In the last couple of months, the Chicago Bulls stock has been trending down, leading to reasons to worry Chicago Bulls fans. It appears even worse with the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant working things out and Cleveland adding Donovan Mitchell. Let’s start off by looking at the Bull’s roster.
Chicago Bulls Roster
For starters, Lonzo Ball won’t be ready to start the year, according to Forbes. With Lonzo Ball’s availability still in concern from a knee injury on January 14th, Chicago will likely spend a portion of the year without him.
Luckily, the Bulls have signed Goran Dragic, along with having Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. To my understanding, I expect Ayo Dosunmu to start, but whoever plays the most minutes could change each night.
Moreover, a huge issue for the Bulls from the Bulls was rim protection and 3-point shooting. I believe Chicago could have addressed these issues better and will be going into a competitive Eastern Conference with these same issues. All the more reasons to worry Chicago Bulls fans.
How Do The Bulls Compare to Other Teams?
It’s fair to assume the Bulls are not going to be the best team in the conference but will they at least make the playoffs?
I have projected the Eastern conference in tiers:
Top Tier
- Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks
Mid Tier
- Miami Heat
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Philadelphia 76ers
Bottom Tier
- Chicago Bulls
- Brooklyn Nets
- Atlanta Hawks
- Toronto Raptors
Outside Looking In
- Knicks
- Hornets
- Wizards
One such as myself (a diehard Bulls fan) would be disappointed seeing this list, but this is the reality. Especially with the potential Brooklyn has if they figure things out internally, possibly up to the top tier. However, the Chicago Bulls are likely to be a bottom-half playoff team (assuming they even make the playoffs).
Other Reasons to Worry Chicago Bulls Fans?
Let’s look at the man who put this team on his back plenty of times last year, DeMar DeRozan. Despite DeRozan coming off one of the best seasons of his career, he just turned 33. Now, 33 years old is not a reason to worry in sports as Michael Jordan and Lebron James both won championships being older. Even Tom Brady won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award at 44.
However, there’s reason to believe DeMar DeRozan won’t be able to top his ridiculous play from last season. I still expect him to be an all-star, but him continuing to take over as often as last year feels unlikely.
Conclusion:
The Chicago Bulls should be worried and can’t afford a slow start or long losing streaks this upcoming season. Especially with seven other Eastern Conference teams having at least two All-Star Caliber players, there won’t be many “easy” conference games I hate to say it, but there’s reason to worry Chicago Bulls fans.
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