By Taylor Eldridge, TalentedMrRoto.com
September 25, 2006 - 6:45 a.m.

2005-06 OVERVIEW

Although they took a step backwards from their 47-win season in 2004-05, the Chicago Bulls gained another year of experience for their young nucleus of players. Ben Gordon (23), Kirk Hinrich (25), Luol Deng (21), Chris Duhon (24), Andres Nocioni (27) all made up the youthful core for the 2005-06 Bulls, which was shown the door by the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs after finishing the season with a record of 41-41.

Still expect the same numbers out of Ben Wallace this season. (Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

Despite being mostly composed of guards and small forwards, the Bulls finished third in the league in total rebounds at nearly 43 per game. Chicago had the right mix of offensive and defensive fire-power but failed to put both together against quality opponents. Gordon’s fantasy stats were hindered by him coming off the bench, but he still led the team in scoring with 16.9 points per game. The breakout of Kirk Hinrich brought a grin to the faces of fantasy owners, as he averaged close to 16 points with six dimes and three rebounds a game. With the loss of defensive presence Tyson Chandler, the Bulls will rely on off-season acquisitions to step up.

Chicago general manager John Paxson spent the big bucks in the off-season to bring in the best defensive player in the league, Ben Wallace. Wallace gives the Bulls a player similar to Chandler - a defensive stopper that rebounds and doesn’t provide much offense - but Wallace is definitely a major upgrade. The Bulls also traded for a horde of players, including P.J. Brown, Martynas Andriuskevicius, Thabo Sefolosha, Viktor Khryapa and Tyrus Thomas. Expect Brown to be plugged into the lineup immediately with Thomas playing a key role off the bench. Chicago is definitely on the upswing and even though they’ll probably win more games, this looks to be another stepping stone year for the Bulls.

ADDITIONS:
Adrian Griffin, SG/SF
Ben Wallace, C
P.J. Brown, PF/C
Martynas Andriuskevicius, C
Tyrus Thomas, F
Viktor Khryapa, SF
Thabo Sefolosha, G

LOSSES:
Tyson Chandler, C
Othella Harrington, PF/C
Darius Songaila, PF
Jannero Pargo, PG
Eric Piatkowski, SG/SF
Eddie Basden, G

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
C – Ben Wallace
PF – P.J. Brown
SF – Andres Nocioni
SG – Ben Gordon
PG – Kirk Hinrich

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2006

Da’ Bulls don’t provide any one particular offensive fantasy standout, but look for several players from Chicago’s young nucleus to make a difference for fantasy owners in 2006. Ben Wallace is nice if you love rebounds, steals and blocks. Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich should both be solid fantasy options, but they aren’t guys you will be looking at in the first couple of rounds. Andres Nocioni, P.J. Brown and Luol Deng are all intriguing options, but they are not going to win you a fantasy championship. Rookie Tyrus Thomas is raw and provides unlimited upside, but he probably won’t get a chance to show off his abilities much in his first season. Coach Scott Skiles likes to spread around his minutes, so expect the backups such as Chris Duhon and Deng to contribute as well.

Although the Bulls don’t provide many elite options, they do have lots of fantasy depth. They have around eight players that deserve a roster spot and should give fantasy owners an array of options to choose from. Gordon should be the main scoring threat again this season and he may see a small bump in his scoring with the offensively-challenged frontcourt. Kirk Hinrich should put up similar numbers from last year (16 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds), and is turning himself into one of the top keeper league point guards in the league. Nocioni and Deng will give owners will both score around 14 points a game and snag six rebounds a game. Ben Wallace will still average double digits in rebounds, but Chicago won’t rely on him at all on the offensive end. If rebounds are a big part of your league settings, then Big Ben is worth a high pick. However, Wallace is now on the decline of his career and is starting to face some wear and tear after playing deep into the playoffs during the past couple of seasons.

The three names that you need to know on the Bulls will be Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich. Those three deserve high draft choices and should give owners solid production, but don’t draft them expecting huge numbers. Chicago will feature too many quality players, and you have to remember that Scott Skiles is not a fantasy friendly coach.

KEY BENCH POSITIONS / POSITION BATTLES

Luol Deng - Of the Chicago backups, Deng provides the most upside for this season. He has the talent to start, but Skiles prefers to bring him off the bench and start Andres Nocioni. Despite not starting, Deng was third on the team in points (14.3) last season and second on the team in rebounds (6.6). Deng is probably the fourth-best option on the Bulls roster fantasy-wise and if Nocioni has any struggles or injuries, he should be in for a big year.

Chris Duhon - Despite playing behind a talent like Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon will still see plenty of playing time in 2006-07. Duhon will still see close to 30 minutes of action a night after playing in 29.1 minutes per game last season. Don’t take him in shallow leagues, but he is a solid option for threes and steals in deeper leagues. The former Dukie is a good all-around talent, averaging close to nine points, three rebounds and five assists last season. He should stay around those numbers this season and is a nice player to have as a backup option in deeper leagues.

Tyrus Thomas - The second pick of the NBA draft wasn’t even on the radar for most lottery teams to begin the season, but after an amazing display of his athleticism in the NCAA tournament, Tyrus Thomas shot up the draft boards. Thomas won’t be shooting up fantasy drafts this year though, as the Bulls understand he is not ready to play with the big boys...yet. If you are in a keeper league, Thomas is definitely a player you want to target. Scouts have compared his talent with that of Shawn Marion and if you are mentioned in the same sentence as Shawn Marion, it’s a good thing. Don’t expect much this season from Thomas, but big things are in his future.

PLAYERS WE LOVE

Ben Gordon - Gordon should be in for another big year for the Bulls this season as he will look to improve on his 2005-2006 numbers (17 points, three rebounds, three assists). Although he won’t see as many minutes as we’d like, Gordon can score in bunches and will drain plenty of threes while grabbing about a steal per game. Adding to his value is the fact that he qualifies at both guard positions this season. He is a nice plug-in as either your starting point guard or shooting guard spot and is also a valuable keeper pick.

Kirk Hinrich - The value of Hinrich has exploded through the roof this summer during the FIBA World Championship, and he is finally garnering some much-deserved attention. Hinrich was a great fantasy option last season, averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 boards, 6.3 assists, 1.6 threes and 1.3 steals per game. Expect his points to stay the same, but his assists should be on the rise with another year of experience. Hinrich might be a little over-hyped heading into the season, but he could very well be one of the top point guards in fantasy this season.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

P.J. Brown - Last season, Brown had a bit of a down year averaging around nine points and seven rebounds. Expect those numbers to continue to drop with the Bulls. Ben Wallace will do the majority of the work on the glass, and Brown - who is now 36 years old - will be one of the last options on offense when he’s on the court. He’ll be the starter, but he’ll probably see only 30 minutes per game for Scott Skiles.

BOTTOM LINE

The Bulls are close to taking that next step into the elite of the NBA, but they still have to prove they can play with the big boys. Chicago has a deep rotation so don’t expect many players to make significant fantasy contributions in shallow leagues. The Bulls should once again be a competitive team and that can only be a good thing for their fantasy stats. Although Chicago doesn’t have a superstar yet, they offer a lot of good options for both shallow and deep leagues.

The views expressed by TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.

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