Well the Bulls managed to score a major coup when the stole the top pick in the draft. Congratulations to them, but now the hard part begins. There is no question that it remains a two man race for the top pick between Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. Either one is as close as you can get to a sure thing. The question is which one to pick. Both would fit very well into the Bulls system, and most people feel that PG and PF are areas of need for the Bulls. While I agree that Derrick Rose would be a major upgrade over Kirk Hinrich, I think that Beasley is the better pick.

Derrick Rose is a fantastic player and would fit well with the Bulls up-tempo style. We could even win with him. But the Bulls would still have the same problem that they currently have, no interior scoring. Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash may be dominating the league, but each of those players also has a talented low post scorer. Dominant PGs may be the current trend, but the two of the teams in the Conference Finals do not have a dominant PG. The Lakers use Derek Fisher as the PG and Celtics use Rajon Rondo. It's nice to have a dominant PG, but you do not need one to win a championship. What you do need is a dominant scorer and a low post threat.

Beasley's game fits so well into the Bulls system, it's almost scary. The Bulls desperately need a low post scorer to take pressure off the Bulls collection of perimeter players. This is why the Bulls had such a bad year shooting the ball. Opposing coaches knew where the points were coming from. Despite that fact that he is a rookie, teams will have to respect the damage he can do inside. If an opposing big man takes away his low post game he can turn to his face up game. On top of that, the Bulls are excellent at the drive and kick game, and Beasley will have to be covered in that situation as well because he can hit from the perimeter. A frontcourt of Beasley, Noah and Deng has the potential to be unreal. Suddenly the strength of the team goes from guards to forwards. Noah should be much better this year, but has already displayed a knack for defense, rebounding an interior passing. Imagine for a second Beasley and Noah in a High-low situation. Noah is an good finisher around the basket, and Beasley would have to be respected there because of his perimeter shooting. Deng is an excellent all-around player who would thrive cutting to the basket when Beasley gets doubled in the low post. Beasley is not a bad defender himself, he is just not a dominating defender, certainly not a fault. With all that going on in the middle, it would take pressure off the guards and create open jump shot and driving lanes. Beasley is athletic enough to play small forward in the NBA. How does this lineup look for stretches of the game:

PG-Thabo Sefalosha

SG-Loul Deng

SF-Michael Beasley

PF-Drew Gooden

C-Joakim Noah

The scary part of that lineup is that all of those players are athletic enough to play those positions, and have with some success. Think of the nightmares that this lineup would cause on the defensive end. If you want to go really big, you can stick Aaron Gray in at center for a truly enormous lineup. Say you want to go to a lightning fast lineup:

PG-Kirk Hinrich

SG-Ben Gordon

SF-Thabo Sefalosha

PF-Loul Deng

C-Michael Beasley

Name me one center fast enough to guard Beasley on the perimeter, and he would have to venture out there due to Beasley's ability to hit the three. Due to Beasley and Deng, most shot blockers would be out of the lane, thus creating space for driving lanes. This lineup could only be played for a short amount of time, but that damage done in that 2-3 minutes could be devastating to the other team.

Since the Suns early playoff exit, sports websites have been obsessing about D'Antoni wanting to go to Chicago. In theory, this looks to be a good fit. The Bulls are loaded with three point shooters, athletic wings, big men that can run the floor and they are the NBA's youngest team. All this, I'm sure would add up to a very entertaining team that may actually win a few games. But people are forgetting a few very important details about the Bulls that will certianly affect the D'Antoni gameplan.

1. Kirk Hinrich is no Steve Nash. That statement is obvious because who is. Without listing Kirk main problems, he has severe confidence issues. A few missed shots turns into a bad game, turning into a few bad games, turning into the debacle of a season that we just whitnessed. Steve Nash has no such issues. I will also point out that Nash is a natural PG and has superior shooting, quickness, and creativity.

2. Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are not Amare Stoudemire. This is actually not such a bad thing. Stoudemire is a superior offensive force, plain and simple. He is one of the most devastating offensive players in basketball. Thomas and Noah are not now and never will be even close to that. Right now Thomas is a occasionally electrifying player who is best comming off the bench. Noah is a hard working defensive minded player who should be a starter for years to come. Noah is a stat sheet filler and natural leader, when he figures everthing out expect his stat line to be of the 10ppg, 12rpg, 3apg, 2bpg variety.

3. This is the most important one, John Paxson. Does anybody know what John Paxson and Steve Kerr have in common? Oh yeah I remember, they both won three titles with His Airness on Bulls teams that built a foundation around defense. They also both played under Phil Jackson, a coach who preaches defense. To make matters worse they were similiar players, somewhat slow footed, hardnosed shooters. If they blew a defensive assignment or got beat really bad, Jordan would let them hear it. Kerr is going to build a team around similiar concepts that Paxson has. So what would make D'Antoni think that Paxson would be any different?

I blieve that D'Antoni in Chicago would be a disaster unless he decides to use a Utah like style. Defense would have to come first, not offense. It seems that D'Antoni is unhappy in Phoenix for that very reason. He's being asked to spend more time on defense and player accountability. Something that will also be needed in Chicago. I am honestly suprised that this hasn't come up before.

1) Despite the fact that they can't seem to win a game(2-10), I really enjoy watching the Sonics play. Due to where I was at the beginning of the season, I have watched more Sonics games then anything else. They play hard, share the ball and at least work hard on defense eventhough thats not thier strong point.

2) Durant looks to be the real deal. Most of his shots seem to come in the flow of the game and he is not lacking confidence. The offseason from the draft to rookie seasons are pretty hectic so players don't have a significant amount of time to improve. I suspect that next year Durant will be unreal. Barring an injury he will start weight training as soon as the season ends to put on the needed weight and build strength. Beyond that, he seems to need only experience.

3) Despite the fact that I hope they turn it around, its seems to me that the Bulls window may be closed. Opposing coaches know how to stop the offense. They also know that if they start with more energy then the Bulls, they will be up and Chicago will deflate for three quarters and try to make a run in the fourth. But because there is no post threat(or consistent offensive threat) they are not able to close out games.

4) Joakim Noah, Thomas Gardner, Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls leading scorers against the Nuggets. I like Noah and Gardner, but come on, they shouldn't be leading your team in scoring. Noah is an energy player whose points come of dunks, layups and putbacks. Gardner played in Belgium last year and was fighting for a roster spot during preseason. Everyonce in awhile you find a gem and maybe he is one, but come on.

5) Early prediction of 2008 Draft first three picks.

Minnesota-OJ Mayo

Sonics-Derrick Rose

Bulls-Michael Beasley

A potential title contender is not supposed to start 0-3. The Bulls always seen to get off to a slow start, but something about this year bothers me. A look at the numbers tells me that there is something seriously wrong with the Bulls.

Last year's slow start could be attributed to Ben Gordon's slow start and a lack of chemistry with Big Ben and PJ in the fold. This was no surprise. The year before that we had just lost our only low post scorer, Eddy Curry, and were trying to figure out how to score without him. 2004-2005 was Kirk's sophmore year, Gordon, Deng, Duhon, and Nocioni's rookie years. Nothing was really expected of us then. But this year is so much different. We advanced to the second round of the playoffs, won 49 games, and were expected to make major strides this year.

Enter trade rumors and contract disputes. I don't care what Deng and Gordon say, the trade rumors and contract problems have affected them greatly. But to me it seems that they affected each one differently. Deng seems to be not as sharp as usual, maybe distracted. When you factor in that everybody is concetrating thier efforts on stopping him, it adds up to the play that you've seen so far. Ben on the other hand seems like he has a chip on his shoulder. Noone can accuse him of having a slow start this year, eventhough he had a rough night in Milwaukee. Look at his numbers so far, he putting up 22ppg, 7.75RPG(!!!), and 3APG. Those are the numbers that Deng is supposed to be putting up. Let me just throw in there that a 6'3" guard should NOT be second on the team in rebounding. To make matters worse, if he had one more rebound tonight he WOULD be leading the team.

I like that Kirk Hinrich decided to bulk up to 197, but maybe it slowed him down enough that he is playing defense with his hands. At some point you have to think that maybe all those "questionable calls" aren't so questionable. He is averaging 5 fouls per game. The constant foul trouble is taking out of rythm, 39.6% shooting. You don't want to know his 3pt percentage.

The big thing that I want to know is where the heck is Big Ben? Last year I would say that it didn't matter what his number were, he had an impact when he was on the court. I'm not so sure this year. But, since Big Ben is still Big Ben, I'm going to assume that his anke is worse then what was thought.

To my suprise, Tyrus Thomas is actually playing pretty good. I admit that I wasn't a fan of Paxon's decision to draft him, but he seems to be playing pretty well. I still think that he should have kept Aldridge, and seeing what he's done so far this year doesn't change my mind. But that has nothing to do with how the Bulls are playing now.

For the sake of my sanity, I hope the Bulls start playing better soon. After the Cubs let down, and the Bears disaster of a season, and not sure my fragile physche can take much more.