Chicago Bulls: Free Agency

By Flickr user Keith Allison - http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/5576308358/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18304839

Free Agency: Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls made one of the biggest Free Agency moves in signing Dwyane Wade. This making them a much better team offensively and defensively than they were before. And before signing Wade they also added Rajon Rondo to the roster replacing the former MVP Derrick Rose who the Bulls traded to the New York Knicks. Rondo adds Defense at the Point Guard position and also adds another great defender to their team. Although all this may seem good, the Bulls have also lost some people as well like All-Star Pau Gasol, Former Defensive Player Of The Year Joakim Noah, and Derrick Rose as mentioned before.

Lets look at their Starting Lineup from last season and their projected starting lineup for this upcoming season:
Last Season:
Rose
Butler
Dunleavy/Snell
Mirotic/Gibson
Gasol

Projected Lineup:
Rondo
Wade
Butler
Mirotic/Gibson
Lopez

Looking at this, it really seems like they upgraded their lineup for the most part. They will be a bit weak with the big men, from Gasol to Lopez is a big downgrade and if Mirotic doesn't start to bulk up and work on his defense then the Bulls will get destroyed up front which is definitely going to hurt them. Lets see the Point Guard position from Rose to Rondo. Rondo doesn't have the shooting and attacking to the basket like Rose, but in my opinion this is an upgrade for Chicago considering Rose being injury prone and Rondo being a great passer and defender. Shooting Guard, Butler to Wade (Butler moving to the Small Forward position). Although Butler is still on the team, Wade is a top 3 Shooting Guard All-Time and proved he could stay healthy last season by only missing 8 games last season compared to previous seasons 20 games missed. Butler did have a better season last season than Wade, it still isn't bad having Wade at the 2 and still having Butler on the team. And the Small Forward position, from many people like Dunleavy and Snell to Star Jimmy Butler. This is their biggest upgrade to their lineup, Butler is one of the best Two Way players in the League which will help when he starts playing at his new position. It may possibly be tough for Butler to adjust to a new position considering some of the players he will be playing agains will be bigger than him, but Butler being one of the best defenders and scorers in the league it shouldn't be a problem.

So comparing their lineup to last years lineup, the Bulls have upgraded, but really how good can they be in the East? A lot of teams in the East have upgraded during free agency, but I think the Bulls will end up getting between the 5-7 Seed, depending on how healthy and how good they work together.

The Conference Finals!

In this post we are going to look at both of the series in the conference finals and see what all 4 teams have to do in order to win. Let's start off with the West.

Warriors VS Rockets: This is going to be a tough series for the Rockets. They not only have to match the Warriors offense but they have to play great defense. This is probably the best they can do for defensive match-ups.

Jason Terry on Stephen Curry
Trevor Ariza on Klay Thompson
James Harden on Harrison Barnes
Josh Smith on Draymond Green
Dwight Howard on Andrew Bogut.

I think that you will have to start Josh Smith again against this Warriors team. You will also see Corey Brewer get a lot of minutes. He will probably be placed on Klay and chase him around alot.

For the Warriors, the best thing to do is probably put Draymond Green on James Harden to start and see how that plays out. Harrison Barnes isn't going to play that great on defense guarding Harden. I think the best way to go is to put Klay Thompson on Harden so you can have Barnes on Ariza. Klay is a great defender.

The Warriors need to keep the Rockets out of the paint which they can do with 2 top inside defenders. And this is where the Rockets might want to start Jones to space out Green so the paint is more cleared out. If the Rockets get into the paint, they are hard to stop


Hawks VS Cavaliers: After seeing the Hawks vs the Wizards, I don't think the Hawks have much of a chance. They really have to use Kyle Korver in this one. I honestly think that if you are the Cavs, you almost have to start Shumpert just to keep Korver contained. If Korver gets going, then the Hawks are tough to beat. J.R. Smith would have a tough time on Korver if he started to make some shots.

The Hawks are going to have to put Carroll on LeBron. Carroll is going to have to back off of LeBron and let him take jump shots. He can't let him drive though. LeBron gets most of his points in the paint so he has to keep him out of there. I have faith that Jeff Teague will do his job on guarding Kyrie. And with Love gone, Paul Millsap will be able to double team and have an easier time on defense. Al Horford is going to have to really do a great job hedging screens as there will be a lot with him guarding Mozgof.

The Cavs have to rely on there bench to produce because you know that the Hawks bench will produce. The Cavs bench will have to match that. Since the Hawks don't rely on one person, you know they will score with everybody, and you have to play great defense because everyone's a treat. I would look for this Cavs team to switch on a lot of screens since the Hawks bigs are undersized.


Well, that's my breakdown of the Conference Finals. Remember, I will keep you updated on all NBA playoff action. Feel free to comment below.

Hawks VS Wizards (game 5 YouTube Breakdown)

Hawks win 82-81



Hawks lead series 3-2

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