(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
As the season winds down and the playoffs approach, it’s a good time to look back on the Chicago Bulls season and judge whether this has been a successful year.
The first thing to look at is whether it’s even worth it to make the playoffs. Currently, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls would be facing the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard.
This is not a good match-up for the Bulls, as they have no one who can effectively guard “Superman.”
The alternatives are not any better: the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James, or the defending champion Boston Celtics, with three possible Hall of Famers.
The question can be asked is it better to miss the playoffs and try to get lucky in the draft lottery?
The Bulls certainly did last year. In fact, had they not lucked out and ended up with the No. 1 pick and Derrick Rose, you could argue they might be the worst team in the league this year. They certainly wouldn’t be competing for the playoffs.
Can a miracle happen two years in a row and allow the Bulls to draft Blake Griffin if they fall out of the playoffs?
While I won’t say they have a lock on a playoff spot right now, they would really have to implode, and a mediocre team would have to exceed expectations and rise up to grab the spot.
Were they to miss out on the playoffs, could they tempt fate one more time and end up with the first pick again?
Not likely unless the NBA decides they need a marquee franchise in Chicago and fix the lottery like they did in 1985 for the New York Knicks, allowing them to draft Patrick Ewing with the first pick.
With our look into the future over, how did this Bulls team perform this year? Were they underachievers, or exactly where they should be?
They hired a rookie coach in Vinny Del Negro after their meddling owner Jerry Reinsdorf messed up the Mike D’Antoni signing. Vinny has been learning on the job, and it shows.
There was a time where he kept Rose on the bench in crucial fourth-quarter situations for five straight games, retarding the progress of the player who is going to lead your team if you ever aspire to play in June again.
The best player on the team was supposed to be Luol Deng, but he’s been injured much of the year and has seemed out of sorts when he has played.
He sure looks like a waste of $71 million, the contract he signed before the season. He’s gotten worse instead of better.
The same can be said for Kirk Hinrich, who gave up his starters’ role as the point guard for Rose. A few years back, I thought he was the best white non-European player in the league.
I know that’s like saying you’re the best looking pig at a beauty contest for pigs, but he’s been a big disappointment the last few years. He’s done all right in a reserve role and that’s probably where he belongs.
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