The Waiver Wire

How will the Bulls do without Derrick Rose?

Leading up to the NBA season, Mike Aurigemma and Vinny Ginardi will take a look at this year’s over/under win totals for each team, by division.

Chicago Bulls (Last year’s record: 50-16; Total: 47.5)

Mike Aurigemma:  Defense.  This is the one word that will carry this team throughout the regular season.  Even with the fact that Derrick Rose will miss a portion of this season and still not be fully back when he is inserted in the lineup, I do not doubt that the Bulls will find ways to win some basketball games.  This is a team that has had success throughout the regular season without Rose in the past.  People can look to the fact that they lost to the 8th seed Sixers, but that was with a hobbled Noah and Deng.  One thing we know for sure is that this team will be coached to bring it defensively every play on the defensive end.  That starts with head coach Tom Thibodeau, who will push his team to the limits and get the best out of everyone who is on the court.  With the addition of Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague they will be okay at the point without Derrick Rose for the time being, but will sorely miss his offense and leadership throughout the year.  Another significant loss will be Omer Asik who really helped solidify the defense for the second unit.  Still, I think this team will bring playoff basketball every night during the regular season, which will help make them a great regular season team once again.  Verdict: Over

Vinny Ginardi: This is tough. The Bulls have been one of the best regular season teams the past two seasons, but this year they will have to do it without star point guard Derrick Rose, who could miss the entire season. Rose did miss a significant chunk of the regular season last year too, but the Bulls had a better backup point guard than they do now in C.J. Watson. As Mike mentioned, the Bulls will still be a great defensive team, but when I look at this roster, I can’t figure out who is going to put the ball in the hoop.  Deng, Rip Hamilton, and even Nate Robinson have shown that they can score in the past, but none of them are good enough to be a team’s number on scoring option. If Rose can return, the Bulls will be a dangerous playoff team, but without him, they will struggle to find an offensive identity. Verdict: Under

Cleveland Cavaliers (Last year’s record: 21-45; Total: 32.5)

MA:  The Cavaliers had a chance to really build a strong young core together, but in my opinion reached for a player in Dion Waiters.  He has since shown up out of shape to Summer League and the pick does not give me any confidence that this team will be making a big step at all this year.  Unlike the Wizards who I think have done a great job of mixing up veterans with rookies this team has failed to do that at all.  They did a good job of not going out and spending big money, but I do not see any improvements in this coming season for the Cavaliers.  Verdict: Under

VG: Couldn’t agree more on Waiters, but hopefully for Cleveland’s sake we are wrong. Outside of Kyrie Irving and maybe Anderson Vaerjao, this team doesn’t have many players who are good enough to start on most other teams. C.J. Miles is an interesting pickup, but he is not a player who brings the Cavs to another level. Cleveland is headed to another lottery and would be fortunate to reach 30 wins. Verdict: Under

Detroit Pistons (Last year’s record: 25-41; Total: 32.5)

MA:  I still am not sure what the plan is for the Pistons going forward.  They  clearly understood that the Ben Gordon signing was a mistake as they traded him away for Corey Maggette, but also had to give up a future first-round pick in the process.  It seems like they are trying to give themselves some flexibility for the future.  They do have a young core with a lot of upside as Andre Drummond joins Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight.  The future is there, but I still think this team will be a few years away until we see some real improvement.  But at least the Pistons are realizing their mistakes and trying to gain some flexibility.  I still cannot see this team showing much improvement this coming year, but at least there are signs of progress.  Verdict: Under

VG: I kind of like the Pistons! Are they a playoff team? No. But Greg Monroe has quietly become one of the best big men in the game and pairing him Andre Drummond gives Detroit a great young front court moving forward. You know how in football there is a team every year who isn’t all that good but has a weak schedule so they end up with a decent record? That’s how I feel about the Pistons. The Eastern Conference is very top heavy, so I can see them racking up wins against the bottom feeders of the East (Orlando, Charlotte, etc.). Verdict: Over (but barely)

Both our writers agree: Paul George and the Pacers should continue to rack up wins this year.

Indiana Pacers (Last year’s record: 42-24; Total: 51.5)

MA:  When looking at the teams in the East, you could say the Pacers may be the ones who match up the best with the Heat.  They have the athleticism at the wings with Paul George and Danngy Granger to go up against Wade and LeBron.  But most importantly is they have the low post scoring in Roy Hibbert as well as David West who is also a force down low.  One thing this team lacked was a back up big man to help patrol the paint when Hibbert went out.  The Pacers hope to have solved that as they traded point guard Darren Collison to the Dallas Mavericks for center Ian Mahinmi.  To help fill the void left by Collison, the Pacers did a great job by bringing in D.J. Augustin on a bargain deal.  With all of these moves, I fully expect the Pacers to build on last season.  Verdict: Over

VG: The Pacers are built for regular season success. They are young, deep, well-balanced, and don’t really have a weakness at any position. The same concerns still arise when it comes to postseason play (who will take over?), but Indiana has a team that can score, defend and rebound, and more importantly, withstand injury if one occurs. If all goes well, the Pacers are good enough to grab the two seed in the East. Also, they have both of the Hansbrough brothers! That’s pretty cool! Verdict: Over

Milwaukee Bucks  (Last year’s record: 31-35; Total: 36.5)

MA:  Brandon Jennings holds all the keys to success for this team in my opinion.  He has definitely shown flashes of brilliance at times, but it is just not as consistent as it needs to be.  It is also still a question as to how well he goes with Monta Ellis even after seeing some success at times last season.  With the additions of John Henson and Doron Lamb though the draft as well as Joel Pryzbilla, this is a team that should find itself fighting for that last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.  If Jennings can find a lot more consistency in his game this team has the capability to really surprise some people this year.  Verdict: Over

VG: Even though the Bucks played fairly well last season after making the trade for Monta Ellis, I still don’t like the idea of two ball-dominant guards on the floor at the same time.  Ersan Ilyasova had a career season last year and the 25-year-old should only improve on his numbers this season, but I just don’t see the Bucks having the depth to make a run at the eight seed. Verdict: Under