Preseason's over. How many regular season wins you figure for these Bulls? I'm feelin' 52. No reasoning...just a feeling.
I'm going big. Let's say, 59-61 wins. My thought is that every single player on this roster besides Dunleavy looks better situated than they did a year ago. Rose and Butler are set to be better. Noah, Mirotic, Gibson and the fifth big (Portis) . . . all better. Gasol is going to be better due to the fact he's going to be used in a way that takes advantage of his shooting and doesn't pair him with another center. Snell, McDermott, Brooks, and Moore are going to be better. And Kirk may not really play any better, but it looks to me like Hoiberg is much more interested in playing him at the 2 than at point, which might actually be okay for him in certain matchups. This team also has more continuity than it has in the past. They've had a year to work in Gasol, Mirotic, Snell, McDermott, Moore and Brooks. Hoiberg has a huge advantage over what Thibodeau faced last season with all the roster turnover. I think they'll be a little slow out of the gate. But once you get through the initial blast of a new season, talent seems to win out, and this team has a ton of talent. The bench is going to dismantle opponents during the regular season.
Rose goes down with a season ending bunion on his left foot, Butler retires midseason to spend more time with his posse, McDermott and Snell fight for control of the team, Brooks leads the team in scoring: 42-42
