Today we will look at two teams, the New Orleans Hornets and the Chicago Bulls, which have started their seasons 4-0 and 0-4, respectively. But why, Charlie? Well, reader, you must not have followed the NBA last season. I'll tell you exactly why.
Coming into this season, the Hornets' roster was shrouded in question marks, while the Bulls seemed mortal locks to improve upon last year's success. Now? The Hornets are one of the best surprises of the season and the Bulls are floundering, keeping company with my pitifully Wade-less Miami Heat in the gutter of the NBA.
Will the Bulls continue to struggle? Maybe, but probably not. Will the Hornets come back down to Earth and start displaying the mediocrity we've come to expect of them? Again, maybe, but probably not. Tim Legler of ESPN has boldly declared these Hornets a "legit playoff team".
After following their game last night against the Lakers on Yahoo GameChannel (No, I don't have anything better to do), I have to draw the same conclusion as Legler. The Hornets are rolling on all cylinders, and their chemistry this early in the season bodes very well for their long term chances.
Chris Paul has matured into arguably the game's best young point guard (and I am a big Deron Williams fan, so that is saying a lot), and if last night is any indication, Peja has recovered some of that old Sacramento magic. David West will make an All-Star team at some point in his career, and the Hornets' investment in Tyson Chandler is paying off big time.
I'm trying to remember who Chandler used to play for...who was it? I remember they traded him for virtually nothing....oh, right! It was the Bulls!
Will the Bulls pull a 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks and recover from their rough start to post the best record in the league? No. Will they rediscover their identity and still manage to finish at or near the top of the Eastern Conference? Yes sir or madam.
The Bulls have been godawful thus far, but they have a lot going for them. Franchise savior Joakim Noah has recovered from his preseason injury and is ready to take some of the defensive load off of old Big Ben, and Tyrus Thomas has been taking advantage of his increased minutes to post solid numbers across the board.
They need their go-to trio of Deng, Hinrich, and Gordon to significantly up their percentages. Scott Skiles needs to take advantage of guys like Thomas and Sefolosha in the penetration game. When the Bulls can't get their jumpers to fall they are extremely vulnerable. Being able to consistently get to the line will help offset those rough nights.
While I would love to see them go 0-82 and suffer mightily for the pain they caused me and my Heat last year in the playoffs, I will readily admit that these Bulls will probably turn it around and steadily climb their way to the top of the standings. That should not surprise anyone.
The real surprise is the Hornets. Keep your eyes on that team.
3 comments:
"Will the Bulls continue to struggle? Maybe, but probably not. Will the Hornets come back down to Earth and start displaying the mediocrity we've come to expect of them? Again, maybe, but probably not."
Why won't the Bulls continue to struggle? They aren't good and they don't have any sure-fire stars. They are all mediocre.
You seem to have jumped on this Hornets bandwagon rather quick though.
The Bulls have a proven core. They return the same players from last year and have made positive additions in the offseason. They did not make any drastic changes to their system or any dramatic personnel changes. The only thing that can suggest that they won't is their performance thus far, but I think you can look at teams like the Suns and Mavs from last year and reasonably conclude that when a proven team has a rocky start to the season, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
Regarding the Hornets, yeah, I'm on the bandwagon, even though I hate Chris Paul. They look very good, and last night they stuck it to a Lakers team that has beaten the Jazz and Suns so far this season.
Good defense by the New Orleans Hornets drama boys, if only we could patch up the difference, this will be a New Orleans good season. They are running, switching in defense, rebounding see those efforts. We don't have yet the Hornets team down.
I which I could see some Hornets games live. I was looking for tickets all the good seats on ticketmaster were taken I had to check broker. And man you don’t want to do that especially for the New Orleans Hornets. Thanks god there sites like Ticketwood which work as comparators here is the site
Hornets Tickets
http://www.ticketwood.com/nba/NewOrleans-Hornets-Tickets/index.php
I like slam dunks that take me to the hoop my favorite play is the ally-hoop,
I like the pic n roll,i like the given goal its basketball yo, yo lets go!
Go Hornets Go!!!
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