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.

Raptors VS Heat (Game 4)

Series Tied 2-2

DWAAAAAAAAAYNE WAAAAAAAAAAADE! If you live near me, you probably heard this a lot last night. This was a game where my heart was pounding hard in the final minutes of regulation. Everytime Wade touched the ball, I was in suspense, wondering what he was going to do. This was an amazing game to watch and I feel bad for anyone that missed it.

I turned on the game towards the end of the first quarter and the first thing I saw was this giant center playing for the Raptors that looked like King Gryph's NBA 2K16 MyCareer player. You could just tell the affect that Valanciunas had on the team. When this Nogueira guy was in the game, you could tell he wasn't familiar with the offense and the Raptors really didn't run any sets when this guy was in. They did pick and roll with him and that was about it. However, Biyombo played great in the absence of Jonas Valanciunas. He was great defensively and crashed the boards well. The team gave him tons of touches (something that the Raptors didn't really do much with Valanciunas for some odd reason) and it proved to be beneficial. While he really didn't have any assists, he really got the ball moving as he passed the ball all the time.

The 4th quarter and overtime really came down to who could make shots. Both teams played great defense but it was the Heat that was the team that was able to make tough shots. Not to mention, the Raptors took a lot of their shots from mid-range. They didn't shoot any 3s past the last 2 minute of the 4th quarter and took few shots in the paint. The Heat got to the rim with Dwayne Wade and Joe Johnson.

Goran Dragic just seemed off last night despite scoring 15 points. Shots that the guy would usually make just weren't falling. He made some great moves towards the end of the game but just didn't look like himself. Shots just weren't falling. The Heat could really use better production from him next game.

Anyways, I love this series! 3-4 of games have gone into overtime! Hopefully the series continues to be close like this and we can have a game 7 come right down to the wire.

Raptors VS Heat (Game 3)

Raptors Lead Series 2-1

Happy Mothers Day everyone! In this post we will look at the game between the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors and how this game came out with the outcome it had.

Kyle Lowry made shots. It took him 10 games! But Kyle Lowry actually made shots. The guy shot 11-19 from the field. However, Raptors fans, do not get your hopes up, because Kyle Lowry shot 10 uncontested shots and made 8 of the. Only 3 of his shots were defended. However, this does force the Heat of making the adjustment to actually play him.

While we aren't sure if Valanciunas or Whiteside will be back in the next game or even the series. Both of these injuries are a devastating loss. Valanciunas was honestly the best player on the Raptors. His pick and roll with Lowry and DeRozan was really key in the 2 wins that the Raptors had in this series.

The Heat finally stopped turning the ball over. They only had 9 turnovers in the game. However, the Heat only had 11 assists. Do you remember when the Heat bought out Beno Udrih's contract? They probably they wish they had Udrih now. They could sure use his play making ability and defense.

Dwanye Wade really carried the Heat. He had 38 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Nobody on the Heat team had more in any of those 3 categories. It doesn't help when your team shoots 22.2% from 3. Part of this is the stagnant offense is helping guys get open at all. In fact, Miami took 55 contested shots in the game and only 22 uncontested shots. This didn't really have to do with the Raptors defense, it was more because the Heat wouldn't get into their offense.

 Obviously some changes need to be made for both teams but game 4 is a must win for the Heat. They need to win at home, if they can't this series might just be long gone for them. They need to tie it up.

Raptors VS Heat (Game 1)

Heat Lead Series 1-0

Kyle Lowry stunned not only the whole US, but the whole Gorgui Dieng country of Canada. He nearly lost the ball as the Raptors were down by 3. Running out of time, Lowry had to force up a halfcourt over Justice Winslow. Before that halfcourt, Lowry had shot 0-6 from 3-point range. He of course finished the night 1-7.

Despite hitting that half-court, the Raptors lost in overtime. But it wasn't OT that really lost them the game. I want to first talk about their defense. They defended Dragic horribly. He was left open all the time whether he had the ball or not. I was very disappointed with the defense that was played on Dragic. And this was a player coming off of a really good game too. The defensive effort was just very, very poor on him.

Something I noticed last night was Wade's decision making. I think that he is probably the best decision maker in the league when it comes to offense. I noticed towards the end of the game, he went into pick and roll with Whiteside all the time. He did a great job of just putting the defense on edge, and he was not only able to score and dishing it to Whiteside, but he also did a great job at kicking it out. He found Dragic in the corner for 3 and I thought for sure he was going to pass it to Whiteside. Wade even faked me out.

When you don't score in overtime til the last minute, you probably won't have the best chances to win. I was very confused with the Raptors offense in overtime. Instead of really trying to get into a pick and roll situation with Valanciunas, they were trying to force up shots. Valanciunas has just 2 shot attempts in overtime. He wasn't involved the in the offense like he should've been after regulation. I was disappoint when the didn't go to him. Hassan Whiteside to me, is an overrated defender, especially when it comes to defending his own man in the pick and roll. He does a great job with help defense but lost Valanciunas a lot in the pick and roll in the game. They really should've gone to Jonas more.

I was very disappointed with the will and want to score from Lowry. He didn't cut or make any movements to get the ball. He isn't looking to score at all and he's making it easy for the defense to guard him. One play I noticed in particular was when Lowry went to set a screen for his teammate and the defense just switched it. Instead of Lowry slipping the screen, which is what you are supposed to do when the defense switches it, Lowry just stood there setting the screen, which did absolutely nothing since the defense switched it. He didn't look to score. This is something that is taught at the high-school level. Lowry just doesn't look like himself out there, and this play was towards the end of the game as well.

I really enjoyed this game and I think everyone can agree when I say this was probably the best game of the playoffs so far and I am really hoping for more of these games. Of course, both teams have a job to do and these are the things that they should take away from this game.

Heat VS Hornets (Game 6)

Series Tied 3-3

Dwayne Wade came in clutch for the Miami Heat. He wasn't the only reason why they won though. The Hornets put up a fight but didn't have much going for them.

The Hornets seemed like they were behind this whole game. They always seemed like they just couldn't catch up to the Heat in the second half. Part of this was that the Heat had 19 second chance points. When you allow a team to get multiple shots on one possession, it will be hard to take the lead. The Hornets only had 31 rebounds in the game.

I thought that they Hornets did a great job on defense. The Heat only took 24 uncontested shots! They had to take 59 contested shots! The Hornets defense was amazing. There was just one problem, the Heat were hitting shots. Dwayne Wade's last shot pretty much summed up the night. The Hornets played great defense, but the Heat somehow where able to make those shots.

I just want to points something out. Marvin Williams played horrible last night. He was 0-7 from the field and didn't register a single point. Now, you could say that Marvin Williams doesn't have to play good for the Hornets to win, but I would have to disagree. This post-season, Marvin Williams has averaged 9.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG while shooting 50% from the field and shooting 55.6% from 3-point land in the wins. In the losses, he has averaged 0.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 0.7 APG while shooting 04.2% from the field and 0% from 3-point land. That isn't a typo. His numbers are horrible in the losses and very decent in the wins. It's clear that he needs to make shots and rebound for the Hornets to win. He is a big key in the Hornets winning. This isn't a coincidence. He needs to produce.

This was a great game to watch. A lot is at stake for this next game. Whoever wins game 7 has a possibility of playing the Pacers in the second round which means they could make the conference finals easier. This is a big game 7 and if the Hornets are to take this, they could really use production from Marvin Williams. Marv, they need you right now.

Key Players To The Miami Heat's Success

"Dwyane Wade" by Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA - Dwyane Wade. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

After I saw the Heat vs Wizards preseason game broadcasted on ESPN, I decided to ask Adam Spinella from www.bballbreakdown.com 5 questions on the Miami Heat and their key role players for the upcoming regular season. Here they are:

Me: To you, does Gerald Green look like he is in the running for 6th man of the year?
AS:  "No he isn't; the Heat have such a strong starting 5. They will play a lot of minutes as a unit, and they are all strong scorers. If Green logs major minutes, he won't be the primary or even secondary scoring option. His stats simply won't be in the conversation."

Honestly, I have to agree with him. If you look at last years winner, Louis Williams, and his team, you will see that besides Lowry and DeRozan, there isn't a lot of strong scorers on the team. Valanciunas only scored about 12 PPG, Ross only scored about 8 PPG, and don't even get me started with Amir Johnson. So they needed another scorer, and that just happened to be Louis Williams. Also take a look at Jamal Crawford. We all know that the Clippers in past years have had very few people to rely on. Green on the other hand, is on a very strong team. Dragic probably won't get as much scoring as he was used to with the Suns. This is a very strong team. I do expect Green to average around 9 PPG though.

Me: Do you see any improvements in Gerald Green's game?
AS: "He's become a much more consistent outside shooter over the last several seasons."

Yeah, he has. You can see the shooting improvements from his D-league days til now with the Heat. He looks like he has improved on that from even last year. He was always a good athlete, but he is sort of adding on to that. You can also see that he is willing to take the end of game shots too. You look at his mid-range game, it is amazing. The game against the Wizards was just simply an amazing shooting performance from Gerald Green.



Me: If Dwayne Wade gets injured during the season, would Gerald Green be able to start at the shooting guard position, or do you think it would have to be Mario Chalmers?
AS: "Green could start instead of Chalmers, though it hurts their depth behind Deng, the weakest member of the current starting rotation. If I were the coach, I'd start Chalmers on nights when Wade isn't in the game."

What you want is Green to fill in for Deng, because, like Adam said, he is the weakest man in the rotation. The good thing is, both Chalmers and Green have starting experience. I do think that Chalmers would be better to come in and start because the Heat have won championships with him starting. Also, Chalmers would be more likely to play more of that team player role if he was in the starting line-up and Green could just come off the bench looking to score. It really depends on the match-ups too. You probably don't want to put Chalmers on Klay Thompson or Green on Eric Bledsoe. But like Adam is saying, either one would work, but it would be smarter to probably start Chalmers so you have more depth at the wing position.

Me: If you remember McRoberts from the 2014 playoffs, what role do you think he will play with the Heat and do you think he can get back to the way he was with the Cats?  
AS: "McBob has a valuable role because he's going to be asked to facilitate for others and provide spacing. He's a very dynamic offensive presence on a team that has a lot of scorers but very few shooters. He's capable of spacing to the corners and being a spot-up option, but is a great playmaker at the top of the key. He is a fantastic backup to Bosh."

McRoberts is kind of like the forgotten child of the Miami Heat and he has such a great skill set that he brings to the floor. He has a great shot from the corner and he is indeed a great playmakers, as we saw he was with the Cats. He will definitely be used for transition and to attack the basket and space the floor. One of the big things though, is that he will be used in many defensive situations. Back in the 2014 playoffs, he was guarding LeBron James. He is very skilled and if you look at the video below, you will see that Josh McRoberts is able to run the offense and has a very great skill set.


 
Me: What is the difference with the role that Dragic will play with the Heat vs the role he played with the Suns?
AS: "Dragic will obviously be slowed down in Miami, and he'll cede the ball more frequently to Wade as the primary option. Don't expect him to score at the prolific rate he did in Phoenix, but his assist numbers should rise as he finally has a bonafide PNR man in Hassan Whiteside."

What Dragic will see is a lot of Pick and Roll with Hassan Whiteside, and pick and pop with Chris Bosh. This is something that Dragic will strive off of and expect him to really get into the paint and finish. What it will also do is create lots of spacing for guys like Bosh and Wade and they will be left

wide open on the outside. Also, Whiteside will be driving strong to the hoop and he will be able to get great rebounding position just in case Dragic were to miss the layup. Dragic obviously won't be isolated and getting the ball as much as he was in Phoenix because there are so many other options on this talented Heat team, but do expect Dragic to excel in the PNR.

Well, this Miami Heat team looks like they have a really deep bench that has many talents and Erik Spoelstra will many different line-up combinations to mess around with. The Heat even look like they have shot at the Finals so don't count them out.

Fantasy Friday: Shooting Guards

A good shooting guard is a good thing to have on your team. The only problem is that they are kind of few and far between. When you read this realize that some sucker will probably pick up Kobe Bryant and you will be laughing and pick one of these guys, because Kobe Bryant will most likely get injured or not be that efficient. Then Kobe Bryant will lead the league in scoring, make about three 3's per game, average a near triple-double, and win defensive player of the year. You will place all the blame on me and say "but Aaron, you said, 'When you read this realize that some sucker will probably pick up Kobe Bryant and you will be laughing and pick one of these guys, because Kobe Bryant will most likely get injured or not be that efficient.'!" And I will reply, hey man, no one said you had to listen to me. Then you will most likely be so mad that you will take your laptop and throw it out the window and your house will burn down. You will place all the blame on me and I will have to pay for the damages. So in advance, I say, take Kobe Bryant if you want to. If you want to take the risk fine, but don't blame me if it doesn't work. If you trust me though, you're best off taking these SGs.

10. Wesley Matthews: He is a risk. We don't know how he will respond. You may want to take K-Mart instead. Will Wes do great in Dallas, or will he be traded mid-season for Festus Ezeli because he is playing so bad. Well, if you take him, let's hope he will do great in Dallas. Wesley Matthews is a great defensive player and is deadly from deep. Watch out for him because he will shoot the lights out.

9. J.J. Redick: He will give you three pointers. He will give them to you. I am a bit worried that he is not doing so well since the playoffs and I fear it could be his down fall. Let's hope he can keep his numbers going up as Chris Paul gets less and less productive. Producing 16.4 PPG last season and 2.6 three pointers per game, he doesn't have much else to offer. Don't forget about Redick though, because chances are, most people will.

8. Victor Oladipo: This man looks like he will be the best player going into his 3rd season. He averaged over 17 PPG last season and contributed in other areas as he averaged 4.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.7 steals. He is looking good, we just don't know if he will be an all-star and we don't know how much he will improve. Hopefully, he will do great.

7. Paul George: He is in the risk category. So buyer beware. This man is coming off from a severe injury but if Paul George goes back to being regular Paul George, then the results will be amazing. The season before Paul got his injury, he was considered the best fantasy player in the league as he averaged 21.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.9 Steals per game. Great right? And he only averaged 2.8 turnovers. So if you want to take the risk, grab George.

6. Monta Ellis: Another Pacers player whose season is unclear. Monta could again produce a near 19 PPG and 4.1 Assists or his numbers could plummet. He is a great defender averaging a good 1.9 steals but we are unsure how this change of scenery will be for him.

5. Dwayne Wade: He has the skills and is most likely a future Hall of Famer, but  with Dragic, Bosh, Deng, and Whiteside, will his numbers drop? Probably. That's why he is down here. His great fantasy numbers he has been averaging for the last multiple year will most likely go down and Wade hasn't has a season where he played at least 70 games in 5 years. So take the old man if you want. You just better hope for a healthy season.

4. DeMar DeRozan: This boy is still averaging quite numbers in Toronto. 20.1 PPG and 4.6 RPG along with the steals and assists. He will most likely continue to increase his numbers but he doesn't have a lot to offer besides scoring. He is not a shooter if that is what you are looking for. So don't take him for that. But there aren't many players that average over 20 PPG and average just 2.3 turnovers per game.

3. Klay Thompson: He is a young player rising. Younger than Stephen Curry still. He still has a lot of potential. I would take him in a heartbeat because I see major improvement in Thompson this upcoming season. While he shoots many threes, I can see his 21.7 PPG from last year rising. He made over three 3 pointers per game last year. Not to mention he averaged a little less than 2 turnovers per game last year! This is why Klay is at number 3.

2. Bradley Beal: As Beal enters his 4th season in the NBA, he could very well become an all-star. In the playoffs he had shown that he could lead the team when John Wall went down. This 3 point sharp shooter can score, rebound, and assist and we all know it. He is expected to have his stats increase by a big margin here. We'll see if it happens.

1. James Harden: Of course he is number one. He is going to give you scoring. He will give you rebounds and assists. He will make 3s. And he will give you plenty of free throws. Not to mention he was really healthy last year. James Harden was probably the best player to have in fantasy last year. If you have him this year your team could be the best. The only downside is that James Harden commits turnovers. Oh well. You will obviously have to put up with that but it will be the same with LeBron and Kevin Durant. The way I figure it, he will be either the best or the second best fantasy player this year. Pick him up if you have the chance!

Well, there are your shooting guards. Some notable mentions that weren't on here are Kyle Korver and Kevin Martin so keep them in mind if these guys aren't available (or you just don't trust me). Again, remember that no one is telling you that you have to pick these guys up. So if you place a bunch of money and lose, it's not my fault. But it would be wise to draft these great players. 

Injured Teams

This year has been struck by injury for many team. Many teams were hoping for playoffs and more but then injury got in the way. Lets take a look at the worst

5.Oklahoma City Thunder: Durant and Westbrook went down. But Westbrook came back with fire in his eyes. After Ibaka went down and Durant was out for the rest of the season, it's really hard to see this team making much noise in the playoffs. But you never know with Westbrook.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves: This is a team that suffered way too many injuries this season. They were looking at the possibility of the 8th seed in the West. All of a sudden, Rubio went down on their 5th game against the Magic. Kevin Martin played against the Knicks and broke his wrist at the beginning of the game. After he broke it, he scored 37 points that night. Nikola Pekovic went down (as usual) Shabazz Muhammad went down for the season after averaging about 13 points per game. And this is just to start with.

3. Miami Heat: It's bad enough that LeBron James left their team. Now Chris Bosh is out with blood clots on his lungs. This team thought they could do some great things in the playoffs. Dwayne Wade and Shabazz Napier are out. How does this team expect to beat anyone with two of their stars out. It's going to be a bumpy ride for this Heat team. Someone needs to send them a sympathy card.

2. Los Angeles Lakers: Julius Randel goes down before the season even starts. So does Steve Nash. Kobe goes down of course. Nick Young is injured. The playoff hopes that this team had pretty much flew away. They had to start players like Wayne Ellington who was supposed to be a bench player this year. No playoff for this team. And no more Steve Nash.

1. Indiana Pacers: This team was coming back from the loss in the Eastern Conference Finals looking toward next season. Then Paul George goes down ruining all their hopes of a title run for next season. Minor injuries occurred along the way like George Hill going down. They still await the return of Paul George. We all miss him. But I'm pretty sure the Pacers miss him most.