The Lakers won the 2010 NBA Championship. Since they haven't lost any major pieces to that title team, they are still the team to beat. In the East, Pat Riley may have created a juggernaut. The Heat not only managed to add Bosh and LeBron without losing Wade, but they also have added some real help in Mike Miller, and they got Haslem to re-sign.
But there's another team out there that could be serious contenders next year, yet the hype has remained low. No, not the Magic, and I'm not talking about the possibility of the Celtics cryogenically freezing Garnett, Allen, and Pierce every moment they're not playing in order to keep them from progressing any further towards becoming the geriatric all-star team.
I'm talking about the Chicago Bulls. A starting five of Derek Rose, Kyle Korver, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah sounds pretty good to me.
Rose can handle the ball as well as any other current point guard not named Steve Nash, and if he so chooses, with an inside scorer like Boozer and a long range bomber like Korver, his assist totals should jump significantly. Rose must change his offensive mentality from a score first point guard to a pass first point guard. Rose has the talent to run an offense instead of being the offense, but he has to make an active decision to do so.
You could make the argument the Kyle Korver should come off the bench as a backup to both the SG and SF positions, but I'm going to put him in the starting lineup over Ronnie Brewer, who wouldn't be a bad option for this position. His weakness is that he will probably lose the quickness battle against most other starting shooting guards. But I'm going to put him in the starting line-up because of his three point shooting ability. With a scoring big man like Boozer and our hypothetical pass first Derek Rose, we can play some real inside-outside basketball. There should be plenty of open threes for Korver when Boozer passes out of the double team.
Luol Deng has had more than his share of injuries the last couple of years. If Deng is healthy, he's as good as any other NBA small forward with the exception of Carmelo and LeBron. A healthy Deng is a must, and that just might make him this team's weakest link.
Carlos Boozer is the scoring power forward this team has been looking for for the past few years. He's had his share of injuries in the past as well, but if he's healthy you're getting a 20 and 10 out of him every night.
If you're playing against him, you hate Joakim Noah. He's all over the place, he's up in your face, and he never gives up on a rebound or lose ball. That's probably enough to frustrate opposing centers. Add in his ridiculously quirky personality and one of the worst hair-dos in the league, and he's annoying as well. But if you're playing with him, you'll be glad that he's on your team getting double digit rebounds and playing excellent post defense.
The bench may be a little thin, but there are some valuable pieces. Ronnie Brewer may end up with the starting shooting guard position, but for now I have him pegged as the sixth man. Taj Gibson made a name for himself last year in a starting position, and makes for a very capable backup PF. Kurt Thomas has been around a long time, but he should have enough left in the tank to back up Noah.
The 2010-11 NBA season is still about three months away, and a lot can still happen between now and then, and even more can happen between now and next June. But if you hear "Chicago Bulls, 2010-11 Eastern Conference Champions," or maybe even "Chicago Bulls, 2010-2011 NBA Champions," don't be surprised.
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