A Season in Review: A Look Back at the 04-05 Chicago Bulls By Mike ?Moo2K4? Owens From a season that started off in complete tarnish, as the Chicago Bulls looked to be well on their way to yet another losing season, one that would have been their 7th straight, and would have continued the losing trend since the retirement of Michael Jordan after their 6th championship in eight years back in 1998. But no, this season would end differently. While the Bulls may have ended on a losing note, something that they?d grown accustomed to, it wouldn?t be because they didn?t make the playoffs, no, not this year. It?d be because they made it there but failed to advance. The Turnaround The season had begun like the previous six seasons before it had begun: losing, losing, and more losing. After losing a heartbreaker in double OT to the nets, 111-107, the Bulls would continue to slide, losing close games to Indiana, the Clipps, Sacramento, and the Lakers. Shuffled in with the close ones were the blowouts care of Phoenix, Golden State, and Denver. But, after starting with an abysmal 0-9 record, the season really began for the Bulls, as they would finally win one, on the road of all places, to the at that time, red hot Jazz. This game would then start a downward trend for the Jazz, as they?d lost to the 0-9 Hornets the night before, and then lost to the 0-9 Bulls the preceding night. After finally picking up their first win, they?d proceed to get blown out the next night, but that didn?t hurt them in any way. They came back the next game and beat the Lakers, before losing three more to some of the NBA?s elites from this past season. And So the Winning Begins? After a rough beginning to the season, the Bulls had finally compiled a couple wins against the Jazz and Lakers. This is when the fun finally began for the Bulls. After losing 13 of the first 15 games of their season, the Bulls finally got the train moving. Once the middle of December came, the Bulls went from the cellar dwellers of the NBA Eastern Conference, to one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Bulls quickly found a winning formula. What was it you say? Well, it was simply Scott Skiles getting the most out of group of rookies and other young players. He got his team to buy into his scheme and got that group of young players to play some of the best defense in the NBA. The Bulls were no longer falling apart in the 4th quarter when they were up. No, not anymore. They were finally able to hold teams down in the 4th. This came in big part because of the fact that the Bulls were quite possibly the deepest team in the NBA. They were able to afford to put some of their players on the bench and give them a rest cause they knew that they had bench players that could go out there and get the job done for them. Aside from their tremendous depth, another large factor that helped their cause was their tremendous defense. The Bulls quickly climbed to the top of the defensive charts and before the season was over, they were leading the league in opponents field goal percentage. This helped them build up a lead throughout the first three quarters and sustain it in the 4th when they were usually falling apart. Finally, the other factor in their winning was the emergence of all their youth, finally coming into their own. Tyson Chandler was finally having a healthy season. He was quickly becoming used to his role as the back up C/PF and was becoming one of the NBA?s top rebounders and shot blockers, as he averaged career highs of 9.7 rebounds and 1.76 blocks per game, to go along with his 8.0 points per game, shooting close to 50% from the floor and 67% from the line. Kirk Hinrich was doing as he was expected to after a great rookie season with the Bulls. He?d become the type of guy this team wanted running their team, as he averaged almost 16 points per game to go along with 6.4 assists per game. And beyond his offensive game, he also showed this year that he was a very underrated defender, holding his own against a lot of the bigger and quicker guards out East, and doing so while playing out of position. His reason for playing out of position was because of the emergence of Chris Duhon. A player that not many believed would even be signed by the Chicago Bulls, soon became Kirk Hinrichs partner in the backcourt, as the Bulls would run a two point guard set. Duhon, the floor general over the last 4 four years for the Duke Blue Devils quickly became this teams other backcourt starter. And he quickly took advantage, as he averaged 5.2 points per game and a stellar 4.9 assists per game. The best thing about Duhon however was not those stats, but was his assist to turnover ratio. At over a 3 to 1 ratio, he became one of the NBAs most steady point guards in that category, and managed to keep the Bulls under control. Then came Luol Deng. Most thought he was at least a year or so away from starting, I being one of those people. However, he quickly proved everyone wrong. Being utilized as a 6th man early in the season, he exploded onto the scene, averaging over 20 points per game for a good part of the first month. Because of that, the Bulls inserted him in to a starting role over another rookie, Andes Nocioni, and he continued to thrive. While his average went down as expected, he still produced and was a key part to the Bulls offense all season. Eddy Curry was yet another player who was making huge strides. Coming off a career year in 2003-2004, Eddy Curry was out to show he could be even better. However, his season got off to a sour note when he was suspended for the first two games of the year. However, after that, Curry was finally showing he could be the player he was projected to be. With averages of 16.1 points per game and shooting 54% from the field and 72% from the line, Curry ended with his best season to date. And while his rebounding and blocking weren?t quite what the Bulls would like to see, it wasn?t a real necessity when you have Tyson Chandler, a rebounding and blocking machine, coming off the bench to help out your frontline. Curry?s main job was to provide a threat down low on the offensive end, and that?s exactly what he did. Aside from these guys was the Euro that they?d brought from the overseas team Tau Victoria out in Argentina, Andres Nocioni, or Noc as people preferred to call him. Nocioni brought a level of intensity to the team that they hadn?t seen in years. The 25 year old Euro, widely considered one of the best players not in the NBA, was a fierce competitor. He played tough and dirty in your face defense, and played with sheer intensity on both ends of the court. However, the player that might have made the biggest impact this year was none of those mentioned and not even Eddy Curry. It was former UConn star and the 3rd overall draft pick that summer for the Bulls, Ben Gordon. His season started off slowly, as he began the year as a starter. However, once it became apparent that he was not ready for that yet and he was moved to the bench, that?s when he became what he is now. After a slow start to the season, he would get over that and quickly became the leagues premier 6th man, as he showed by becoming the NBAs first rookie to win 6th Man of the Year, and would soon be the new Mr. 4th Quarter for the Bulls. In an amazing turnaround, Ben Gordon went from a potential looking bust, to a soon to be All Star. Ben Gordon showed why he was the 3rd overall pick of the draft, as he became one of the leagues most explosive scorers. Coming in off the bench, Ben Gordon provided more than jus a spark, he provided offensive firepower off the bench like we haven?t seen in years. In only 24.4 minutes per game, Ben Gordon would go on to lead all rookies in points scored and points per game at 15.1. His biggest accolade for him though was just how explosive he was in the 4th quarter, as he scored double figures in points 22 times throughout the season during the 4th. When the Bulls needed instant offense, he was the man whose name got called. From hitting clutch three point shots to even game winners versus the Knicks on two separate occasions (1/17, 4/19), Ben Gordon had become Mr. 4th Quarter for the Bulls, and easily one of the best clutch players in the league. The Coach Aside from the young guys such as Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Tyson Chandler that all made such huge contributions, a lot of credit is due to head coach Scott Skiles. Skiles, who?d came on board midway through last season after GM Jon Paxson let Bill Cartwright go, was a coach who believed that hard work would win games. His influence actually started before the season began. He was key in getting Eddy Curry into shape for the first time in his NBA career. He was able to motivate his young center and got him to get into the best shape of his career. He got his team to buy into his philosophy and got his young rookies and 2nd or 3rd year players to play some absolutely phenomenal defense. And while early in the season the Bulls looked lost and confused offensively, he soon was able to get them to execute and run an offense, that, while maintained simplicity, was very effective and finally got them to consistently put points on the board. If it wasn?t for Skiles being the hard nosed coach that he is, the Baby Bulls might never have blossomed into a team that finally found their way back to the playoffs. Injuries, Injuries, and, Oh Yea, More Injuries While the Bulls had a magnificent run going, I don?t know if they were ready for what was in store. After being blessed with having a healthy roster for most of the season at this point, the Bulls had no clue what was about to happen. The first to go down (well, from what I remember), was floor general Kirk Hinrich. His injury, however, was not major, as it only kept him out a few games. Before he even came back however, the next to drop was Luol Deng. Suffering a wrist injury, Deng would soon proceed to miss a couple games. However, shortly after coming back, Deng would injure his wrist once again, and this time, miss the rest of the season and the playoffs. Andres Nocioni however, would step in and play the small forward role with extended minutes because of the lack of depth at this point at the small forward position, something that they had greatly enjoyed having all year to this point. The one that might have been most costly though was when Eddy Curry was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat at the end of March. Curry would not step foot in a uniform on the basketball court again after a March 28th victory in Memphis. Because, while his injury wasn?t a career ending one, however, it could have ended up that way, it was a season ending one. Curry would be forced to sit out the last 13 regular season games and was then told that he would not be able to participate in the playoffs at all for the Bulls. You may be scratching your head wondering why this one cost them the most, well, here?s your answer. While the Bulls were able to make up for his defense and some of his scoring by inserting Tyson Chandler in as the starter, they were just not able to make up for his entire presence down low. Without him, the Bulls lost their biggest threat in the middle and that hurt. Tyson Chandler, while better defensively, is not quite the offensive threat of Curry. The other thing that hurt them was they lost depth once again, because now, not only did they lose depth at the 3-spot, but now they were missing depth at the C/PF position when Chandler, Harrington, and Davis were forced to play extended minutes. Again, like Noc, this is something that none of them were accustomed to so far this year but had to adapt to it nonetheless. Bulls Back in Playoffs?Finally Despite a frantic end to the season, but Bulls still ended 47-35 record, their best since the Michael Jordan era, and they?d finally landed a trip to the playoffs as the #4 seed, even though they had the 3rd best overall record in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls first round match up was one they?d struggled with all year. The team they had to face was the high powered Wizards, led by the trio of Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, and Antawn Jamison. The trio was the highest scoring threesome of players in the NBA this year, as they accounted for almost 69 points per game, roughly 68% of what the Wizards averaged per game. The Bulls came out roaring, winning the first two games of the series 103-94 and 113-103. After that however, the Bulls would slow down. They would lose the next game in not-so-dramatic fashion, 117-99, as the Wizards threesome would combine for 74 points and then Etan Thomas would also contribute 20. The Bulls would then lose game 4, except this time, it wasn?t the Big Three that killed them, it was the Wizards role player and former Maryland standout, Juan Dixon, that would torch Chicago for 35 points in only 31 minutes of play. With back to back losses, the Bulls would not be able to get back the momentum, as they would go on to lose games five and six in dramatic fashion, losing game five 112-110, and game six 94-91. Bulls lost game five at the buzzer, as Gilbert Arenas hit a 16-foot pull up jump shot at the buzzer, after coming back to tie the game on after three Jannero Pargo 3-pointers. Game six saw the Bulls collapse in the fourth and lose after having a 6-point lead going into the fourth. The eventual game winner was made by Jared Jeffries, which put the Wiz up 93-91, and then Dixon split a pair of foul shots to make it 94-91, giving the Bulls a chance to win the game. However, Andres Nocioni missed a potential game tying 3-pointer and then Tyson Chandler, for some odd reason, jacked up a 15-footer. Arenas grabbed the board and ensued to throw the ball into the stands as the Wiz had come back from down 0-2 to win the series 4-2 on their homecourt. So The Season Comes to An End So, after the best season in a better part of a decade, a season that saw the Bulls make their way back to the playoffs, it was all over. Just like that. However, despite playoff disappointment, one cannot be disappointed with the way they performed. After starting off with their backs to the wall at 0-9, to fight back and grab the #4 seed in the East, you can?t be disappointed. The Bulls did what they could with a depleted roster, but, in the end, were simply outmanned by the Wizards. One may wonder what could have happened had the Bulls had a healthy roster that included Deng and Curry, they may wonder if the playoffs would have turned out the same way. However, we must not dwell on the past now. The playoffs are over. It?s now time to look ahead to the offseason. The Bulls have many things they need to do this offseason, and if they play their cards right, they could be even better next year, and be well on their way to re-establishing themselves as one of the NBA?s elites once again.
Nice article Mike as a Bulls fan I would just like to thank you on spending your time to right a review for other Bulls fans like myself to read. As far as the review goes I got to admit when the Bulls first started there win streak I could not believe it. I thought it would be just a temporary thing until they fell back to there old ways the teams they were beating were not of the highest caliber talent. I think there were so many different people who made this season successful for the team. I honestly do not feel this team would have gotten near as many wins as they did without Eddy Curry taking last off- season, and committing himself to the organization and its fans by getting in shape. He also showed he did indeed show he wanted to be a Chicago Bulls, and continue to contribute to this team, and help it reach the Plato it had achieved during the Jordan era. Also bringing in Paxson a few seasons ago really has proved to be a great move, and the organization is reaping the benefits. Unlike Krause he does not crave all the recognition for the teams success, and puts us in a position to win without spending a extraordinary amount of money I believe we are 22nd in the league in terms of highest payroll. He really built this team from scratch. Bringing in basically our whole starting lineup this season outside of Chandler and Curry. He got the team Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, Davis, Duhon, Hinrich and also a lot of our supporting cast to take us back into the playoffs. Although, moves he made to assemble this roster left us without any draft picks this year in the draft we still have a chance to get the players we wanted. He has also managed to implement the character first enigmas to this team. We have never had a problem with a player being charged with a crime or found in possession of any drugs or anything of that sort. The Bulls front office apparently always seems to look beyond the accomplishments and r?sum?s of people to find the right man for the job. Scott Skiles did not even have a winning record as a NBA head coach in this league before Paxson brought him in, and he was able to coach this young roster into a playoff birth. Hopefully this off-season they can bring in some more veterans to implement in the system. It was the only thing we lacked really on this team. Antonio Davis, Othella Harrington, and Pike were really the only veterans on our roster that made significant contributions at different points in the season. I would preferable be happy if we could bring in a Michael Finley to teach our younger guards or a brevin Knight of sorts. Also we could acquire a young shooter with playoff experience such as a Kareem Rush that would also benefit the team in the long run. All in all this organization had a great regular season this year, and hopefully they will have a great off-season, and continue to build on there success for the future. I am hoping that they do not lose any of there key pieces like Eddy Curry or Tyson Chandler or at least not without getting a great player in return. Once again I would just like to say good job to Mike aka Moo2k4 on this article.
