But therein lies Van Gundy, and plenty of other fans', argument. "To lose Rose by itself is going to cost you -- even if you thought they were a 55-win team with Rose -- that costs you 12-15 games right there," Van Gundy said. "And then all the other guys I think people are overlooking. C.J. Watson even with his poor play to Asik in that sixth game, listen, he was a very valuable back-up through all of Rose's injuries last year. He played well, and now, who's their backup, they have Hinrich and who? (Marquis Teague) No, no, he's not ... did you watch him in summer league? "Struggled" is being kind. That's not a knock. The 29th pick in the draft is such a hit-and-miss selection anyway. You have to give him time to grow and mature. But to think he's going to come in and play behind Hinrich next year ..." So Van Gundy isn't sold on Teague as a backup just yet. That's OK, neither am I, as he said, he' not only the 29th pick, he's also 19 years old. Aside from Teague, I just don't think the Bulls' bench will be as terrible as some fans think, though. They will miss Asik's defense and the continuity Watson, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver had playing together, but Marco Belinelli can score, Jimmy Butler showed flashes of solid play in Las Vegas, and Hinrich will be a solid addition for Thibodeau off the bench whenever Rose returns. Obviously, one of the biggest keys is how Hinrich will play to start the season when he is starting and playing 30-35 minutes in Rose's spot. "Their point guard situation last year was the MVP and a very good backup. This year it's a combo guard in Hinrich and we'll see who they can get as a backup. At the two-guard, (Rip) Hamilton is always hurt, and frankly in that Philly series, he's older, he's on the downside, and we'll see if he can bounce back ... Deng, you don't know where he's going to be injury-wise, and the frontcourt has been diminished. So to think that's a 50-win team ... listen, if they win half their games next year and make the playoffs, it's a heck of a year." Read more: http://espn.go.com/blog/chicagobulls/post/_/id/9643/thibs-can-lead-the-bulls-to-50-wins
I think he's being a tad bit pessimistic, but his reasoning isn't flawed. Losing Derrick sucks, no if's ands or buts. Without Derrick and Noah we couldn't put away a middling 76ers team. I doubt we're that much different without Derrick and Luol if he ends up missing a lot of time. During games I always got the impression that JVG was very high on Asik, so I imagine he sees the Asik/Nazr swap as a slap in the face. The changes to the bench is merely shuffling the deck. The truth is without Luol or Derrick our team does kind of suck. If we go 2 months without both of them we'll be in quite a hole. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when either will be back, and how long it'll take them to get back to full strength. And if things aren't looking up at the trade deadline the whole thing could go kablooey. So, yeah....there's a lot of uncertainty. Which all begs the question......god almightly, why did you have to get injured Derrick?
Not upset at all with JVG's view on this. If everyone (but Rose) is healthy, they ought to be able to be around .500 when Rose returns (whenever that is). If Deng has surgery and/or if any of their key other guys have extended absences, I can see them being under .500 and missing the postseason. I'd take 45 wins right now and say Thank You.
Yeah, our team has a very broad range of possible outcomes for next year. The roster uncertainty breeds financial uncertainty, which could in turn breed even more roster uncertainty. I think the majority of outcomes will lead to us winning 40-something games, but I think the realm of possibility includes a low of 30-35 and a high of 50+. If Deng and Rose are both out to begin the season we're simply not a very talented roster. Probably a 30-35 win team. I still have no clue if the Bulls are looking to cut salary or not. And to be honest, I'm not sure the Bulls are settled on the issue either. It looks like they're trying to hedge their bets in all directions. Consider me clueless. So will we roll with an "I'll Play These" mentality throughout the season come hell or high water, or is there a good chance the Bulls cut bait on Hamilton and/or one of Boozer/Noah/Deng to shave salary and retool? No idea.
Hear ya, Rosenthal. This offseason, every time I think I know where management's headed, they do something to prove me wrong. My latest sense is that management doesn't have much enthusiasm for this coming season other than the return of Hinrich. It seems that this offseason has been all about Hinrich.
JVG has a nice little gig on TV...he's good at it. I wonder if JVG wants to get back to coaching. Collins and others have jumped back and forth, but most have found that the analyst role doesn't do it for them.
