How The Bucks Compare: An Early Eastern Conference Primer

Apr 30, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard

(21) greets Milwaukee Bucks players following game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 120-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Bulls

Last Season: 50-32 (3rd, Conference Semi-Finals)

Player Additions: Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio (non-guaranteed)

Player Subtractions: Nazr Mohammed

2015-16 Outlook

For a team who had about as little roster turnover as anyone else in the NBA this summer, the Chicago Bulls still have the potential to look like a completely different team this season.

We had all grown accustomed to the brand of basketball that the Bulls had become famous for under the Tom Thibodeau regime. Chicago was all about effort, toughness, hard work, and first and foremost: defense.

The Bulls were often left wanting at the offensive end, and there could be no doubt that was in part a product of their system rather than their personnel.

Now with a new voice in place in the locker room, Fred Hoiberg‘s Chicago Bulls could take on an indentity of their own. Hoiberg’s coaching is going to be an unknown in the NBA landscape, but the feeling is that the Bulls’ will undoubtedly have some form of a shift towards the offensive side of the ball regardless.

Can they improve enough offensively to counteract the damage that even a slight move away from their lockdown defensive ethos could cause? That’s going to be the million dollar question for Chicago.

In terms of personnel, things will look the same, although the addition of the talented Bobby Portis creates a truly enviable logjam of talent at the power forward spot.

With so many returning faces though, is it going to be possible for Hoiberg to reinvent the wheel?

How The Bucks Compare

As I mentioned, although there’s a chance that their philosophy may change, this is in effect the same roster that the Bucks went head-to-head with in last year’s playoffs.

Should the Bucks be worried by that? Not even in the slightest. With the addition of Greg Monroe, it’s the Bucks who are the team who have grown over the summer, not the Bulls, and Milwaukee is now in a better place than ever to combat Chicago’s front court riches.

If Milwaukee ends up facing off with the Bulls again in the playoffs this season, they’ll be much more prepared, better equipped, and whisper it…but they may even be the better team.

Next: All-In On The King And His Men