Playoff Preview: Cavs vs Bulls

(1) Cavs vs (8) Bulls

All eyez on me (Gotta love that album) . This is all about Lebron. The cavs are an after thought. The Bulls are just the little mosquito on the windshield. Derrick Rose is going to have his moments, we have to let him enjoy that.

A sweep? Maybe not. The Cavs are the best team in the country with the best player. The Bulls? Well, the have a pretty good player and lost of potential. This is going to be a nice learning experience for them. I wish I could say more, the Bulls are one of my favorite teams, but if the get to steal one game would be amazing ( You know what would be cool? If the steal one on the road. Imagine ESPN if Lebron is suddenly 1-1 in a first round series going on the road. Pandemonium!)

Things to watch in this series: 1. Mo Williams. He was crap last year against Orlando. 2. Shaq. How bad in shape is he in? 3. Vinny del Negro/John Paxson. I'm voting for them to get into a fight in national TV. You know like in Game 5. The Cavs up by 15 and Chicago starters on the bench and we see Paxson coming from the tunnel running and gasping like a mad cow ready to tackle Del Negro, just to get bear hug by Del Negro and get tossed to the the second row, three rows from Stern and probably Obama. Good Stuff!! Anyhow Cavs in 5.

Basketball Gods prediction: Cavs in 5

Win Scale (From 1: "The refs gave them that game. Are they really this bad?" to 10: " This is the best team ever! Make me yours" ) 8.5

Drafts 2006-2009

2006

Would you think Chris Bosh would be very happy playing with Brandon Roy? I think that’s the major effect with this class. All the others players are far from having the impact Roys has had with the Blazers. Although you could easily make a case for Rondo, after all he is the only one with a ring of these 8 players. Talking about Rondo he’s selected by the Bulls here, does the Bulls still go with Rose in a couple of years?

Championship Builders: Raptors

Biggest Jump: Paul Millsap from 47th to 6th

Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected (Original Position Drafted )

1. Raptors -- Brandon Roy (6)

2. Bulls -- Rajon Rondo (21)

3. Bobcats -- Lamarcus Aldrige (2)

4. Blazers -- Andrea Bargnani (1)

5. Hawks -- Rudy Gay (8)

6. Twolves -- Paul Millsap (47)

7. Celtics -- Tyrus Thomas (4)

8. Rockets -- Randy Foye (7)

2007

Three years later and the question is not anymore Durant or Oden, now is more about if Noah and Horford are better big men than Oden. This class ( and the others coming after this) are still very recent so we still don’t have a clear idea of what are we dealing here with. This class for example, we don’t know if Brooks is going to have a more productive career than Stuckey. Brooks is right now the best player on Houston, a MIP candidate. Stuckey had a better start of his career but hasn’t being as good since the departure of Billups ( that potential he showed was the catalyst for Dumars to trade Billups to make room for Stuckey “growth” ). Players like Corey Brewer, Thaddeus Young, Brandan Wright, etc still could end up being better than the players here listed.

Championship Builders: Blazers

Biggest Jump: Aaron Brooks from 26th to 5th

Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected (Original Position Drafted )

1. Blazers -- Kevin Durant (2)

2. Sonics

--

Al Horford

(

3

)

3. Hawks

--

Joakim Noah

(

9

)

4. Grizzlies

--

Greg Oden

(

1

)

5. Celtics

--

Aaron Brooks

(

26

)

6. Bucks

--

Jeff Green

(

5

)

7. Twolves

--

Mike Conley

(

4

)

8. Bobcats

--

Rodney Stuckey

(

15

)

2008

Again, still too young to judge. Westbrook could be better than Rose. Beasley could be a late boomer and Danilo Gallinari could really become a first option on a good team. We still don’t know

Championship Builders: I don't know

Biggest Jump: George Hill from 26th to 9th

Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected (Original Position Drafted )

1. Bulls -- Derrick Rose (1)

2. Heat

--

Kevin Love

(

5

)

3. Twolves

--

Russel Westbrook

(

4

)

4. Sonics

--

Brook Lopez

(

10

)

5. Grizlies

--

Michael Beasley

(

2

)

6. Knicks

--

O.J. Mayo

(

3

)

7. Clippers

--

Eric Gordon

(

7

)

8. Bucks

--

Danilo Gallinari

(

6

)

9. Bobcats

--

George Hill

(

26

)

2009

Their rookie season hasn’t even ended – in some cases it hasn’t even started – but I still think Blake Griffin is going to a monster in this league.

Championship Builders: I don't know

Biggest Jump: George Hill from 26th to 9th

Pick Order. Picking Team -- Player Selected (Original Position Drafted )

1. Clippers -- Blake Griffin (1)

2. Grizzlies

--

Tyreke Evans

(

4

)

3. Thunder

--

Stephen Curry

(

7

)

4. Kings

--

Brandon Jennings

(

10

)

5. Twolves

--

Johnny Flynn

(

6

)

6. Twolves

--

DeJuan Blair

(

37

)

7. Warriors

--

Darren Collison

(

21

)

8. Knicks

--

Taj Gibson

(

26

)

9. Raptors

--

James Harden

(

3

)