Bulls will not beat the Cavs. Wizards are the only team in the East that have any real shot as they have both the interior defense and rebounding and the varied multi-layered offensive weapons.
It is nice to see Rose back and healthy. Always a shame when talent is wasted as a result of injuries.
You just described the bulls only they have better interior defense and better rebounding.
Wizards have more weapons on the offensive end but the Bulls who were first in defense and last in offense have only improved on both spectrums. Adding Gasols offense, length, veteran presence, and passing ability is going to be a huge plus for the Bulls. I see them being first in the East but it all depends on Rose's health and return to form.
Totally disagree. The Wizards offense is so varied. It isn't just Beal and Wall, Pierce is a great all around offensive player, Gortat is a very good post up player, and we've seen that offense (with Ariza instead of Pierce) play incredibly well together. They also have insane depth. I mean their backups are Andre Miller, Martell Webster, Otto Porter, Dejuan Blair, and Kris Humphries. I mean that backup 5 might be better than Boston's starting 5 (sans Rondo). They have a fluid system. Gortat, Nene, Hump, and Blair is an incredible big man rotation (that doesn't even count Drew Gooden and Kevin Seraphin). They can throw bodies all over the place on both ends of the floor. They have the post up players, the drive and dish guys, the shooters, and they have them from all positions on the floor. They also have a very clear pecking order and more than 1 go to player in crunch time. I'm not sure they beat Cleveland, but I think they have the best shot of any team in the East.
I just don't see that from the Bulls. While Gasol is better than Boozer, he isn't a good fit in their offensive scheme (Boozer wasn't either). I'm not sold on Mirotic or McDermott as contributors this year. Butler is a good shooter, but provides almost nothing else on offense. That team will live and die by Rose, and come playoff time when James is guarding Rose, he will shut their entire offense down and unlike James, Rose can't guard James. In fact no one on the Bulls can guard James (James will just man handle Butler in the post). That is where not having Deng is going to be the real problem for Chicago. Deng could at least make it a little difficult for James, no one on that team can do anything against him.
Chicago will lose to Cleveland in 5 games. Washington goes 6 or 7.