In a disappointing season, the Bulls have showed their true colors. Players mouthing off, showing up late if at all, and folding under pressure are just the tip of the iceberg for why the Bulls are the most disappointing team north of Miami this season. The hustling, grinding overachievers have turned into a complete mess. No longer are they the darlings of the media and scouts. No longer are they being compared to the Pistons of 2004. The expectations and comparisons have been lowered, and tonight brings a team to the United Center that almost by accident have become what Bulls fans thought the Bulls were going to be.

They are led by a young small forward coming into his own. Maybe he isn’t ever going to be the best player on an NBA champion, but Andre Iguodala gets it done on both ends and has gotten better every year he has been a pro. Much like Deng last spring, it is hard not to fall in love with Iguodala’s game. And one cannot go on without noting, AI is a vastly superior athlete to Deng giving him even more upside.

The point guard position features two contrasting players who enable the 76ers to give multiple looks. They have the true point guard who makes all the right passes and puts his teammates in position to succeed, and a sneaky athletic backup whose quickness makes up for the fact that he is more of a combo guard than a point. Like the Bulls with Hinrich and Duhon, they can be used interchangably or in tandem with Williams playing the two against smaller lineups. Unlike the Bulls, Miller and Williams are playing at a high level and exhibiting a great deal of professionalism on and off the court.

Willie Green plays the role of a poor man’s Ben Gordon perfectly right down to the high arcing shot that could result in him scoring 30 or 5. Neither will ever be confused for being a force defensively or a point guard despite the fact that they are often the smallest player on the court, but on a team with limited scoring options are very important to whether their teams wins or lose.

Thaddeus Young is what Tyrus Thomas should be. He is a long athletic freak of nature who creates mismatches. The problem for the Bulls, of couse, is that Tyrus used his athleticism for show while Young uses it to help his team. He hasn’t realized how to harness his abilities in a manner to help the team win basketball games.

Samuel Dalembert and Reggie Evans work up front like everyone hoped Joakim Noah and Ben Wallace would. While neither is at all a threat with the ball in hand, they go hard to the glass, fight for loose balls, get after it defensively, and take whatever garbage points they can get. The problem is while Dalembert and Evans accept their roles, Noah and Wallace believed that they should be more.  

Rodney Carney and Thabo Sefolosha share the same story. Both are long athletic guards who have moments where they look phenominal, but it took unforeseen circumstances to get them on the floor. Carney appeared buried on the bench until Philadelphia management gave away Kyle Korver for cap room, and Thabo until a series of injuries to Hinrich and Gordon created an opening. Both have a long way to go if either is to ever be more than a backup, and certainly have a long way to go in their development as offensive players, but their athleticism and youth is a reason for optimism.

The only thing missing is a Nocioni-clone, but who needs Noc when Iguodala does the job of both Luol and Andres and some? Make no mistake, Philadelphia will be a one-and-done team come playoff time. They aren’t very good, and unless they get one of the gems this summer in free agency probably aren’t going to get significantly better. If the future core is Iguodala, Williams, and Young, then they will probably be good enough to compete for a playoff spot, but not enough to be a legit threat- even in the East. They appear locked into the 7th spot where the only question is whether they can steal a game or two from the Pistons. 

But they are easy to like. They play hard every night, and with that effort are able to beat who they should (22-12 record against teams with .500 or worse records). The Bulls used to be able to do that, but now no one knows that Bulls team will show up. Which Kirk Hinrich is going to show up? Is the 24-10 Drew Gooden showing up or the one who can’t hit the broad side of a barn and makes three or four dumb plays that put him on the bench? Insert your Noah, Duhon, and Tyrus joke here. I want to believe that the Bulls will win tonight, they are certainly good enough to do so, but I know that the 76ers will show up and compete. I can’t say for certain the Bulls will, which is the one thing that I never would have thought before the season.

Leave a Reply