Pop's motivation? Get more rings than Phil Jackson while being on the same team.
From what I saw in the FIBA WC I am no sold on Rose ... his outside shot looked bad, and if he has to fully rely on his athleticism his body might betray him again ...
Great move by Pop, I wonder whats next now that confidence is high since they won it all.
The Bulls as contenders?..
Bulls and Clippers, the most overhyped off-season champions for the past 2-3 years, tbh..
There are 3.5 contenders, nobody else has a chance, this is the NBA, not the NFL..
The offensively challenged Bulls who have a coach that runs his players into the ground are suddenly le contenders?!
I'm over believing that Rose will ever go back to MVP form and while Pau is better than Boozer, hes nowhere close to MVPau anymore.
If I was Pop I would make a compilation of all the times somebody of note talked about the Spurs never being able to repeat starting with Phill Jackson's quote about how the Spurs aren't a dynasty.
Spurs, OKC, Lebron and who else?The Bulls as contenders?
Bulls and Clippers, the most overhyped off-season champions for the past 2-3 years, tbh..
There are 3.5 contenders, nobody else has a chance, this is the NBA, not the NFL..
Thanks for posting this article. A great one.
Dallas...
Mmh, yeah... not sure about that one.
That's why 0.5, imo
Maybe he's talking about the Warriors... an intriguing team now that they should have a fairly decent coach...
Clippers are the 0.5 contender, although realistically, they will probably never win a le(leading player is a loser, coach is average)..
Why is Blake a loser?
Psst. Bird's Celtics never repeated, and he has only 3 rings.
Yes - the Bulls. The same team that made the playoffs and essentially added 2 former all-stars to the roster. It may take Rose a while to get his groove back but he's actually put in the effort and work to get there. He'll be fine if he can stay healthy.
Pau Gasol isn't what he used to be but he'll get plenty of shots and chances to do what he does best. Don't sleep on 'em, they will be a tough out in the East.
If the Spurs stay healthy, I see no reason why they don't repeat. I bet the Grizzlies give the Thunder and Clippers a run for 2nd best in the West. Not sure about the Warriors. For some reason that team just doesn't concern me when it comes to matching up with the Spurs.
My mistake.
They arent mentally tough enough. Paul, Barnes, many others.
Yeah, nothing's changed the past four seasons now: Either one of the two best individuals win or the best team does.The Bulls as contenders?
Bulls and Clippers, the most overhyped off-season champions for the past 2-3 years, tbh..
There are 3.5 contenders, nobody else has a chance, this is the NBA, not the NFL..
The vast majority think the Bulls are contenders if Rose returns to '11 form, but even then, they still don't have a secondary creator on the wings to take the load off of him. Sure, Gasol upgrades Boozer, but Boozer already did many of the same things offensively. Also, the rebounding edge they have over most teams won't exist against the Cavs.
I don't even know if the Clippers deserve a half. They too haven't addressed their biggest need (size, athleticism and defense on the wings) and still don't match-up well with the Spurs or Thunder. Their only hope is to get the 1 seed, have the other two wear each other down in the 2nd round and hope one of the key players emerges at least hobbled.
I give the Clippers 0.5 contender credentials, because:
- They could realistically get the #1 seed and have the Spurs-Thunder battle each other in round 2, as TD21 said
- The Spurs are going to be on their 3rd straight run to the Finals(Pop is the best at managing minutes, but still, 3 straight runs to the Finals is extremely difficult to accomplish)
- OKC could implode at any point, with Durant/Westbrook's emerging free agency + Scott Brooks
I believe they're too flawed to actually win the le(Paul isn't aggressive enough, their perimeter players are really bad, and their 2nd/3rd bigs are unreliable), but I think they're clearly above the rest of the league outside of the Spurs/Thunder/Cavs, tbh..
And at one time Robinson and Elliott weren't either.
I think Thibodeau is a better offensive coach than he's given credit for, the Bulls actually run solid offensive sets that promote ball movement(they have been one of the least talented offensive teams in the NBA the past 2 years), and I think his "overplaying" players is overblown, but they still have some major flaws:
- Rose is no longer a notable player, but he's still going to be a high usage PG
So, the majority of the possessions are going to be allocated to Rose running the offense, which is something they can't avoid, because that's his style of play..he can't play off the ball, as he isn't accustomed to it and he's a mediocre shooter..
If the player with the highest usage in your offense is an inefficient PG that can't shoot, has lost most of his explosiveness and can't play off the ball..well, ya, you're going to struggle
- Gasol is really overrated at this point of his career..
In his prime and for his career, he's one of the most underrated players of my lifetime, but he isn't the same player..he's just an average post player, at this point, and for a team that desperately needs shot creators, he's not good enough to command responsibility as a top 2 option IMO
- They don't have any other creators..
Literally, no other players on the roster can create a shot for themselves..
Noah is a great passer, but running your offense through him is a gimmick that will fail during the playoffs, as we saw last year, where he was completely outplayed by both Nene and Gortat..it's fine during the regular season when opposing teams are half-assing their defensive strategies, but once the playoffs begin and coaches actually game plan, it's a failed strategy..
Butler and Gibson are really good role players, but limited offensively..Hinrich is awful, Mirotic and McDermott are question marks, etc..
Chicago will compete well and they could be the 2nd best team in the East, but they aren't a contender..great defense, Gasol/Noah will be an elite passing combination during the regular season, they're deep with solid role players, but they're going to be exposed in the playoffs once again as a team that doesn't have offensive talent..
Uh no the Bulls aren't contenders. Get your heads outta your asses this ain't 2011 anymore, and even then there was no way they could get past Bron and Peak Wade.
Which is why they needed to play with a top 10 great to ring.
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