Considering the hype this team had going into the season, for many Bulls fans, this is a disappointment. Personally, I am not as shocked as many people are; when the Bulls went all out and signed a washed up Dwayne Wade and an injury riddled Rondo, I knew the best the Bulls could expect for the next two years was maybe a 5th seed. But the season has been worse than expected, between being a game below .500 and constant drama between the players, the season seems to be on the downward spiral toward a second straight year without a playoff berth and without a top 10 draft pick.

        In basketball, nothing is gained from mediocrity, picks 15-30 even in the first round usually don’t provide that big an impact in the NBA. If the Bulls want to be a successful franchise again, they need to push the reset button, and yes, that includes Jimmy Butler.

        For many Bull fans, this idea seems crazy. Jimmy Butler is the future! Why would you trade someone who could be a superstar in this league? While it’s true Jimmy Butler has super star potential, I don’t believe he has leadership potential. He has stated in an interview that he likes controversy in a locker room. That kind of thought process is unacceptable for the face of a franchise. A leader is supposed to unite and rally a locker room, not tear it apart.

        Another reason to trade Butler is the return the Bulls could possibly get from him. If the Bulls moved him this year, one of the most realistic landing spots for him would be Boston, a place that has a plethora of draft picks and assets to give the Bulls in return. Right now, the Boston Celtics, who are currently the second seed in the East, hold the Brooklyn Nets’ 2017 1st round pick; the Nets have the worst record in the NBA and will probably get the first pick in the upcoming draft. The Celtics could possibly trade that to the Bulls along with other draft picks to the Bulls for Butler, possibly giving the Bulls the first pick in what is supposed to be a very good draft class.

        I think the Bulls would also do well to get rid of Rondo and Hoiberg. Rondo has made it clear that he wants out of Chicago, and Hoiberg has potential to be a good coach somewhere else, but it’s clear it hasn’t worked in Chicago. I think the Bulls should keep Wade as after this year he only has one more left on his contract, and he could be a good mentor to the young incoming players. A few years ago, the Bulls were legit championship contenders and had the youngest MVP in league history on their team. Six years later, they’re struggling to maintain a playoff spot.  Chicago Bull fans and their front office need to understand their window to win a championship is over and it’s time to start the long, arduous, rebuilding process

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However, I’m more intrigued by the outcome of another annual award, the Comeback Player of the Year. After a season (and postseason) full of devastating long-term injuries to star players throughout the league, the 2013-2014 Comeback Player of the Year race will quite possibly be more thrilling than the MVP battle.

Here are some of the major candidates for Comeback Player of of the Year honors:

Derrick Rose (CHI)

D-Rose will be making his long-anticipated return to the NBA regular season after tearing his ACL in Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers in Chicago.

Kobe Bryant (LAL)

Kobe tore his left achilles in a regular season contest against the Golden State Warriors last year, and is expected to make his 2013-2014 debut after at least a month from the season opener, if not longer.

Rajon Rondo (BOS)

The Celtics’ magical floor general rather curiously tore his ACL during last year’s regular season, and is still out of the lineup indefinitely. When he returns to the court, he’ll be joining a new look Boston team under young first year head coach Brad Stevens.

Russell Westbrook (OKC)

The super athletic Thunder point guard suffered a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee after colliding with Houston’s Patrick Beverly during the 2013 Western Conference Playoffs. Once Westbrook completes his recovery and is reinstalled in the OKC lineup, the Thunder aim to be a contender for the Western Conference title.

Danny Granger (IND)

Granger has been sidelined for a variety of injuries in recent years, ultimately forcing Indiana to rely upon their blossoming superstar Paul George, an extra talented wing player out of Fresno State. Granger recently strained his calf, which will keep him off of the court for an additional three to four weeks. If he can return to his older self, he may still have a shot at contending for this award.

Andrew Bynum (CLE)

The extroverted Andrew Bynum has been rehabilitating from back and leg injuries that have prevented the seven footer from playing in an NBA game in over a year. In fact, after being traded in the Dwight Howard-Lakers trade to Philadelphia, Bynum never made an appearance for the lowly Sixers, and has since signed with the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers. If this talented big man can anchor the middle like he often did in Los Angeles, look out for the Cavs to be a sneaky playoff team in the East.

Greg Oden (MIA) ?!

Okay, hear me out; the once washed up monster in the middle that is Greg Oden has recovered from multiple knee surgeries and personal turmoil and returned to the NBA, signing with the back-to-back champions, the Miami Heat. While Oden will likely be used sparingly, if he manages to show a career-restoring replication of his younger dominant self, perhaps he can emerge as the sentimental favorite in this race.

If preseason play has been any indication, Derrick Rose looks poised to be the favorite for this award, and his impressive return has led some Bulls fans to believe their hometown hero can become a serious MVP candidate as well.

There are certainly a plethora of fantastic story lines heading into this upcoming NBA season, but I’m going to play awfully close attention to see how the race for this award plays out.

As you can see, if there ever was such a year, this is certainly the NBA Year of the Comeback. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

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Dwight Howard and the Kobe-less Lakers

After a whirlwind of a regular season, the once-laughable Lakers somehow managed to sneak into the postseason. However, between the devastating news of Kobe Bryant’s ruptured Achilles tendon and the daunting task of facing San Antonio in the first round, Lakers fans have little to celebrate. Without Bryant, arguably the greatest competitor in the game, the herculean task of carrying the Lake Show to an improbable title chase is centered squarely on the massive shoulders of Dwight Howard. With the possibility of free agency looming, Howard’s future in Los Angeles will likely be determined by his performance in the playoffs.

Prediction:

Bryant’s absence is too much for Howard and the Lakers to overcome, and the center turns in underwhelming performances against the Spurs’ big men. Los Angeles musters one win in the friendly confines of the Staples Center, but ultimately drop the series to San Antonio by a count of three games to one.

Boston copes with injuries, tragedy

Less than a week removed from the tragic Boston Marathon bombings, the Celtics were given an opportunity to lift the spirits of their proud city in their first round matchup with the Atlantic Division champion New York Knicks. Under head coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics have already demonstrated their resiliency, having earned a playoff berth after losing star point guard Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL midway through the season. Meanwhile, the streaky Knicks entered the postseason as the East’s greatest threat against Miami’s quest for a third straight Finals appearance.

Prediction:

The people of Boston deserve another gutty Celtics postseason run to distract them from the pain of Marathon Monday, but without their magician at the helm, Boston comes up short in a thrilling series. New York will advance, but I would not be surprised if the C’s stretch this to six games.

Harden vs. Oklahoma City

(Battle of the Offensive Juggernauts, Part I)

By dropping the regular season finale to the Lakers, James Harden and the Houston Rockets likely sealed their postseason fate, as the eighth seed in the West earned them the dubious honor of facing reigning conference champions Oklahoma City in the opening round. For Harden, this series is an opportunity to make the Thunder regret trading him to H-Town, after OKC refused to offer the former Sixth Man of the Year a max contract. Harden has obviously proven his star caliber abilities as the featured man in Houston, but a stellar performance in this series would cement his status as an elite player.

Prediction:

Harden will get his numbers, but Houston’s inexperience against the ultra-talented Thunder results in a commanding series win for OKC. I really hope the Rockets can extend the series to at least six games, but I don’t expect them to do so.

The Wild West

(Battle of the Offensive Juggernauts, Part II)

Despite the fact that Miami is expected to repeat as NBA champions, the Western Conference is still the superior league from top to bottom. As such, the West has provided some of the most thrilling playoff series in recent years, and the Denver-Golden State matchup has all the makings for another highly competitive, highly entertaining bout. Both the Nuggets and Warriors have a knack for scoring a ton of points, and the young talent on each squad should make for some outstanding battles.

Prediction:

I fully expect this series to go to seven games, with the Nuggets’ incredible home court dominance carrying them to the second round. Denver and Golden State both suffered tough blows with the injuries to Danilo Gallinari and David Lee, respectively. Nevertheless, I still believe the offensive firepower of each team will make for an awesome series, including the deciding seventh game in the Mile High city.

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1. Los Angeles Lakers

Alright, I will say this topic has been beat over the head well after it died, but that does not change the fact that the struggling Lakers have a great deal to improve on if they hope to succeed in the second half of the season. At the beginning, everything seemed bright. They signed free agent Steve Nash and traded to acquire Dwight Howard in the off season so nothing could look more positive. Then the season began. Nash got hurt. Pau was underachieving and got hurt. Dwight Howard got a shoulder injury and started to underachieve. This was just the beginning. They fired coach Mike Brown after only a handful of games and brought in Mike D’Antoni, who is known more for his offense than anything else. All this thrown together equals a team who finds themselves relying solely on Kobe once again and being seated in third place in the Pacific Division behind the surging Clippers and the young and surprising Golden State Warriors. Not only do they have an break even division record at 5-5 but they are terrible in conference at 14-19 and absolutely terrible on the road at 9-18. They are not dead in the water just yet because there are plenty of games left and with ace point guard Steve Nash, super star Dwight Howard and future hall-of-famer Kobe Bryant, nothing is said and done. They will need to improve their record on the road because very few teams succeed in the playoffs with a sub .500 win percentage on the road as well as their perimeter defense because they do not have any lock down defenders outside of the aging Metta Worldpeace. If they improve these two areas, they have an outside chance of making the playoffs as a low 8th seed.

2. Dallas Mavericks

Even though it kills me to have to say this, the first half of the season has seen a perennial playoff team fall to the bottom half of the conference. Even thought the Southwest Division can be argued as one of the toughest in all of basketball, it is still no excuse to see the Mavs in fourth place, only above the struggling

NO Hornets (Pelicans). It was always going to be a tough season starting with 8 new players with Darren Collison and OJ Mayo headlining the free agent signings,  and their superstar Dirk Nowitzki being sidelined for most of the first half after knee surgery, but no one saw this skid coming. Mayo was a bright spot as he started out shooting over 50% from 3’s and leading the team in scoring, but with the point guard situation being in shambles with Collison and Beaubois being hurt and having to bring in the ancient Mike James and Derrick Fisher and Mayo cooling off, the team started to fall apart and big time. Of their free agent signings, Collison was hurt and under performing until right around the all-star break, OJ Mayo has been up and down, Chris Kaman is lost and Dantay Jones hasn’t played. That spelled disaster and when Dirk came back as he had a lot of ground to make up. They tripped into the all-star break with a sub par 25-29 record and  they are seated at 11th in the conference but there are a few bright spots. With Collison and Beaubois being healthy, Shawn Marion having a great season, and Dirk finally getting off the shelf, they have solid pieces to make a run at the last playoff spot.  However, they need to shore up their work on the glass and work on team defense in order to accomplish this difficult feat.

3. Philadelphia 76ers

At this point last year, the 76ers were hovering around the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference and with Doug Collins at the helm, this team had no where to go but up. This season has shown a complete 180 as they sit out of the playoffs and find themselves shaking their heads. This could be attributed to the fact that other teams in their conference have made vast improvements such as the Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, with the Bulls and Heat staying relatively steady. It could also be attributed to the fact that they traded their superstar Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets so they could acquire Andrew Bynum, who would rather go bowling then play basketball. Whatever the case, they have had to rely more on Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, who have performed, but it hasn’t been near enough. Their road record is abysmal at 6-17 and this can be linked to the fact they only shoot 35% from the field and only put up 85 points, which is about 7 less per game than their average. The 76ers will not make the playoffs at their current pace, but if they get out of their road funk and get Andrew Bynum back at some point, this might help them make a run at it.

4. Boston Celtics

Last but least, the Celtics round out the list. They started off the season red hot and looked like a shoe in to make a run at the conference finals yet again, but hey, it is the Boston Celtics. Then they hit a rough patch where they looked out of sink and they started to lose to teams they should beat. Then, just as things were starting to look up, the future of their franchise Rajon Rondo tears his ACL and is lost for the season. This was a huge blow to the team, but this is not the only aspect that is holding them from making a big run in this year’s playoffs. The biggest aspects are their road struggles and the disappearance of their superstar and future hall of famer Paul Pierce. The road struggles have been constant all season and it is highly uncharacteristic of a Doc Rivers team to be outclassed on the road. They average 7 less points and are giving up about as many to their opponents. Not only that, Paul Pierce has been non-existent at the end of games. Statistically, he is one of the best closers at the end of games, but he has shrank in the spot light this year compared to shining in it. This coupled with the loss of Rajon Rondo and his 11.1 assists per game, they are struggling to find offensive flow. They got going before the break going 7-3 in their previous 10, but going into the second half, they will have to rely more on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and with the amount of minutes each has played and with very few others stepping up, this could prove as a tumultuous season ending for the Celtics. Even if they make the playoffs, there will be several questions they have to answer in order to catapult teams like Chicago, Miami, Brooklyn and New York.

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Now two weeks before the All-Star break the Celtics stand at a record of 24-23 which is 8th in the eastern conference, and nobody expected them to be in this position at the start of the season. Things only got worse for the Celtics because starting point guard All-Star Rajon Rondo will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ACL. In addition to that, they will be missing rookie forward Jared Sullinger for the rest of the season due to a back injury. Now everybody is counting the Celtics out saying they won’t even make it into the playoffs because of those two key injuries.

After Rondo was hurt, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers stated “”You can write the obituary, but I’m not.” He is clearly saying the Celtics are still going to make a playoff run and not going to give up easily. Celtics great Paul Pierce also stated that “A lot of people have pretty much written us off, which is fine, but the only people that haven’t written us off is us.” The Celtics are really showing that they are not giving up without a fight. Ever since the injuries the Boston Celtics have gone 4-0 and are looking strong with the strong play of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Now can the Celtics keep it up and make the playoffs and prove all the critics wrong? I certainly think they could. This is going to be an interesting finish to the NBA season.

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