The Bulls are going to run the Wildcat to generate some
offense against the San Antonio Spurs Thursday for the team’s 2010 season
opener.
OK, maybe not.
But you get the point. Football teams use the Wildcat to
throw off the defense while compensating for the deficiencies of their offense.
It’s about covering up the lack of talent a team has.
For the Bulls, it doesn’t appear that they have a
catch-and-shoot man on the roster. Ben Gordon is gone, and he takes his
sharp-shooting with him—a knack, I argued for years, was among the league’s
best.
Not that the Bulls shouldn’t have let him go (salary cap,
2010, etc.) but there will be some growing pains on this team. John Salmons is
more of a three, who can put the ball on the floor and create off the dribble.
He is not the ideal fit, since he has a slow release and doesn’t take advantage of a point-guard oriented offense with a catch-and-shoot approach off curls and screens. He likes to take a step toward the basket and create a little space from the defender. That’s also going to lessen Derrick
Rose’s assist totals, by the way.
- For now, we’ll see if the Bulls can merely make it a game
with the San Antonio Spurs. They walked all over the New Orleans Hornets on
Wednesday—as they should—and showed a tremendous amount of depth and offensive
fire power with the addition of Richard Jefferson, a healthy Manu Ginobili,
guard George Hill in his second year and even the undersized fire plug Dejuan
Blair that many Bulls clamored for in the previous draft.
Vinny DelNegro will also have to show that his campaign to
make this team into a defensive juggernaut was not just lip service.
And by game time, we’ll discover if he and Tyrus Thomas had
kissed and made up after the coach opted to start the rookie Taj Gibson in a
preseason game, of which Thomas was not pleased with.
This game arrives at precisely the right time for Chicago
Bear fans who have endured a summer-less summer (60 degrees in July?) on the
heels of the franchise’s biggest acquisition in its history (Jay Cutler) only
to have much of the excitement foiled by witnessing the worst offensive line in
two decades (try me, what was worse?).
We’ll soon see if Luol Deng really is an NBA player or just
a guy who had a nice season at the right time and was left open for 14-foot
jump shots. He’s not exactly demanded double teams in the preseason and my
suspicion is that Deng with continue to struggle as it appears he is trying to
prove his worth on this team that has clearly moved on without him.
He’s arguably the fourth best player on an average team.
And for Joakim Noah, will we see a player on the rise, a
bona fide offensive rebounder and shot-blocker who makes good decisions? Can he
stay out of early foul trouble?
Can Tyrus Thomas do anything against decent competition like
Tim Duncan or Antonio McDyess?
Is Rose up for meeting with Tony Parker with a gimpy ankle?
Will Aaron Gray go for the sport jacket and jeans look circa
1990s or will he go for the traditional dress down attire?
The questions loom but it appears that Vinny is not in
denial about this team. Here’s what he told ESPN 1000 earlier in the week about
the team: “..do you think we're ready to win a championship with all these
young guys?"
Maybe not, but the question of how soon begins tonight.
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