After the decisive introduction of DeRozan, Bauer, Caruso and others to help Lavin during the offseason last year, the outside world was very optimistic about the prospects of the Bulls. However, injuries and poor performance in the face of top teams made them stop the first round of the playoffs.
During the off-season this year, the Bulls chose to seek stability. After retaining Lavin with the top salary, they upgraded Goran Dragic slightly with rosters, Drummond and others, it is intended to launch an impact on a higher stage while continuing to cultivate chemical reactions among existing players.
Main losing players during the offseason: Tristan Thompson, Troy Brown, Taylor Cook, Matt Thomas
Major players in the offseason: Andre Drummond, Goran Goran Dragic, and Daren Terry (rookie)
New season start & main rotation forecast:
Starting: Bauer (knee injury), Lavin, drozan, Patrick Williams, Vucevic
Major rotations: Caruso (potential starter), Kobe White, dausum, Derek Jones, Drummond, Goran Dragic
Offseason operation:
Compared with last year’s aggressive approach, the bull’s operation during the off-season this year can only be described as a minor repair. Delamond replaced Tristan Thompson and Matt Thomas Goran Dragic. After little Troy Brown left the team, the rookie Daren Terry also had room to play. The replacement of the first two can also be said to be the upgrade of the lineup. Of course, the most important thing is to leave Lavin with a top salary contract. However, is this operation enough?
Outlook for the new season:
1. Is Bauer and Lavin’s knees okay?
Injuries were the biggest reason why the Bulls performed higher and lower last season: pawei missed most of the regular season because of dislocating his wrist after only five games; caruso had been recuperated for nearly two months after being guilty of Allen’s evil crime; Powell had not played a ball since one month due to a knee injury, and Lavin insisted on hitting the last moment with the same injury, the operation was not performed until the end of the season.
However, to this day, we still have to ask, is Powell and Lavin’s knees okay? The latest report shows that Powell’s injury has been repeated and is not expected to participate in the training camp, and may even fail to catch up with the start of the regular season. He himself said in an interview yesterday that he could not run, jump or play basketball.
However, Lavin didn’t go to surgery until he finished the whole season with injuries, which also made people worry about his situation. If these two people cannot guarantee attendance in the new season, the Bulls may not be able to get any cheaper in the more competitive East.
2. Can you play a strong team?
Last season, when the Bulls faced the top four teams in the east, their record was only 2 wins and 18 losses (regular season + playoffs), and they won two games, one of them defeated the Celtics in the early stage of the season when the state was hot, and the other was the battle to avoid being swept by the Bucks in the playoffs. In the 18 games lost, the bull’s net score was minus 15 points, which was a simple loss.
However, the Eagles, Knights and other teams after the bull last season all joined the “arms race” and introduced dezhantai Murray and Mitchell respectively. After Durant’s farce ended, basketable nets seems to be finally on the right track. How can the bulls perform in the new season when they are not as good as their own teams?
3. The ball style is gorgeous, but isn’t it too hard?
After the introduction of DeRozan’s strong body and the passing masters like Bauer and Caruso, coupled with Lavin who had already been in the array, the magnificent style of the Bulls instantly attracted a large number of fans. However, with the deepening of the season, the fans will find that the bull players lack the strength needed by a really strong team.
The inner core Vucevic has always been a strong and weak player, and is often criticized as a soft style. Although there is a defensive gate composed of Bauer + Caruso on the outside line, the former is easy to get hurt, while the latter plays a more elegant game, unlike other famous outside line defenders who often use fierce fouls against opponents. Although the two main attack points of the team, derazan and Lavin, have a strong physical quality, the end of the attack is mainly a jump shot from outside the line, which lacks aggressiveness in some competitions that determine life and death.
Look at the comparison between the Heat VS Eagles and the Bucks VS Bulls in the first round of this year’s playoffs. I believe that fans who have seen these two series can clearly see the difference: the Heat’s oppression on the Eagles to the extreme defense, the Bulls couldn’t do it. However, the strength of the series between them and the Bucks was like the regular season. The Bulls lost the game without suspense in their jump shot and in the Rim of the letter brother’s impact again and again.
In a word, the bull team lacks a strong force at both ends of attack and defense, and this problem seems to have not been solved in the minor repair during the off-season this year.
Summary:
After experiencing the widespread popularity of last year’s off-season, the bulls of the playoff round were generally looked down in this year’s off-season. In the summer when almost the whole East is making great strides, the bull with no big moves and health risks may have to continue to work hard for a playoff ticket in the new season.