Why Fewer Teams Would Make the Bulls Better

With too many teams in the NBA, Bulls feats are lessened

Last night, the Bulls didn't play all that well, but they still beat the Pistons in overtime. For those of you keeping track, that's 15 in a row against our toothless rivals.

Is it fun? At first. Now it's just sad.

And in the league, there are so many teams that are so pitiful, they should be put out of their misery. Sure the Clippers just got it turned around, but they were a train wreck for the last jillion years.

We should fold six franchises. Make the league more competitive. And in doing so, you'd restore the thing that made the NBA great in the 80s - rivalries.

Celtics vs. Lakers. Pistons vs. Bulls. We loved these matchups because these teams brought out the best (and worst) in each other. Look around the league now. Do the Bulls consider the Heat their main rival? It's not much of a rivalry unless it lasts for several years.

The problem is a diluted talent pool that leaves a few top-heavy teams in the running while everyone else sits around and dreams of getting the right ping pong ball. Think the Bulls would be this good had they not gotten that #1 pick that landed Rose?

Toronto has been an embarrassment every year of their existence. Ditto for the Bobcats. The Wizards are a laughingstock. The Bucks haven't had a quality team since Lew Alcindor jetted for L.A.  Minnesota has always had one superstar and a bunch of knuckleheads around him. Golden State and Sacramento have been non-factors for most of their existence. And let's not even bring up the Hornets.

Heck, it seems Orlando's sole reason for existence is to draft great centers who want to leave for L.A.

If you shaved one team from every division and redistributed the survivors, you'd have a healthier league. As it stands, we know at least the top three or four playoff teams in each conference before the season even begins. And the playoffs never get interesting until the last couple rounds.

Sure, the Bulls are good. But they've been playing against weak competition. To become champions, it would help to face greater tests in the regular season. It's not like you can turn on greatness. At least, not over a seven-game series.

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