It’s not always easy to keep perspective. Like when the 410 lb. orca whale purchasing $30-worth of Burger King for himself double-checks with the cashier that the soda he was served is Diet. But we here at Razzball know how difficult maintaining perspective can be, especially when you’re drunk and trying to sketch moving objects. So from now until the start of the season, we’re bringing you the 2010 Fantasy Team Previews, which will focus on each NBA team in hopes of painting a clearer fantasy picture. Who’s starting over who? Who might surprise you and who might make you want to hurl yourself off a bridge in a few months. Enjoy! Starting it off – The Chicago Bulls.
Players gained: 1/4 of the Utah Jazz, a coach who will actually run plays, Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s arch-nemesis, and a guy named Omer.
Players lost: Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, a guy named Flip
Probable position depth:
PG – Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson
SG – Kyle Korver, Keith Bogans
SF – Luol Deng, Ronnie Brewer
PF – Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, James Johnson
C – Joakim Noah, Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik
3 Concerns Heading Into the Season:
1. Will Rose develop a long-range shot? Will he use it if he does?
Because, like Jay-Z, I too have no passion, I have no patience and I hate waitin’, I’ll answer this question quickly: probably not and definitely not. Reports have said that Rose is taking NBA threes in the gym after practice at the Worlds in hopes of adding a long-range game to his arsenal, but with the additions of Korver and Watson, it appears as if the Bulls aren’t confident it’ll happen. The difficulty with Rose is that his game is very quick and very powerful, which gets him to the lane and the line, but not the arc. Even if he developed the ability to sink more than 16 treys a season, he would have to shift his style of play too much to make it worthwhile.
2. Does Luol Deng have another notch to take it up to this season?
Yup. Might even have two. His best season was 2006-07, then the next three were injury-riddled. But he’s wasn’t perfect in ’06, he’s still young now (25), and there’s no reason to think he hasn’t been learning the game even while he was injured. Last year, his defense returned to the quality it had been before his injuries and he’s going to be relied upon in 2010, something that he hadn’t been the past two seasons.
3. Can Noah become the Defensive Player of the Year under head coach Tom Thibodeau?
Last year, Noah’s bpg improved from the year before. He committed fewer fouls per36 than in his first two seasons and his DRtg went from 105 to 101. Most of that while under the tutelage of a coach who never actually tuteled. Tom Thibodeau? Oh, he tuteles. He’ll tutel the hell out of Noah. Can Noah win DPotY? Absolutely. Will he? I’d at least put him in the top three.
Probable Fantasy Disappointment in ’10: Taj Gibson. It’s not that I think legendary bluesman Taj Gibson is going to take a step back this season, I just think we got a lot of Gibson as a rookie (70 starts, 27 mpg) and his improvement will be minimal as he takes a back seat to Boozer. His projections have him improving over last year’s line, but not as much as I think many are hoping for.
Probable Biggest Fantasy Contributor in ’10: Carlos Boozer. He likes Chicago. He’s not distracted by contract negotiations and Taj Gibson is not Paul Millsap.
Deep Sleeper: C.J. Watson. Unless Floyd Mayweather Jr. finds him and puts him in a deep sleep.
