Does Dwyane Wade Make the Bulls a Playoff Team in the East?
By Jason McIntyre
NBA free agency is largely over, with only a few rotation players yet to sign. We covered the West’s playoff outlook after Kevin Durant left OKC for the Warriors; now that Dwyane Wade has left Miami for Chicago, we tackle the East. As always, we’re assuming everyone’s healthy.
Cleveland. Haven’t moved Kevin Love yet. Biggest add was Mike Dunleavy, a wing who can make 3’s and play defense. He turns 36 in September. LeBron is alive; feels like a 60-win group.
Indiana. Arguably had the best free agency run in the conference – improved at point guard (Jeff Teague), offensive post player (Al Jefferson) and versatile wing (Thaddeus Young). Paul George and Myles Turner are a dynamite combination, and toss in scoring from Monta Ellis … that may be a 55-win team.
Toronto. Retained DeMar DeRozan, but lost Bismack Biyombo. Really like their guards – Lowry and DeRozan are very good, and Norman Powell and Terrence Ross are promising young players. If LeBron the Cyborg suffers a major injury, you’ll probably see the Raptors get a ton of money to win the conference.
New York. I’ll take heat for this, but bring it on – if the Knicks are healthy (gigantic, I know), the talent is there to win 50 games. You went from Jose Calderon and Langston Galloway at PG to Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings. Joakim Noah, healthy after being worn down by Thibs, will know his role inside. Courtney Lee, Melo and Porzingis will rain 3-pointers. Rose is out to prove the Bulls wrong and get paid by someone (not New York, my guess is they land Russell Westbrook next summer). This should be fun.
Boston. Once again will open the season with a surfeit of talented guards – but no superstar – and a dearth of frontcourt impact players, though Al Horford is a nice upgrade. Feels like they’ll be right there at 50 wins again, and having the best coach in the East obviously matters. I do think, on paper, the three teams ahead of them have more talented rosters.
Detroit. Bottom half of the playoff teams in the East will be a jumble, but for reasons I can’t fully explain (SVG?), I like the Pistons. Basically, he’s got a monster center in Andre Drummond (free throw shooting woes aside) with a bunch of potentially-good 3-point shooters. Wouldn’t shock me if Detroit won 50 games. Feels like Tobias Harris or Stanley Jackson has a break out season.
Chicago. The good news – Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic are rising NBA stars. Rajon Rondo, when not fighting with his coaches, is a highly-skilled passer. The bad news? Who is the shooter on this team? Anyone beyond Doug McDermott? Fred Hoiberg can’t be thrilled that he left Iowa State and two years later, the once-loaded Bulls have Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson up front.
Miami. I’ve argued the Heat are better off without Dwyane Wade – remember, he shot 15 percent on 3-pointers last season – but coupled with the losses of Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, that’s a lot of offense to replace. Enter young kids Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow. If Hassan Whiteside keeps it together after getting $98 million, they’ll be alright. If Whiteside doesn’t …
Milwaukee. Mild surprise that the Bucks are here over the Hawks and Hornets, but on talent alone Milwaukee’s in better position. Giannis is moving to point guard, which should help open up Jabari Parker inside. I’m not sure Thon Maker will help now, but can I say that I liked that pick again?