VCoug wrote:Dallas is probably better. This offseason the only player of note they lost was Jason Terry but they added Kaman, Brand, Collison, and Mayo. We lost Lin and gained Camby, Felton, and Brewer. Both teams were pretty similar last season and finished with the same record but Dallas has had the better offseason so they should be better.

BRIGGS wrote:

DurzoBlint wrote:not a very good defensive team for Dallas. Other than West, there isn't a single decent defender among them. Marion has slowed and had been pretty bad since that good effort he had when they beat Miami. Not nearly the defender he was. Kaman has in the past been a pretty good post defender but, dude has never stayed healthy so, I don't expect him to start now.

Brand is a very good pick-n-pop guy but isn't intimidating anyone inside. To be honest, considering where they play, this team will be lucky to make the playoffs. I have both LA teams ahead of them along with all the SA, Mem, and Golden State. They're going to have to fight for those final spots.

They have some pretty good size upfront to guard the rim and good speed in the backcourt for the perimeter. I think they may have more scoring options now. Haywood was not dependable inside for scoring but Brnad and Kaman will be. They should be able to spread the floor better and that could lead to improved fg% from everywhere.

Who do you think is better Briggs?

I think Kaman is a very under rated player, he is one of the better 2 way centers that is not an all star, but consistent in points, rebounds, and blocked shots.
Brandon Wright will be much better this year and will get much more minutes with Mahimi out of the rotation.
I think he would be playing at Center over Brand with his length and ability to alter shots.

There are no all stars outside of Dirk but there also isn't an ego issue with much talent on the roster.
Dallas is 12+ DEEP, without giving up draft picks, over paying for talent, and remains the financial flexibility/youth/yoots/have kept assets to remain competitive and have the ability to sign/trade for an All Star at the deadline/summer.

Collison
Mayo
Marion
Dirk
Kaman

Jared Cunningham
Deltone West
Carter
Elton Brand
Brandon Wright

Dahntay Jones
Dominique Jones - was very impressive this Summer League
Rodrigue Beaubois

Joe Crowder
Benard James

I think we are much improved but how so many people here think we are "much" better and deeper than Dallas amazes me.
Dallas is much younger/versatile/balanced/deeper with a combination of young legs and vets.
Finding playing time would be a big problem for them, while they have the assets to trade for an All Star to improve their team, the flexibility to add another All Star in to their lineup, and draft picks to offer in trades or be a part of their future. Just saying, they have the ability sign Dwight Howard and trade for Cp3 in the summer...

If not they miss out, this is still a lot of talent on the roster, with assets, to continue to build on, and use on future packages.

RonRon wrote:

Uptown wrote:It always amazes me how many times people forget about the defensive side of the ball when making these these comparisons. Compare the Bulls roster over the last couple of years to most playoff teams and on paper they appear to have less talent, until you look at the defensive side of the ball. On paper, we are a much better defensive team than Dallas. Brand, Dirk, Collison (one of the reasons he was benched in Indy), Carter and even Kaman are not big time defensive players by any stretch. I think we are the better overall team.

its really hard to compare us to The Bulls.
First of we, don't have a Taj Gibson and a Luol Deng which are both critical pieces to have with The Bulls Defense.

2nd, they are all very cohesive, play with BB IQ and share the ball very well their forwards know how to camp by the baseline, knowing when to move and expect a pass.

Noah/ Omar Osik /Boozer can be compared to Chandler/ Camby/ Amare in some ways but they are actually quite different.
Noah, Omar Osik, Boozer all can post up. Yes Amare, is taking 2 week lessons, but it is really hard to compare Boozer/Amare, they are similar and opposites at the same time.
Boozer's fundamentals are the main difference while Amare came straight from high school, DEF and fundamentals were not learned,
His game revolved around his quickness/athleticism, hopefully it is something he gains back this year with last years injury, he also loss weight.

Noah is more quicker/ much more athletic/ and hits that ugly Dragon Ball Z shot, when Chandler doesn't even attempt one.
Chandler is mentally better but physically Noah is much more intimidating.

I think Camby is better than Omar Osik, overall. But Omar uses his body very well, although Camby isn't exactly the stick he use to be.
Omar uses his body to fight for position, sometimes over aggressive, but it keeps defenders fatigued when he constantly puts a body on you on both ends.
But Camby is the much better rebounder/ and slightly better shot blocker at 39.

Deng/Gibson both are very versatile, great length, move REALLY well *high IQ*, and ARE REALLY tough/smart players.
What these both bring to The Bulls, are the most important, we do not have the players to replicate what they bring on the Knicks.
Gibson is the player that they cannot replace, with his length and what he brings to the team, they expect a poison pill heading their way next summer or a big contract that they cannot afford to let go.
I think Greg Stimensa is a player that is a great backup Center that rebounds, plays defense, and block shots at a undervalued rate.

Derrick Rose, to have a PG/SG of Rose's caliber is just amazing, his penetration sets everyone up with their unselfishness, BB IQ/Cohesiveness, off the ball movement/cuts, and ball movement.
The Bulls are just very well coached and fundamentally sound, so its hard to compare both teams.

While I agree we have improved, I do not think we are nearly as good as most of the fans think we are here.
I guess many of the people here are bias , being fans and being positive and supportive which we should be.
But will we be nearly as cohesive, smart, taking quality high % shots, and play quality TEAM defense, remains a question.

It seems that The Bulls are planning to take a step backwards this year to take a bigger step forward for their future.
Developing Jeff Teague, maybe get a higher draft pick, prepared to amnesty Boozer, and adding more talent next summer, with MLE and keeping Gibson, and with future draft picks/as well as the rights of their future Euro's they have stashed.

I wasn't comparing our roster directly with the Bulls. Usually, when we compare rosters on paper, we go straight for the offensive side of the ball. Who's the better scorer, passers, shooter etc. I used the Bulls as an example that you have to look beyond the offensive side of the ball when comparing rosters.

Line up the Celtics and Bulls rosters side by side over the last 2 years and you'd probably pick the celts because they have more allstars and offensive talent. However, over the last 2 years, the Bulls had the better regular season record 2 years in a row, advanced to the ECF 2 yrs ago and have a good chance to beat the Celts this yr if not for injuries. Ultimately, when comparing rosters, the defensive side of the ball has to be just as a big of a factor as who has the best scorers.

RonRon wrote:And I agree with you why Bulls/Celtics are solid defensive teams, but also pointing out some of the key ingredients that make them such a strong team.

The cohesive, effort, HEART, HIGH IQ, unselfishness, teamwork, TEAM DEFENSE and 1v1 DEFENSE, and coaching, are some of the things that cannot be measured with number/stats or by players.

Exactly.....