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My Q+A with Boston Celtics Examiner, Mark Rawden
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Can D.Rose top his ROY campaign
When it comes to the Bulls, I always have a lot to say and it's always good to sit and give my opinion.
Boston Celtics Examiner, Mark Rawden, together with the rest of the NBA Examiners previewed their respective teams for the 2009-10 season, you can see them HERE.
Here is my Q+A with Mark;
What are your thoughts about the Bulls as the season approaches? How do you feel about their playoff/title chances?
Christopher Cason: I’m very optimistic about the upcoming season. There’s a lot to look forward to with this team--the continued growth of Derrick Rose, will Luol Deng be able to return to or surpass his 06-07 form, the growth of Joakim Noah, does Tyrus Thomas break out this season, how will rookies James Johnson and Taj Gibson contribute to this club--so all that and more is something to look forward to.
As far as playoff chances, I feel the Bulls have as good a shot as anyone in the East to make the playoffs after the Big Three of Orlando, Cleveland and Boston. Title chances? I feel that we’re 2-3 years and a low post threat away from being a legitimate contender for a championship.
Do you feel that holes in the roster still need to be addressed, and if so, can they be addressed?
CC: One hole that needs to be addressed is the one down low. As many remember, the Bulls were rumored in trade talks this season with Phoenix involving Amare Stoudemire and just this summer with the Utah Jazz and Carlos Boozer. You may also remember the lack of being able to get Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol as well.
The Bulls have been aware of the issue since trading Elton Brand and later, Eddy Curry, so it’s not anything new to them and I feel sooner or later, they’ll be able to add that piece to the roster.
How do you feel they compare with the Celtics, and the rest of the Eastern Conference?
CC: There’s a gap, if you will, between the Bulls and the Celtics, as well as the other elite clubs in the league and that’s due to various reasons, with the main one being experience. When you look at a team like the C’s, you have Pierce, Allen, Garnett, Wallace and coach Doc Rivers. All of whom have been through the big games, pressure moments and know what it takes to close out games and what’s necessary to win. The Bulls, even though they shouldn’t be called the “Baby Bulls” anymore, are still relatively new to these experiences and are learning right along with coach Vinny Del Negro.
If the Celtics and Bulls meet again in the playoffs, how would you think the Bulls should attack Boston in a 7-game series, especially with Gordon gone and KG back?
CC: Good question. Before they even played that series, I predicted it to go seven games. I would have never thought it would be one of the best series in playoff history, but it was certainly fun to watch and to have the city of Chicago rally around the team. It felt like the 90’s again.
With Gordon now in Detroit and a presumably healthy Garnett, the Bulls just would have to stick with their offense, which is ball movement and getting in transition. So much changes because of all of what Garnett brings. He closes lanes, communicates on the defensive end and is a matchup nightmare on the offensive end and the Bulls would struggle with him being in that lineup because he also brings so much intensity to his team and that was very visible this postseason, even though the Celtics almost got back to the Eastern Conference Finals without him. With Gordon gone, we don’t have that player that can hit those big threes or get his shot in the same fashion. I say that loosely because Rose is sure to be that guy now and he even took some huge shots throughout his rookie season to try and close games or win them. If his jumper has improved even more so to go along with that quickness, we might not miss Ben that much.
Speaking of Gordon, how do you feel about his departure?
CC: When the playoffs ended, I felt there was no way the Bulls would lose Gordon after all the big shots he hit during the series with the Celtics. The guy was amazing and he even played with a sore groin, knowing that he didn’t have the security of a long-term deal yet. When Gar Foreman took over for John Paxson, he said that the team’s top priority in the offseason was to re-sign Ben, and then the first day free agents are allowed to talk to other teams comes around and he’s immediately signed to Detroit, of all places, without any kind of offer coming from the Bulls. I wasn’t a big fan of losing the team’s top scorer for the past few seasons for nothing.
Most fans here either loved him or disliked him, but you don’t let your top scorer walk away without getting anything in return, especially to a division rival. But, when I spoke to Chuck Swirsky of ESPN, one thing he did mention was that when Gordon would get the ball, the offense would stop, simply because the guy is such a great scorer and shooter. Now without him in the lineup, you have more ball movement and opportunities for other guys, which I think will help the growth of a lot of players on this team and it gives Kirk Hinrich more minutes, as well as John Salmons, who is in a contract year himself. So, I guess you can say I’m 50-50 on BG’s departure, but excited to see what other players will step up to help fill that void.
What improvements do you want to see from Noah and Thomas this season?
CC: Well, with Noah, he didn’t help himself any by coming into last season out of shape. There would be games where he would ask Del Negro to pull him out, simply because his conditioning wasn’t right. Local media was demanding that he be traded, that he had reached his ceiling and you have to give Noah credit because he turned it around. If you look at the way he started the season, there was no way that you would think he average 10 ppg, 13 rpg, and 2 bpg in the playoffs, but he committed himself to the gym and improving. I think that if he brings that energy, focus and motivation into this season, Noah could average a double-double as well as 2 blocks per game. He’s working on developing some post moves, which will help because playing with Rose, the game is made so easy for Noah because all he needs to do is get to the rim and Rose will find him for easy buckets.
Tyrus’ problems throughout his time here have been consistency and effort. He’s got all the talent in the world; it’s evident last season, when he’s being mentioned for Amare Stoudemire and this offseason for Carlos Boozer. His confidence had to take a small hit in the playoffs, when he was continuously benched in favor of Brad Miller, but it should be motivation to become even better. His mid-range game now only compliments his athleticism that much more because a lot of 4’s in the league can’t stay in front of him and on the defensive end, he’s one of the best weak-side shot blockers in the league. Thomas just has to deliver on a consistent basis this season and I feel this may be the break out year for him because it’s also a contract year.
When you see a team like the Celtics making moves over the last few off-seasons, and other teams doing the same this summer, how do fans of the Bulls react?
CC: Well, when you see a team like the Celtics trying to improve their roster, as well as other teams, there are a lot of scenarios and situations involved. With the Celts, you have a veteran squad that’s great, but their core guys aren’t getting any younger, so the focus on winning NOW is greater than most teams. You have the Cavs, who not only want to win a title, but are trying to keep their franchise player happy in knowing that he is with an organization that will make any move necessary to please him and to show him that they’re just as committed as he is to winning. Orlando is looking to add to areas that were weaknesses last season and I think they’ve gotten deeper, just like C’s, Cavs, Lakers and Spurs, which are the truly elite teams in this league.
As a fan of the Bulls, I think Chicagoans were a bit spoiled in the 90’s with having Michael Jordan here. You had the game’s best player and the best team, with one of the greatest coaches ever, and that produced six titles in eight years during that decade and now we’re in a sort of rebuilding situation once again, because the core of Hinrich, Deng and Gordon didn’t yield the title some experts felt it could reach. Now they’re centering the team around Derrick Rose and his strengths. When you see all these teams improving RIGHT NOW and adding depth and talent, when the Bulls have failed to get the big names like Gasol, Garnett and D’Antoni, it can be frustrating, but it’s important to know that we’re on the rise and not a decline. So, we are all somewhat impatient with the teams we root for, but everything has to fall into place and the Bulls have set themselves up with the ability to make a move in the summer of 2010 to add a marquee name to the roster in hopes of returning back to competing for a title. Fans here want to win now, but as long as the team is going out and playing hard every night and representing the city correctly, they’ll be happy, but the ultimate goal is to win titles.
If you could take one player from the Celtics' roster, including that player's contract and all baggage that may or may not come with him, who would you take?
CC: Kevin Garnett without any question. Healthy or unhealthy, preferably healthy. He brings so much besides just numbers. You look at what they were able to do that first season with him and Ray on the roster. His intensity rubbed off on everyone. From the first guy off the bench to the reserves in three-piece suits, first game of the season to the last game of the finals, everyone was active on that team, playing stifling defense, standing up on the bench and cheering on their teammates. That’s all a product of Garnett. One thing I have always respected about Garnett is his passion for the game and the respect he shows towards the game. He’s taking some criticism since coming over there. Things like trash talking, taunting, and intimidation when he’s done these things for most of his career and it’s one of the things that make him one of the best fours in the league. He also holds guys accountable on both ends of the floor and it doesn’t matter if it’s a role player or the guy averaging over 20. If you’re not playing hard, Garnett is going to let you know and that just makes everyone else want to raise their game even higher, because this is your team’s best player and he leaves everything on the floor night in and night out.
Overall, what do you feel are the fan expectations for the Bulls for the 2009/2010 season?
CC: Overall, the fans’ expectations are just to build on the previous season and not take a step back. They’re expecting Derrick Rose to become the leader of this team and eventually, he’ll start to become more vocal. I think that’s one of the things he’s going to start to do this season, as he’s going to see that he’s going to need to assert himself verbally more with this team than any other team he has been apart of, mainly because there is no one else on the current roster who I can see doing that. I think he will be an All-Star this season and for years to come, but everyone on this team has something to prove. You can’t take a team like the Celtics to seven games and then come back this season and have any sort of let down, because you also have the free agent names of 2010 looking at Chicago to see how they would fit within the nucleus here. So, the fans have to continue to be patient and just expect growth and the maturation of the players on this club.
For questions, comments, reach me @:ccason4@sneakculture.com and follow me on www.twitter.com/C4DUNK
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