The Bulls are currently on an absolute tear. They're currently 34-14 on the season and are doing it with both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah missing substantial time this season. The Bulls will be raising a division championship banner at the United Center next season as they already have a 14 game lead on the 2nd place Milwaukee Bucks and that lead should continue to expand until the end of the season. I was a big fan of the Tom Thibodeau hiring during this offseason and felt we should have hired him instead of Vinny Del Negro 3 years ago but hated his rotations and in-game coaching in the first two months of the season but he's really come into his own and has done a great job this past month and should be one of the frontrunners for coach of the year along with San Antonio's Greg Popovich. Obviously this is a different team than last year but the Bulls are currently the 2nd best defensive team in the NBA in terms of points allowed per game. Last season, the Bulls were 14th in this stat. Everyone knows that defense wins games in the NBA playoffs so this will be huge when it comes time for that.
Before the season started, I felt like the Bulls were making a big mistake not giving up Joakim Noah in a deal for Carmelo Anthony. I felt that the Bulls were one superstar player like Anthony away from being serious championship contenders and Joakim Noah is a guy who is going to eventually decline in the next few years and it would be a good idea to sell high. Right now, it looks like the Bulls made the right move holding on to Joakim Noah even with the injury he suffered 2 months ago. I'm not the biggest Luol Deng fan in the world but he's been great these past two weeks and has become a very consistent player. If he continues playing like he has recently, the Bulls are a very tough team to beat.
I still feel like the Bulls are a decent shooting guard away from winning a championship. One good, cheap option out there is Courtney Lee. Lee is a guy that not only plays good defense but he can hit the open 3. I think Lee would be the perfect addition for this team. Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer receive so much attention on the offensive end so the Bulls need a 2 guard that can make an open shot and that's what Lee brings. You saw it in his rookie year in the playoffs when Lee was a force because Dwight Howard was commanding all the attention on the offensive end. Not to mention the fact that Lee is a pretty big upgrade over current starter Keith Bogans. Not only does Lee shoot much better compared to Bogans but he plays better defense in my opinion.
I could go on and on about Derrick Rose because he is the clear frontrunner for MVP in the NBA right now. I think today's All Star reserve selections back this statement up. Four Boston Celtics were selected to the All Star team tonight compared to the Bulls one. The Celtics only have 3 more wins than the Bulls. This tells me right there that Derrick Rose is literally carrying this team on his back. Not taking away from the efforts that guys like Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Ronnie Brewer have brought to this team but Rose has been that good. I actually think Rose's jumper isn't as good this year as it was last year (although clearly he's improved his 3 point shot by a lot, more talking about his mid-range game) but he's still been fantastic despite that.
One of my favorite Bulls this year has been Ronnie Brewer. I've become a big fan of his. He doesn't really put up good stats night in and night out but he does the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet like play awesome defense. And while Kyle Korver went through a slump earlier this month, he's been a huge addition as well bringing the 3 point shooting the Bulls were lacking last season. Also Kurt Thomas has been awesome as well. He's definitely gone over my expectations that I had for him in the offseason. Not only is Thomas a gritty defender but he has a pretty solid offensive game. Brad Miller was a fan favorite when he was here but I think Kurt Thomas is actually better than him because he brings a good defensive game.
Once the Bulls get Joakim Noah back, this will be a very dangerous team. Currently, I think they'll win one series in the playoffs for sure which will be huge for Derrick Rose's development getting over that first round hump. I think the Bulls could possibly win in the 2nd round too getting them to the Eastern Conference Finals. This is an exciting team and it's so breathtaking that we get to watch a talent like Derrick Rose night in and night out. The last time we had a superstar like him was 13 years ago.
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