Chicago Bulls

Gordon and Dang will help push for the playoffs

The Chicago Bulls franchise left its mark on the National Basketball Association landscape during the 1990’s. The face of the team was the greatest player to ever lace up a pair of sneakers, Michael Jordan. The Bulls picked up Jordan out of North Carolina when they drafted him in the 1984 draft. The most amazing part of it was that Jordan didn’t get picked until the third pick being passed over for Hakeem Olajuwon, which is okay because he was one of the greatest centers ever, and Sam Bowie, who did next to nothing with his career with the Trailblazers. Jordan was the greatest player to ever play the game and it showed when he led the Bulls to two different three-peat championships.

The only reason the team didn’t win eight championships in a row was because Jordan took a two year hiatus after the 1993 NBA Finals. Jordan went on to play minor league baseball in the White Sox farm system for a season and a half. The most memorable moment of Jordan’s career came after game five of the 1997 NBA Finals when Jordan was getting helped off of the court by his sidekick, and second best player in the NBA, Scottie Pippen. Jordan was sick with the flu and was vomiting all the way up until tip-off. Jordan wasn’t himself in the first half and come on strong in the second half especially in the fourth quarter. He scored 15 of his 38 points in the final frame and added the game clinching three with 25 seconds left. It was amazing to see how different Jordan was while he was playing to how he was when he wasn’t being active. When he would be on the bench he could barely hold himself up. It was just ridiculous. The Bulls, of course, won the game 90-88 and would win game six where Jordan also pumped home the series winning basket. Michael Jordan helped create a dynasty in Chicago and he was, and still is, an icon and a symbol for victory.
In the time period only known as A.M.J. in Chicago, the Bulls couldn’t be further away from the teams that won six championships in the ‘90s. After the ’98 Finals the team went into a freefall and through the 2003 season the Bulls had accumulated a record of 119-341 which is a winning percentage of .258. The team has yet to win over 30 games and hasn’t even taken as much as a sniff at the playoffs. The team was supposed to have its saviors in Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry but neither one of them have lived up to their potential.

Last season the team finished with another disappointing 23-59 season. The team fired head coach and former Bulls player Bill Cartwright 14 games into the season and brought in another former player Scott Skiles. Skiles is the type of coach that will get guys skin and try and get a rise out of them to play better; he defiantly is the type of guy that will tuck the young Bulls team into bed every night.

For the first time in a long time, the Bulls had a very good draft. With the number three pick the Bulls grabbed Connecticut combo guard Ben Gordon. Gordon was the first guard taken in the draft and played a huge role in Connecticut winning the national championship just a few months before the draft. The Bulls fell in love with Gordon during his personal workouts for them and they think he’ll be the perfect backcourt mate to last year’s top pick Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls then turned around and traded their second round pick and a future first round pick for Duke forward Luol Deng. Deng has been compared to Rashard Lewis and a stronger Grant Hill. Scouts say the upside on Deng is only rivaled by Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Deng played a big part in Duke making it to the Final Four and got beat, coincidentally by Ben Gordon’s UConn Huskies.

The starting five for the Bulls looks very strong this year. Starting at the two guard positions will be Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, at small forward will be Luol Deng, at power forward will be Antonio Davis and Eddy Curry will man the center position. The team, on paper, looks solid enough to make it into the playoffs this year, but they have disappointed before.
Coming off the bench the Bulls look like they have a talent. They have Tyson Chandler who will provide quality minutes for Curry and Davis. At the guards, Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo should be adequate backups for Hinrich and Gordon.