Derrick Rose and Chicago Bulls Earn High Grades Heading into NBA All-Star Break

After defeating the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls head into the All-Star break at 27-8. Their 27 wins is tied for the top mark in the NBA as of Wednesday night, and their record is good enough for second in the Eastern Conference and third overall in the NBA. 

However, what has been the most impressive part about the Bulls is their consistency despite the odds. So far this season, Derrick Rose has missed 10 games, Luol Deng has missed seven games, Richard Hamilton has missed 24 games, C.J. Watson has missed 12 games, Taj Gibson has missed three games and Joakim Noah has missed one game.

In fact, the only Bulls to have played in every game this season are the oft-injured Carlos Boozer, and Bench Mob members Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Omer Asik. Also, after having their starting lineup for the first four games, the Bulls have only played three games with their entire starting lineup!

However, despite their huge injury woes, the Bulls have continued to roll. Without Rose on the court, the Bulls managed to go 7-3, even if they were not able to beat the decent teams they played. With Rose on the floor, you have to assume that the Bulls would have been able to beat the three teams they lost to: the Boston Celtics in Boston, the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis and the New Jersey Nets in Chicago for sure.

What we also have to remember is that the Bulls went 4-3 without Deng, including two heartbreaking losses against the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat to go along with a Philadelphia 76ers blowout. 

So putting those games in context, the Bulls would have beaten the Celtics in Boston, the Nets in Chicago and probably pulled out a win against one of the Pacers or Heat. So what we are looking at is a team that legitimately could be 30-5 right now if they had stayed healthy.

If the Bulls had that record, they would be tops in the league by quite a bit. If the Bulls had that record, Rose would likely be on track for another MVP award. If the Bulls had that record, Tom Thibodeau would likely get another Coach of the Year award. 

So while the Bulls' season has appeared to be impressive up to this point, it has actually been substantially more impressive than it's even seemed. Taking all these factors into account, you have to give the Bulls team as a whole a solid A.