Now, I realize there was already a thread of what the potential starting line up for next year could be, but, not a whole lot of people gave their opinions on what it should be. They just kind of argued on why people shouldn't be there, never really telling who they think should start. Now, with the current roster, I was wondering what exactly you people think the starting line up should be. PG: Kirk Hinrich SG: Jamal Crawford SF: Luol Deng PF: Tyson Chandler C: Eddy Curry Now, I've seen a lot of people argue that Ben Gordon should be the starting shooting guard next year or else he will be a "wasted" pick. I don't think so. I think that as long as Jamal is there, he's going to start. He has the NBA experience and is really developing well as a player. The only knock I really have on him is that he takes a lot of bad shots, as shown by his sub 40% fgs last year. But, I think, as long as he's a Chicago Bull, he'll start. Ben Gordon wll get his chance, but, if Jamal is there, he won't start. Gordon, I believe will be a very good back up to Hinrich and Jamal. He's got a ton of talent, a good defensive player, and he can shoot the ball extremely well. The other thing I've seen is people knocking on Tyson Chandler. The kid is 22 years old, you guys really need to give him a break. Last year, he had an off year due to the fact he was injured for over half the season. He never really had a chance to get in any type of rhythm cause, every time he came back from one injury, he got hurt again. You guys seem to forget that he was beginning to look fairly promising after his 2nd year. It seemed than that he was developing and moving along very well. He had a good year that year, averaging just under 10 ppg and 7 rpg. Granted the rpg is a little low for a 7 footer, but, his body was still maturing, and, consider the fact that he's also only 235. He's still very small weight wise for a big man. But, than he got bit by the injury bug last year, sidelining him for 47 games. That's the big reason why I think he had a very sub-par season. But, I still believe he could be a very good player as long as he stays healthy. I think he needs to definitely put on some more weight, but, like I said, I believe he can be good.
pg - kirk hinrich sg - jamal crawford sf - luol deng pf - tyson chandler c - eddy curry 6th ben gordon 7th antonio davis 8th jerome williams 9th chris duhon 10th linton johnson I think that skiles may start AD over Tyson, I think that Tyson is the better player however. Eddy Curry will have put in a better off-season and be in better condition for next year. Kirk will continue to develop into a smart passer and keep with his timely shooting. If Jamal is here he will be the 2 man and he will be the leading scorer. If Jamal is gone and the Bulls pick up the Andres Niochni(or however its spelled) pg - Kirk Hinrich sg - Ben Gordon sf - Andres Niochni pf - Tyson Chandler c - Eddy Curry 6th Luol Deng 7th Antonio Davis 8th Jerome Williams 9th Chris Duhon 10th Linton Johnson *the bench would be numered different if we knew exactly which players would be coming from New York.
Even if they do want to move him along slowly, they still might give him more minutes than what they want to. If they have no real good bench player next year, this is, btw, assuming they Nochioni and they send off Jamal, they might have to make him 6th man and give him more minutes than what they actually want to give him. We won't know his role though until the season begins. But, right now, they may want to bring him along slowly, but, just because they want to, doens't mean they'll be able to.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post">Even if they do want to move him along slowly, they still might give him more minutes than what they want to. If they have no real good bench player next year, this is, btw, assuming they Nochioni and they send off Jamal, they might have to make him 6th man and give him more minutes than what they actually want to give him. We won't know his role though until the season begins. But, right now, they may want to bring him along slowly, but, just because they want to, doens't mean they'll be able to.</div> It will depend on how Deng plays, not whether or not they can afford too. The Bulls will play Linton Johnson, Robinson, possibly Jeffries if Deng proves not to be ready. If Deng can step in right away and play, then its not a problem. The Bulls do have other options if Deng isn't ready, even if those other options aren't the best alternative solutions.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">PS- Congrats on being a mod....</div> Thanks for the congrats. And, I do realize they have other options for the small forward position. But, none of those options are very good. ERob isn't all that great, and for that matter, from what I've heard here, the Bulls don't even want him. He does provide an occasional spark, but, I don't think he's starting material. Linton Johnson is a player whom I don't know much about. I know that he's a good defensive player and he has the size to play there. From what I see though, he didn't play much last season as he was injured for 41 games. And, looking at his stats, he doesn't seem to be that great of a shooter, as he only shot roughly 35% from the floor. But, I only caught him a few times last year on FSN. But, like I said, I don't know too much about him. Chris Jeffries, the other guy you mentioned, didn't see all that much playing time last year. He only played 2 games in Toronto than went to Chicago in the Jalen rose trade. As a Bull, he only played in 19 games and started 2. But, all the options outside of ERob, only have 3 seasons and 113 total games under their belts. Not that much. One other thing about ERob, he has a tendency to get injured. The guy hasn't played more than 67 games in a season throughout his career thus far. And, 2 of the last 3 seasons he's played 51 and 29, with 67 in between those. So, his ability to stay healthy will definitely play a role in what he does. But, you are right, the Bulls do have other options outside of Deng. Whether they are better has yet to be determined.
ERob brings defense, athleticism, and open court ability to the SF position for the Bulls. The reason the Bulls want to dump him is because of his salary. My point was, the Bulls can look elsewhere should Deng not be ready for immediate contribution. Hopefully, he is, because Robinson, Jeffries, and Johnson aren't great alternatives. But if Deng isn't ready, they will have no choice, as they can probably handle the SF better than Deng(assuming he isn't ready).
Yea, I know that was your point. I was just stating that the alternatives aren't that great. None of them have very much experience except ERob, and he has the injury problem. If Dent isn't ready, they won't have a choice and I'd bet that ERob gets the nod cause he has the most experience and he's been with the club for the longest. Plus, like you said, he's a good defender and he's got good athleticism. His only knock is his incosistent shooting I think. He's not a good long shooter at all. His mid range game isn't bad, but, it's not especially great. But, if Deng isn't ready, I would imagine ERob gets the starting nod.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Moo2K4:</div><div class="quote_post"> From what I see though, he didn't play much last season as he was injured for 41 games. And, looking at his stats, he doesn't seem to be that great of a shooter, as he only shot roughly 35% from the floor. But, I only caught him a few times last year on FSN. But, like I said, I don't know too much about him. </div> Linton played at the beginning of the year got cut, then resigned after a stint in the nbdl.
