head coach Scott Skiles will often play Nocioni and Deng at the two forward positions. During the exhibition season, number four overall pick Tyrus Thomas has just about kept pace with Kirk Hinrich, leading the Bulls in scoring. One thing Hinrich doesn’t have is Thomas’s crowd pleasing athleticism. During the early part of this season, Thomas will make awe-inspiring plays at both ends of the floor that will overshadow his statistical production. Will the understudy Thomas develop quickly under his mentor, the newly acquired and fellow Bayou state native P.J. Brown? Thomas is raw, but the presence of Brown and Wallace will help him progress rapidly. Last season, the league enacted new rules to increase scoring. How will the defense oriented head coach Scott Skiles continue to adjust to these rules? Like Nicole Richie’s diet, some things start out as a good idea and then end up getting taken way too far. Instead of a chubby, but cute Richie degenerating into the host of HBO’s “Tales from the Crypt,” the NBA’s new measures resulted in extra whistles slowing down the game immensely. We saw additional foul shots creating longer games during the postseason. (and longer telecasts with more advertising time to sell!) This especially hurt the Bulls as parts of game four and five in their playoff series vs. Miami became almost unwatchable. The ridiculous foul shooting differential in these games led to Chicago’s demise; they entered game four tied with the Heat 2-2. If there’s one stat Chicago MUST improve, it is the foul shooting differential: they had a free throw deficit of 505 last season.

For those who thought Wallace’s $15 million per year was overspending, I’d ask them to quickly do a cost-benefit analysis or return-on-investment ratio comparison among Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Ben Wallace. Sure Wallace is expensive, $60 million for four years, but he’s also been named defensive player of the year four times. With a vastly enhanced front line, it is safe to say that Chicago could likely hold down the league’s number position in field goal percentage defense; which would make three years in a row.

A Bullish Market for Tickets

If the team’s record improves as much as the consumer demand for tickets, then Chicago would be headed for a 60-65 win season. This is a far cry from 2004-05 when they shilled with the defeatist marketing slogan of “through thick and thin.” During that season the club finished with the third best record in the Eastern conference. The team’s branding professionals should have swapped it with the previous season’s slogan “history in the making.” Back in 2003-04, when the Bulls were winning less than 25 games, I enjoyed buying the $10 tickets, and sat anywhere I felt in the 300 level. However, things have changed drastically. Tickets are much tougher this season in the new ‘Bull market.’ In early October, it was already impossible to find any $10 tickets for any game all season. There are still plenty of tickets “for sale” but most were likely handed over to the scalpers very early. They also added a $20 dollar standing room only option; when you are forced to add in Satan’s, whoops I meant to say Ticketmaster’s, convenience charges (although there is absolutely nothing convenient about it) and all of a sudden you’re paying over $30 for a non seat. Of course, this amount also goes up in price on the newly added ‘premium dates’ against the more exciting and attractive opponents.

I was able to get playoff tickets, even four together! online in 2005 and I witnessed the brilliance of Andres Nocioni’s 25 point, 18 rebound game one performance firsthand. It was then that the bandwagon started to pick up and the crowds drove prices skyward. The next postseason, many people got playoff tickets the conventional way. These people were named Stubhub and ticketsnow.com I’d like to make it to the playoffs again this season, but that won’t probably happen unless I gain 200 pounds and join the Matadors. If you don’t know who they are (and you should consider yourself lucky if you don’t) you can find out here: http://www.nba.com/bulls/dance/matadors.html

The Horns Point Upward

The Central division will be the most competitive. Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland could all win 55+ games and Indiana should contend as well. (As long as Stephen Jackson stays out of trouble in strip club parking lots) Like last season, all five teams (yes, even hapless Milwaukee) will make the playoffs. After two straight first round exits, the Bulls will ascend to a higher level this spring; the corporate named arena on Madison will be rocking this April. With the costly dead weight of Chandler and Curry both gone, the ‘Baby Bulls’ have now grown up; they should be a fierce team competing deep into May.

By the way, I’m conducting a formal NBA Draft Press reader poll this season. Go to http://www.nba.com/bulls/dance/luvabulls.html

and then vote (email me) for your favorite Luvabull. I hereby now cast the first vote, for Shannon. Please exclude any details about the manner in which you fantasize about them. Just the name of your top choice will suffice. The polls will remain open until the tip-off of the regular season finale versus New Jersey; the winner will be announced in the following column.

Hey Bulls fans, you can email me feedback and questions to me at paulbanks05@yahoo.com