Carmelo Anthony: Why His Bulls Trio Will Lose To LeBron James' Miami Heat
Well, Carmelo Anthony is on the trading block and it's looking more and more likely that the All-Star will be shipped out.
Chicago is one of the rumored destinations and if Anthony heads east it would help signify a further shift in power to the East.
For the longest time the Western Conference was the best by far, but now, power is starting to be evened out in the league and Carmelo to the Bulls would really help that.
Now it's time to take a look at the hypothetical roster of the Bulls and breakdown match-ups with the new big dog on the block, the Miami Heat.
For this article I traded Luol Deng and Taj Gibson for Anthony. Yes, there's probably going to be a draft pick involved somewhere but the salaries work.
I'll be going position by position with a recap at the end. Enjoy the article and if you have thoughts, leave them in the comments.
Point Guard
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Derrick Rose vs. Mario Chalmers
This is a position where Chicago has an advantage over the Heat. Rose is one of the best young point guards in the game and is top five at the position easily. Meanwhile, Chalmers has done very little in his first couple of years in the league.
It's not like Chalmers is a terrible player, it's just that he's not Derrick Rose and Rose would take advantage of the mismatch all game long.
Rose is such a creative ball handler and transcendent scorer that Miami would have to send help his way during the course of the game to keep Rose from abusing him.
Advantage: Chicago
Shooting Guard
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Ronnie Brewer vs. Dwayne Wade
I don't want to say anything bad about Ronnie Brewer because he is a nice little player that can contribute to a good team.
Brewer was a contributor for the Jazz for a couple of years and he'd be a nice fit on a bunch of teams.
The problem is that he's nowhere near D-Wade's league.
Wade is one of the best players in the game and could exploit Brewer at will. I like him, but it's just a glaring mismatch in the starting lineup. Miami could go to that match-up all day and score off of it.
What would also help is the fact that Brewer isn't a great scorer so they could have Wade float around and commit a soft double team to help on the Rose/Chalmers match-up.
Advantage: Miami
Small Forward
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Carmelo Anthony vs. LeBron James
The entire reason this match-up would be as prime time as it gets (along with Wade). You'd have four stars from the 2003 draft class all in one game with Anthony and James as the headliners.
As for the actual match-up, it'd be a great one. James is a physical freak that makes it a challenge for anyone to stop him. You have to throw double teams at him from multiple angles because when he gets momentum going it's like a freight train coming at you.
Anthony, on the other hand, has turned into a great scorer and we could see a great duel between the two with both going right at each other on each possession trying to one-up the other.
I love what Anthony has done with his game since he's entered the league.
Carmelo has that gene in him that wants the ball in the fourth quarter. I'm not sure LeBron has the stomach for that. Otherwise he wouldn't be holding Dwayne Wade's cape in Miami.
Advantage: Chicago
Power Forward
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Carlos Boozer vs. Chris Bosh
Another great match-up and another reason that games between these two would be amazing contests to watch. Boozer against Bosh would be an interesting match-up in my eyes because it's two different styles of play.
Boozer is more of a low post, grind it out type of scorer who can hit the outside jumper while Bosh is more of a finesse guy, using his speed and quickness to help him in the paint. To be honest, Bosh hates physical play and that would give Boozer an advantage.
However, Bosh has the speed advantage over Boozer and I think he would exploit that with a couple head fakes to get Boozer leaning on the block.
Advantage: Miami
Center
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Joakim Noah vs. Joel Anthony
Okay, let's be real. This is a total mismatch. Joel Anthony would wipe the floor with Noah all game long....just kidding.
Noah has turned into a great player and proved a lot of people wrong who said he'd never amount to anything after leaving Florida.
He hustles, he's tough, he's physical, and he's just a joy to watch out on the court.
Noah plays the game the way it's supposed to be played and wears his emotions on his sleeve. I respect that and there's no way Joel Anthony could stop him. To be honest, I didn't know who Joel Anthony was until after LeBron came there and they said "Joel Anthony could be their center."
Anthony posted a robust 2.7 points and 3.1 rebounds a game last year. Way to be.
Advantage: Chicago
Bench: Point Guard
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Carlos Arroyo vs. C.J. Watson
Okay, I see you C.J. I see you. Watson had a sneaky good year last season, averaging 10.3 points per game in about 28 minutes a game.
That's not bad for a bench point guard. You could do much, much worse than having C.J. come off the bench.
Meanwhile, Arroyo is a bit of a journeyman and has bounced around a couple of teams in the past few years.
Miami was his third team in four years last year and there's a reason why some players bounce around a lot, it's because they're not that good.
Advantage: Chicago
Bench: Shooting Guard
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Kyle Korver vs. Eddie House
I won't lie, I'm not a big Kyle Korver fan. I think he's a really big feast or famine type of guy and he can't create his own shot, so I don't really like his game. However, his match-up is against Eddie House, another guy who's known for those spot up three pointers.
I love Eddie House's game though. He seems to make big plays time and time again and is always in the right spot when his team needs him.
Korver's made some big plays but he doesn't have that prime time gene in him that House does.
There's a reason why the Celtics went and got House after they got the Big Three, cause they knew he could help put them over the top. And he did.
Advantage: Miami
Bench: Small Forward
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James Johnson vs. Mike Miller
This, combined with Eddie House was probably Miami's most sneaky good pickup of the offseason. Not a lot of people are mentioning it, but Miller hit a whopping 48 percent of his three pointers last season.
You don't think a team could use a three point marksman coming off the bench?
Miller averaged 10.9 points per game last year in 33.4 minutes a game. Those are good numbers and he's going to cause matchup problems for opposing defenses.
Meanwhile, it's James Johnson, he's a scrub. He barely breaks the stat sheet and is just another bench guy.
Advantage: Miami
Bench: Power Forward
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??? vs. Udonis Haslem
If my proposed trade were to happen, it would leave a hole at that position. The Bulls would have to find someone off the scrap heap or work things around to try and fill that gap.
No matter who they put there, it isn't going to cancel out Haslem's impact on a game. Haslem has turned into a very good player since the Heat's championship run and the fact that he signed for less money to come back to Miami is a steal for the Heat.
Haslem would be one of the biggest threats off Miami's bench and would have very little drop off if Bosh were to come out.
Advantage: Miami
Bench: Center:
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Kurt Thomas vs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
We're really hitting the rewind button on this on as two old-timers clash off the bench. Big Z really took a few steps back with his age and so has Kurt Thomas but I like Big Z in this match-up.
Ilgauskas can spread the floor and still nail that stand still jumper from the corner. He's going to create space on the floor for Wade and LeBron and that's really why he's there.
On the other hand, I like Kurt Thomas, but it's probably time that he hangs it up. Sorry Kurt.
Advantage: Miami
Recap
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As you can see, while Chicago does have some advantages in the starting lineup, it's the bench where Miami really pulls away.
Also, just because the Bulls have the advantage straight up in matchups doesn't mean that Chicago is better. With Wade and LeBron, Chicago is going to either have to play them man-to-man or try and help with some soft double teams.
You can't leave some of these guys open, and that duo creates way more problems for a defense than any of the advantages Chicago has as a team. The Bulls would need to hope that Carmelo can contain LeBron by himself and then try and double Wade. I'm not sure that's a recipe for success.
Either way, I'd love to watch these two teams square off in a playoff series.
