NBA Success: Formula One

It’s hard to believe, being a Chicago fan for all my life, that it will be 10 years since my city was the cream of the crop.

The Bulls were, dare I say, unstoppable. It was a formula that would never work today. You had the greatest player in the game, Michael Jordan—a man who needs no introduction, a man who even owner Jerry Reinsdorf felt the necessity to honor (believe me, erecting that statue in front of the United Center is a bigger deal than most will recognize).

Alongside this Juggernaut was another, less noticed, less appreciated, but still required piece to the masterpiece—Scottie Pippen—at the very peak of his prime if not for a nagging injury.

The rest of the equation really didn’t matter. I suppose you could honorably mention Dennis Rodman for his ferocious defense and ridiculous hall-of-fame rebounding numbers, but his antics distinguish his accolades.

With the ’98 Bulls, like any of those teams that decade, it took two superstars in Jordan and Pippen and six or seven role players who did their job, and Abra-Kadabra! you had yourself a championship caliber team. A six-time championship caliber team no less.

Try making that formula work now against the likes of Duncan, Howard, Garnett, Yao, Dirk, Shaq, Amare, Boozer, and pretty soon maybe even Bynum. In addition to your two superstars, you need a force in the middle to win. There’s just no way around it.

Based on last year’s world champs, today’s formula for success requires at least three of the following: scorers (Lebron, Kobe, Melo, Pierce, Dwayne, Arenas, T-Mac, Dirk, and pretty soon maybe even Durant), elite point guard (Nash, Billups, Paul, Iverson, Williams, Parker, Baron Davis, Kidd), “wingmen” who quietly get the job done on offense or defense (Hamilton, Manu Ginobili, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Jamison, Ray Allen, Barbosa), defensive enforcer (Ben Wallace, Rasheed, Shaq, Bowen, Camby), and probably the number one requirement—the inside scorer (Howard, Gasol, Amare, maybe Bynum, Boozer, Duncan, Garnet, Yao).

Last year’s champs, San Antonio Spurs, has four of the five factors of success fulfilled and there to stay in Duncan, Ginobili, Bowen, and Parker. It’s a team that is in the hunt ever single year and that’s the reason. All of the other top-tier teams—Denver, Detroit, Boston, Phoenix, Dallas—have at least three of the five factors satisfied.

We digress from my point however.

Remember at the beginning of the season when we all picked up that annual issue of SI and read about how this season was supposed to turn out? Remember flipping through a few pages and seeing, low and behold, the Chicago Bulls, are picked to finish third in the Eastern Conference?

My question for all of you is...WHY?!?!

Granted, it’s almost hard to argue that the east is even comparable to the west, with all of our western foes seemingly getting the sweeter end of the deal this deadline. You don’t need a “strong” team to make it out of there in one piece.

But still, third?

Here’s why you’re wrong SI: You need your elite point guards, your scorers, your wingmen, and your big men to win nowadays.

The Bulls, both before and after the deadline, still have none. If they do then they have yet to establish themselves as such. Who was our scorer? Luol? That’s fine by me, but the problem is the ball somehow doesn’t end up in his hands. Is it Gordon? Not from what I’ve seen. He forces bad shots, turns the ball over, and is a huge liability on defense.

Who’s our elite point guard? Kirk? Maybe if he’s playing the one like he’s supposed to. On draft day the guy was receiving comparisons to Stockton. STOCKTON! JOHN STOCKTON! You know, the guy who holds all of those assists records? Maybe we should let him, I don’t know...DO WHAT HE WAS BROUGHT HERE TO DO! Unfortunately, Kirk is too streaky, and I think it’s time to move on.

Who are our wingmen? Nocioni? Thabo? Possibly, but they need to see some court time then. Neither have really shown they’re capable of being consistent yet. They either need to step up or ship out before their value goes below freezing.

Don’t even start me on big men. Ben Wallace, while a great acquisition, did not fit. The Bulls didn’t have trouble stopping the ball, it was scoring it inside the paint. If Thomas and Noah can grow up and mature, Chicago might have a front court that’s worth scouting. Only time will tell though. Don’t sleep on Aaron Gray either.

Again I digress.

What we’ve seen here is a formula that isn’t going to work in the NBA. The 90s are over Paxson. You can’t put the ball in the hands of a couple of scorers and surround them with mediocrity anymore. Had you traded for Kobe we would still be in the same hole.

Today’s NBA takes a formula of not one, not two, but three or four solid capable players in order to become elite. Luol Deng is not a superstar, not yet any way. Kirk Hinrich is not an elite point guard, though he’s shown glimpses. Gordon, Nocioni, Thabo—they aren’t the wingmen we need to bring home hardware.

The acquisition of Hughes and Gooden may turn out for the best. It may even lead to a playoff berth. But there is a bigger issue at hand here. Bulls fans around the globe are pleading. We’ve come so close. We drank from the fountain of youth and now we want it all.

I remember the Jordan Days. Those days when you needed a star or two and a JV team to win championships. But this is 2008, John, and you need to realize that in order to win in the 21st century, you need to have three or four capable players.