Chicago Bulls: A Bulls Fan and Writer Takes the Heat for Not Taking the Heat

Well, it's been a couple of days, the wounds have begun to heal, and it's time to take the Heat for not taking the Heat. First, my congratulations to the Heat for their fantastic comeback and a great series. There's no bitterness here. 

Clearly, I was wrong. I was wrong that the Bulls would be deeper. I was wrong that the Bulls could consistently shut down the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. But more than where I was wrong about the Bulls, I was wrong about the Heat. 

I didn't think they were deep enough. They are. I didn't think they were a good enough defensive team. They are. I didn't think Chris Bosh was tough enough. He is. I didn't think Eric Spoelstra was a good enough coach. He is. Most importantly, I didn't think the Heat were good enough. They are. 

The Chicago Bulls still had a great season. They finished with the best record in the regular season and made it to the Eastern Conference finals. They had the league's MVP and the Coach of the Year. It's hard to call that a disappointing season, no matter how heartbreaking the conclusion was. 

Certainly this is a team whose window has only barely begun to open. Derrick Rose is the ripe old age of 22. He didn't have the greatest postseason, struggling at times. However, he also had some great games and played spectacular at other times. 

Luol Deng progressed and finally started playing up to his potential. Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah only started to get some consistent playing time together in the postseason. Between Boozer's offense and Noah's defense, they are an excellent team in the paint. When you factor in Taj Gibson and Omer Asik's room for growth, they should be stronger next year. 

Of course the Bulls biggest weakness was what the Heat so effectively exploited. They need another player who can consistently create his own shot and move with the ball. Clearly that's the critical need the Bulls need to address during the offseason.

How they can address that remains to be seen. They are over the cap, but not by much. They will qualify for the mid-level exception based on the current collective bargaining agreement, but that's not likely to be the same. We'll assume though, for arguments sake, that the same type of player they would be like to sign, they will be able to sign. 

The question is who that player is going to be. There are some possibilities.

Marcus Thornton and Aaron Afflalo would be nice pickups, but both are restricted free agents likely to have any offers matched.

OJ Mayo and JR Smith both could add a lot of help, but both could add a lot of problems to a team that was remarkable for team chemistry. Smith could be had in free agency, Mayo in trade.

The Bulls have two first-round draft picks this year, but they are near the bottom and in a year light on shooting guards, it's not likely that either will produce much in the way of a two. 

So all of this leads to the conclusion that not only are the Chicago Bulls not as good of a team this year, but it's also hard to see how they can get better than Miami next year. While Chicago should improve playing together more, the same holds true with Miami's big three of Wade, James and Bosh. 

It will be a critical offseason for the Bulls, and without the right pickup, they could be looking at Miami as the 90s Bulls version of the Pistons. This might not be the last year that Miami sends Chicago packing in the postseason.

Congratulations to the Heat and their fans.