It's been so long since I've posted anything on here. Lots of stuff happening right now in Chicago sports, so let's get started.
I am very excited about the start of the new NBA season. The NBA is coming off of one of their best seasons since the Jordan era ended in Chicago, and it would have been horrible for the league to cancel the full season due to the lockout. Thankfully, there is a new deal in place, and we can forget about the lockout and concentrate on actual games.
The Bulls had the best regular season record last year, but struggled really throughout the whole playoffs. The five game series loss to the Heat made it perfectly clear that the Bulls needed a scoring wing-man to help Derrick Rose. Enter Richard Hamilton. The Bulls almost picked up Hamilton last season, but that deal fell through. Now he joins the Bulls on a 2 year deal, and is expected to start in place of Keith Bogans. Hamilton is an immediate upgrade on the offensive end. He has a better than average jump shot, can shoot from 3-point range, posts up on shorter defenders and can create his own shot when called upon. The best thing about Hamilton on the offensive end, at least in my opinion, is how he plays without the basketball. Hamilton is kind of like Ray Allen without the ball. He's always running the baseline, coming off of screens, and when he does catch the ball, he doesn't stop the offense. If he doesn't have a good shot, he passes the ball and continues to move. That is exactly the type of offensive threat they need. Somebody who can play without the basketball so that Rose can have it. A perfect fit in my book.
Hamilton will fit in on the defensive side of the ball as well. He may not be the on-ball defender that Bogans is, but he does give a great effort, and plays good team defense, which is what coach Thibodeau is all about. The way I see it, the Bulls aren't losing much defensively, and are gaining an extra 10-15 points per game on the offensive side of the ball. It will be exciting to see just how much Hamilton can do. He's averaged about 18 points per game over his career, and does have an NBA championship ring, so he brings a great deal of success and experience with him. In my opinion, this was a great pick up, and I think the Bulls did a great job in bringing him on board.
With Hamilton in the fold, the roster for the coming season should look something like this:
Starters:
PG- Derrick Rose
SG- Rip Hamilton
SF- Luol Deng
PF- Carlos Boozer
C- Joakim Noah
Bench:
PG- CJ Watson
SG- Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver
SF- Jimmy Butler
PF- Taj Gibson, Joel Pryzbilla
C- Omer Asik
I think the Bulls will probably miss Kurt Thomas, who ended up signing with the Portland Trailblazers. He was great last season when Noah was injured, and gave the Bulls a tough, veteran presence off the bench. Just looking at that starting lineup though, it looks impressive on paper. You have to believe that Derrick Rose will continue to grow and get better, which is scary for the rest of the league since he is coming off an MVP season. Hamilton gives the Bulls a fourth scoring threat in the lineup, as Deng and Boozer are both capable scorers, if not dynamic scorers at times. Another great thing for the Bulls this offseason is that they kept their bench in tact. One of the big advantages they had over many teams last season was their depth. They went 9-10 players deep on their bench on a nightly basis, where most teams only go 7 or 8 deep. Their deep bench should be a great advantage again, especially in a season with a condensed schedule. It will be exciting to see the Bulls get back to basketball though. I'm looking forward to a great season.
The hockey season is rolling along, as are the Blackhawks as well. They've won three straight games, all in overtime or shootout, and they've also won five straight on the road, which is always a characteristic of championship contenders. The win last night in Minnesota was especially important. Knocking off the top team in the league on the road is always a big win. Plus, we got to see Patrick Kane juke Wild goalie Nick Backstrom out of his pads in the shootout. That was one of the better moves you'll ever see in the shootout, and it actually made number 1 on Sportscenter's Top Plays. That is impressive considering that ESPN doesn't often show hockey highlights.
The most impressive part of this year's Hawks team is their offensive fire power. Jonathan Toews is having his best season so far, which is saying something because he has been great since he came into the league. Toews is tied for second in the league with 18 goals, and is third in points with 34. Sharp has 16 goals and 32 points, Hossa has 13 goals and 32 points, and Kane has 31 points, although only 8 of those are goals. For a while, the Hawks had 4 players in the top ten in scoring in the league. They need all of that scoring because their defense has been suspect at times this year, as well as the goaltending. Lately the Hawks' D has been a little bit better, and Ray Emery has replaced Crawford for the time being. He's played really well too, and I think the Hawks need to continue playing Emery while he's going good. Hopefully Crawford finds his game soon, because I think ultimately he will be the guy in net down the stretch.
The Hawks have a good stretch of games coming up where they should be able to pile up some points. Home games against the last place Ducks and Calgary Flames this weekend, then a road tilt against the Penguins on Tuesday (no Crosby for the Pens, which is horrible for the league). Then they come back home on Wednesday to play the Montreal Canadiens before having a few days off for Christmas. They play the day after Christmas at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. That's five straight games that the Hawks should be favored in, and it is extremely important that they put up alot of standings points over this stretch.
