The Bulls are Ready to Compete

by user BigPPup

The Chicago Bulls have been busy on the free agent market over the last 48 hours, and the affects will be seen almost immediately for the young team. On July 4th the Bulls added Big Ben Wallace to their starting lineup. Now on July 5th the have shipped out Tyson Chandler for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith of the Hornets who have also been busy in the free agent market. With these moves the Bulls have forced their way to the top of the Eastern Conference with only the sky as the limit for their potential.

Wallace and Brown will have an immediate affect on the Bulls lineup while there will be some time before Smith makes his debus. He is currently third in the rotation at his natural position of Swingman, but that could change is GM Paxson has his way and is able to act on the trade interest directed at Luol Deng. More importantly however is the addition to the frontcourt of the Chicago lineup.

The Bulls have made two consecutive trips to the playoffs, the first time in the post Jordan era. Both of those trips have been predicated off the outstanding guard play the Bulls have established via their young talent. Ben Gordon, Hinrich and Duhon have all made tremendous strides in their short stints in the league, despite being undersized 1 and 2 guards.

Bulls Coach Scott Skiles have his team playing frenetic perimeter defense to make up for a lack of size both on the edges and in the middle. While Chandler handled the majority of the minutes at the center position for the Bulls, he was several cheeseburgers shy of being a force in the middle. Most of the Bulls success was predicated off of frenetic play, and causing other teams to get out of the rhythm by disrupting passing lanes. Yet when teams found ways to get pass the initial defensive stop, there was no presence in the paint to stop the offensive player. When it matter in this years playoffs Shaq and Wade had a field day exploiting the Chicago interior.

With the addition of Ben Wallace the Bull obviously gain the NBA’s reigning defensive player of the year, and one of the best interior defenders in the league. Finally the Bulls have a second line of defense. Wallace will also drastically increase the rebounding numbers for the Bulls. Wallace has averaged 11.3 rebounds ppg during the course of his career, and every one of those will be appreciated by the Chicago organization.

The addition of Wallace and P.J. Brown will add another facet to the Bulls, swagger. Wallace has an NBA Championship and has played in many big time games in his brief career. Brown has also made many trips deep into the playoffs. Both men know what it takes to prepare for the big games. Their presence alone will provide a lift for the Baby Bulls that most players around the league cannot provide.

This move shifts the balance of power drastically in the Eastern Conference. Miami are the reigning champions and they will remain the top dogs in the East, however past that there is a new order. Indiana will continue their downslide from the ranks of the elite. Detroit is a team that showed signs of strain throughout last season and into the playoffs. Despite what they may want you to think, they cannot maintain their championship status without Larry Brown. Cleveland and Washington are right on the Bulls tails for the second best team in the east. But both teams are one big man short of progressing from a dangerous team to a serious threat. Chicago was once a member of that file and rank, but no more. With the addition of two legitimate big men, and veteran leadership, they Bulls will be a new look team and force to be dealt with yet again.

Date

Wed 07/05/06, 2:31 pm EST