Bullish prospects

Chicago looks poised to end post-Jordan playoff drought

John Hollinger, SI.com

Bulls at a Glance Head coach: Bill Cartwright 2002-03: 30-52 2002-03 Stats Key Additions PG Kirk Hinrich (draft) SF Scottie Pippen (Blazers) SG Kendall Gill (T'wolves) Key Losses SG Fred Hoiberg (T'wolves) PG Jay Williams (injury) Projected Lineup Starters Reserves PG  J. Crawford K. Hinrich SG  S. Pippen E. Robinson SF  J. Rose D. Marshall PF  T. Chandler M. Fizer C  E. Curry C. Blount

The Chicago Bulls have endured one depressing season after another since Mike, Scottie and Phil packed their bags in 1998. The hope in Chicago is that they finally have the pieces in place to end that string of disappointment.

It helps that Scottie is one of the guys who returns. Jerry Krause was finally turfed out (due to 'health reasons") and new GM John Paxson joins with coach Bill Cartwright and newly signed Pippen to reconnect the Bulls with their glory days. Pippen will help, too. The Bulls had massive trouble at shooting guard all season, with Trenton Hassell and Fred Hoiberg combining to form one of the league's least productive combos.

But the Bulls' success still hinges on the kids. Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Jamal Crawford all came on like gangbusters during the second half of last season. Crawford has the makings of an All-Star point guard, while Curry used  his soft touch around the basket to lead the league in field-goal percentage. Chandler, meanwhile, has a chance to be an awesome defensive presence.

One promising Bull who won't be appearing this season is Jay Williams. The No. 2 pick in the 2002 draft sustained multiple injuries in a motorcycle accident, and his career is in jeopardy. Thanks to Crawford's development, however, the Bulls can overcome his absence.

Post scoring. The Bulls are appropriately named, because they pack more beef than any team in the league.

Leading the way is Curry, who, for the second year in a row, slumbered through the first two months of the season before exploding in the second half. At 6-foot-11, 285 pounds, it's impossible to keep him out of the paint, but he can also shoot jumpers out to 15 feet. The scary part is that he's only 20 and still rapidly improving. Over the Bulls' final 13 games, Curry averaged 20 points and shot 63 percent. If he gets into better shape and improves his lethargic defense, he could make the All-Star team.

In addition, the Bulls sport three 260-pound wrecking balls at power forward. Fizer is another brute in the paint and was on pace to win the Sixth Man award before blowing out his knee last year. He is expected to be 100 percent when camp starts, and he'll need to be to hold off two other young brutes. In limited minutes during his rookie season, Lonny Baxter showed that his bulk and skill around the basket more than offset a lack of height. Meanwhile, second-round draft choice Mario Austin is of a similar build and had an outstanding summer league.

Donyell Marshall doesn't have the girth of his teammates, but his length and soft shooting touch make him effective in the paint as well. Meanwhile, 7-foot-1 Chandler is still learning to make use of his size. He won't be able to drink legally until October and is still improving every year. Finally, an underrated weapon down low is Crawford, who at 6-foot-6 dwarfs many point guards and can take them down to the block for short jumpers.

Defense. The Bulls were a poor defensive team last year, which isn't surprising considering they started two players who should have been in their sophomore years of college. But Bill Cartwright has his work cut out for him, because they also have several weaknesses.

Start up front, where the undermotivated Curry was so lackluster for much of the year that he was in danger of losing his job to retread Corie Blount. Despite his outstanding size, Curry is a non-factor as a shot-blocker and is maddeningly ineffective on the glass. Chandler, meanwhile, has awesome defensive potential but is still learning how to use his size as a weapon at that end of the court. For all their low-post bullying, Fizer, Baxter and Austin are all defensive liabilities due to a lack of height and quickness, while Marshall is prone to mental lapses.

It doesn't get much better on the perimeter. Jalen Rose plays defense with a disinterest that rivals Curry's, and free-agent bust Eddie Robinson has failed to cover for him. Pippen will add a clever help-side defender to the mix, but none of the Bulls can handle a tough wing player one-on-one. Kendall Gill was signed as an afterthought but might be the best perimeter defender on the roster.

Can Cartwright fit the Bill? After a year and a half of patiently absorbing nightly beatings, it's time for Cartwright to produce some results. His tenure has had some bumps. On one hand, his own experience as an NBA center has allowed him to mentor the development of Chandler and Curry.

On the other, however, his mishandling of the backcourt a year ago raised eyebrows. He installed Williams as the starting point guard and left him there for much of the season despite the abundant clarity with which Crawford was outplaying him. And in the end, neither of the two played as many minutes as the woefully impactless Hassell, because it didn't occur to Cartwright until late in the season that he could play Williams and Crawford in the same backcourt.

With Williams out, the point guard battle won't be a distraction this year, but now that Curry and Crawford have emerged, he'll face another, equally important challenge: lessening Jalen Rose's role while still keeping him engaged in the team concept. This was attempted and failed in Indiana, which is how Rose got traded to Chicago in the first place, and it could end up defining Cartwright's success this season.

They're back. There are several teams vying for the final two playoff spots in the East, and realistically it will come down to which team gets the fewest visits from the injury fairy. But with three rising stars and a solid veteran core surrounding them, it seems realistic that the Bulls can get in the 37-40 win range that it will take to break their playoff drought.

John Hollinger covers basketball for SI.com and is the author of Pro Basketball Prospectus. Click here to send him a question or comment.