Where will the Bulls finish in the Eastern Confrence?

[Crystallas]

The cat is out of the bag. I like the building blocks that Detroit has put together. Greg Monroe gets better every year. He could very well be the best Center in the East if his improvements keep going(he's only 22). I think Stuckey is hitting that ripe age where most guards go from being the eager-inconsistent, to reliable. Jerebko is steady. He's not anywhere near being an all-star, but he gets you the production, very under-rated and I'm interested in seeing how he fares now that he's going to be good to go in two straight seasons. Drummond is a freak, so if he develops, that's a pretty good frontcourt. Maggette gets whistles, gets to the line a lot. He's a guy you can't count on for an extended period, but in the right role, he's solid. This is a legit 8th seed team, and it's theirs for the picking. I'm not going to sleep on them. I don't think half of these players were even playing close to 100% of their abilities. This is a short-sold team that is one coaching change from being the Pacers of 2010(or countless other examples).

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

The cat is out of the bag. I like the building blocks that Detroit has put together. Greg Monroe gets better every year. He could very well be the best Center in the East if his improvements keep going(he's only 22). I think Stuckey is hitting that ripe age where most guards go from being the eager-inconsistent, to reliable. Jerebko is steady. He's not anywhere near being an all-star, but he gets you the production, very under-rated and I'm interested in seeing how he fares now that he's going to be good to go in two straight seasons. Drummond is a freak, so if he develops, that's a pretty good frontcourt. Maggette gets whistles, gets to the line a lot. He's a guy you can't count on for an extended period, but in the right role, he's solid. This is a legit 8th seed team, and it's theirs for the picking. I'm not going to sleep on them. I don't think half of these players were even playing close to 100% of their abilities. This is a short-sold team that is one coaching change from being the Pacers of 2010(or countless other examples).

That is a pretty solid case for Detroit being able to be able to fight for the 8th seed if things for their way. I am not familiar at all with Drummond. If he becomes an all-star caliber player right off of the bat then Detroit would definitely be light year's ahead of where I expect them to be. I really like Monroe too. I think he could be a good guy to use in a PF role with those shooting and passing skills he has. He has offense. Knight is also a guy who has looked very good in the amount I have seen him in. I could not rule out Detroit completely. I just feel like some other teams like Toronto (mainly) who didn't make the playoffs last year have a lot of room to improve as well. The other main thing I like (that you mentioned) that Detroit is a little shaky with is coaching. And that will really make it tough on their young nucleus to get them in the playoffs. However, if one of their young players like Monroe, Drummond, or Knight breaks out then that could be enough to give them the edge over a Milwaukee or a Toronto next season. Personally, I'm a bit more sold on Toronto/Milwaukee but these teams are definitely all in the same grouping so I can't dispute things can happen.

Who knows. Boston's only "good" player at 5 these days is Garnett. And the Celtics are probably one bad KG injury away from being in disarray next season. That is the only player I could honestly see putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Terry and Bradley have PG skills to fill in for a hurt Rondo. And Jeff Green would be a nice, younger alternative for an injured Pierce. My prediction of 2-seed for Boston might be kind of high seeing as Pierce always has injury problems these days but I think Boston is going to need to have severe injury problems with those fore-mentioned guys to miss the playoffs. Fab Melo might just turn out to be a suitable stand-in big too.

All in all, Detroit might wind-up with a better record than Boston... My main issue with that prediction was that it feels so far-fetched that essentially 2 bold things come true (Detroit breaking out; Boston falling apart due to injuries to their aged core). And that was a little too strong for my taste.

 

[Crystallas]

I'm not expecting you, or anyone else to agree with my seeds, but at least you see the logic. Again, this is just shit'sn'giggles, but way to take a 1am scrounging, and turn it into a rant-er. LOL!

 

[RC_Skinny22]

Nobody having the Bobcats in the playoffs since Ben Gordon is there? :shrug:

 

[DaBearsrule4ever]

Anywhere between the 5th and 8th seed and another first round exit.

 

[TonyDanza]

If they got a better record than Indiana, they're 4th seed no matter what at worst.

 

[DCguy]

I got them finishing either 6 or 7 in the east.

 

[ChicagoDawg1991]

I say regardless of our record, that division title is ours and that #4 seed

 

[bbaker]

1. Miami
2. Indiana
3. Philadelphia
4. Brooklyn
5. Boston
6. Chicago
7. New York
8. Cleveland

 

[GaelicSoxFan]

???

3 weeks until the first preseason game, and I think the Bulls are on the journey to 4th/5th seed.

Also, how do you see the East shaking out?

1. Miami
2. Boston
3. Indiana
4. Nets
5. Bulls
6. Knicks
7. 76ers
8. Cavs

I voted lottery. Their best player is going to MIA until at least February. When he does come back, there's no way he's going to be in game shape.

 

[thechosenone]

If Rose returns mid February:

1-Heat
2-Pacers
3-Nets
4-Bulls
5-Knicks
6-Celtics
7-Bucks
8-Cavaliers

If not:

1-Heat
2-Pacers
3-Nets
4-Knicks
5-Celtics
6-Bulls
7-Bucks
8-Cavaliers

And I don't see Bynum making the playoffs as the franchise player. This team is worse than last year and last year they finished 8th.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

This is what people don't seem to understand. Even if Derrick Rose comes back between February and April, he is not going to be at full speed until well after the regular season is over. And, honestly, I prefer to see him sit out the entire season. Tim Hardaway is right; it is not worth risking further set-back.

And Luol Deng forgoing the wrist surgery again is not going to help matters much. His 2-pt shooting percentage was at a career worst last season. He is not the scoring and rebounder he otherwise can be.

 

[ChicagoGr]

This is what people don't seem to understand. Even if Derrick Rose comes back between February and April, he is not going to be at full speed until well after the regular season is over. And, honestly, I prefer to see him sit out the entire season. Tim Hardaway is right; it is not worth risking further set-back.

And Luol Deng forgoing the wrist surgery again is not going to help matters much. His 2-pt shooting percentage was at a career worst last season. He is not the scoring and rebounder he otherwise can be.

It all depends on how we are doing till then. If we seem to be doing ok without him (and that doesnt mean we dont need him) , securing one of the top seeds, sure, there's no reason to rush him back. What if we are fighting for a play-off spot?(which is probably what's going to happen).

Anyway, you know Rose, when he feels confident and ready to play there is no way he's going to accept sitting.

 

[FirstTimer]

It all depends on how we are doing till then. If we seem to be doing ok without him (and that doesnt mean we dont need him) , securing one of the top seeds, sure, there's no reason to rush him back. What if we are fighting for a play-off spot?(which is probably what's going to happen).

Anyway, you know Rose, when he feels confident and ready to play there is no way he's going to accept sitting.

Then why bring him back to sneak into the playoff, miss the draft lottery, etc with a team that clearly isn't very good around him?

 

[Diddy1122]

This is what people don't seem to understand. Even if Derrick Rose comes back between February and April, he is not going to be at full speed until well after the regular season is over. And, honestly, I prefer to see him sit out the entire season. Tim Hardaway is right; it is not worth risking further set-back.

And Luol Deng forgoing the wrist surgery again is not going to help matters much. His 2-pt shooting percentage was at a career worst last season. He is not the scoring and rebounder he otherwise can be.

While I'd prefer Rose to sit out all season since our chances are basically zero at winning it all even if he does return, I think people on here are seriously underestimating this current team without Rose. Struggling to make the playoffs? Reallly? We still have Noah, Boozer, Deng, Rip, Kirk, & Taj. Add to that a legit scoring punch off the bench w/ Robinson & Belinelli, & this team isn't close to a bottom feeder. Let's also not forget we have 1 of the 3 best coaches in the game at the helm, things don't look so bleak. Even without Rose, the team is still better than half of the East after the offseason that just went down.

Has anyone looked at the Southeast Division? It's a complete joke & could end up having the 3 worst teams not just in the East but the league overall. Philly is not better than they were last season (in fact they may end up being worse). The Bucks, Pistons, Raptors, & Cavs are all still mediocre. The Knicks are still an incomplete team that should improve but not as greatly as some may expect. Boston is 1 KG injury away from being horrible. Only the Heat, Pacers, & Nets do I see having an easy road to the post-season.

 

[brett05]

On a basketball court probably.

 

[thechosenone]

Yeah he won't be DRose we knew. This year is lost no matter if DRose returns or not, but still he will be 100 times better than Hinrich, Robinson and Teague. So if he returns mid February he will help the team win some games and get a better seed.

Only the fact that the opponents will adjust their defenses on him is enough to help the team win some more games.