Chicago Bulls: Grading Their Chances Against Eastern Conference Playoff Teams
With all the movement of superstars from the West to the East, the Eastern Conference playoff picture has perhaps never looked this exciting. With the Knicks' trade for Carmelo Anthony and the Nets’ trade for Deron Williams, the first 7 spots in the Eastern Conference playoff picture seem to be set for the foreseeable future- and possibly longer.
However, due to an improved East, no team is going to be able to dominate the conference and run all the way to the finals. Noting that, how do the Bulls match up against the teams looking at a playoff spot in the East?
Boston Celtics
1 of 8
Even though the Bulls have only amassed a 1-2 record against the Celtics so far this season, it appears that they may actually match up against them best. Unfortunately neither team has been at full strength for any of their meetings, so stats would not be proper indications of matchups at the present time.
Even though Rajon Rondo is regarded as a pretty good defender, Derrick Rose has eaten him alive in the the 3 times they've gone head-to-head. He destroyed him with his unstoppable offense and seemed to go out of his way to make a fool out of Rondo- then he proceeded to destroy him on defense as well.
The Celtics’ best player is still Paul Pierce. Deng actually matches up relatively well with Pierce. Pierce is a pretty good defender, but hasn’t been for most of his career. This means that he could easily fall back into his old ways, especially if he has to play significant time without playing on-ball defense.
On defense, Pierce can’t get by Deng with speed and athleticism. Pierce beats teams with wily veteran plays- something that Deng is relatively successful against.
Joakim Noah and Kevin Garnett can effectively cancel each other out at this point, or you’d probably say that Noah is better at this point of his career.
Carlos Boozer can create problems for Garnett because of his offensive versatility. He can draw Garnett away from where he is most effective, near the basket, and pull him out closer to the free throw line, aiding Derrick Rose with the extra space.
Boozer also has a relatively easy matchup guarding Kendrick Perkins, so he won’t necessarily get destroyed on defense like he might in other scenarios. Perkins isn’t going to beat anyone with his offensive ability.
This series will easily be a defensive struggle, and I would expect that the top-rated defensive team in the league should pull this out; that would be the Bulls.
Grade: B+
Miami Heat
2 of 8
The Bulls actually match up better against the Heat than people may expect. In their first matchup, the Bulls were missing Joakim Noah, and the Heat were missing LeBron James. Of course, James is the more important of the two, but Noah’s absence absolutely made an impact.
The Bulls’ defense thrives on preventing the drive to the bucket due to their great help-defense and is also effective at denying threes- ranking second in the NBA in defending at 32.9% allowed.
The biggest concern is when the big men face off- Carlos Boozer vs Chris Bosh. Boozer really struggled against Bosh’s length in the first matchup, and at times let Bosh walk all over him. If the Bulls want to win a series against the Heat, they absolutely cannot let Chris Bosh of all people beat them.
Grade: B-
Orlando Magic
3 of 8
The Magic actually made themselves an easier matchup for the Bulls by making their trades.
Before, the biggest problem for the Bulls was that Carlos Boozer is a horrendous defender against players who spread the floor like Rashard Lewis. Now that Lewis has departed, the Bulls play much better.
The biggest problem with the Magic is that they have no player who can make a post entry pass. Dwight Howard could absolutely destroy the Bulls, even worse than his 40 points in the last meeting- but the Magic just can't get him the ball.
Hedo Turkoglu is no problem for Luol Deng because he can match up with his height and length, and Deng has him beat in athleticism. Derrick Rose can absolutely get around Jameer Nelson and get into the lane, and the Magic are one of the teams that will allow him to get assists, because their whole defense will be forced to collapse.
Of course, Dwight Howard is a difficult matchup for any team, but I have confidence that the Bulls can match up with everyone except for Howard very effectively.
Grade: B
Atlanta Hawks
4 of 8
The Hawks have never really given the Bulls a problem before. They were always considered a fairly elite team, but the Bulls managed to beat them consistently, even though the Bulls were considered only a borderline playoff team.
There's no reason that should change. Al Horford can hit the mid-range jumper, but Joakim's athleticism allows him to recover and get to Horford's shot or rotate to the help defense at the basket. Joe Johnson is an All-Star, but when the playoffs roll around he isn't quite himself. Carlos Boozer can out-muscle Josh Smith- even if Josh is super athletic.
All in all, the Bulls match up well against the Hawks.
Grade: A-
New York Knicks
5 of 8
The Knicks made their dreams come true with the move of the season, by landing former Nuggets' superstar Carmelo Anthony. The new team has the ability to score 120 per game if they want to. But how would they fare against the Bulls?
The Knicks can score; no one denies that. But they don't rebound, they don't play defense, and they don't create for others. All of these things point to the Bulls being able to have their way with them.
Sure, Amar'e and 'Melo will get their points. The Bulls don't have the one-on-one defenders to handle offensive players of Anthony and Amar'e's caliber.
However, obviously those two players aren't perfect. When they miss a shot, the whole Knicks team should just get back on defense, because there's no way they're getting the rebound. Derrick Rose can abuse Billups. And Amar'e is playing on tainted legs, so you never know about injury.
Grade: A-
Indiana Pacers
6 of 8
The Bulls are 11-0 against the Central Division for a reason: they are just better.
The Pacers are no exception. The Bulls absolutely destroy anyone the Pacers throw out at point guard and power forward. The Pacers also don't have a player that can take advantage of Carlos Boozer's poor defense. Hibbert is good, but he's obviously not going to out-muscle Noah. Danny Granger is by far the best player on their team, but Deng's length has previously given him issues.
There really isn't any more that needs to be said.
Grade: A+
Philadelphia 76ers
7 of 8
The Sixers actually managed to steal a game from the Bulls earlier in the season, even though the Bulls destroyed them the first time they played.
Even though Doug Collins has coached up the Sixers well, they just have no chance against the Bulls. They have limited post defense which leads to no answer for both Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer. Joakim Noah can eat them alive on the boards.
If the Bulls play the way they should, they'll win this series without lifting a finger.
Grade: A
New Jersey Nets
8 of 8
The Nets were actually able to steal a couple of games from the Bulls both this year and last year; it just seems to be a bad matchup during the regular season. However the player who hurts the Bulls the most, Devin Harris, was actually just traded away for a player that Rose tore apart the last time they met.
Of course, Deron Williams is a fantastic player and a huge improvement over Devin Harris. However the Nets actually matchup better with the Bulls when they play athletic and try to make Derrick Rose frantic. A player like Deron who will slow the game down is not the type of player who can beat Derrick Rose.
The Nets’ supporting cast isn’t even in the same league as the Bulls. They have Brook Lopez who is a great post presence and who has the ability to hit the mid-range jumper, similar to Boozer.
Their starting lineup consists of Deron Williams at the point, Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw run the wings, and Lopez and Kris Humphries manning down low. When you look at their lineup, you could make the case that they are like a poor man’s Chicago Bulls. Deron is not the same kind of player Rose is, Outlaw could be perceived as a poor man’s Deng, Humphries hustles like a poor man’s Noah; Morrow and Lopez are likely in some ways superior than their Bulls’ counterparts, but the connection makes sense at least.
Because of their lack of a bad matchup, I don’t see the Bulls having any problems eliminating the Nets.
Grade: A
