Chicago Bulls: 3 Questions for the Second Half of the Season

With half of this condensed, accelerated season in the books, the Chicago Bulls are currently 27-8 and seeded second in the Eastern Conference—one-half game behind the Miami Heat.

While there is no questioning the collection of talent on this squad, it is a bit of a surprise that Chicago has maintained pace with other elite NBA teams considering the hurdles they’ve had to overcome.

Despite what could be labeled as beating the odds so far this season, there are still some remaining issues that this team has to stare down for the upcoming second half.

For the first time in over a decade, the Bulls are serious contenders for an NBA championship with fans believing it can happen now and the media thinking it is still a few seasons away.

It probably goes without question what the players and the staff of the organization think; however, if Chicago wants to make their championship run this season, there are some questions that need answering.

1. Can This Team Reach Optimum Health?

No matter how you slice it, team health is the biggest hindrance to Chicago’s ultimate quest.

When you look at how many games some of their core players have missed, it’s almost inconceivable that they are still in such high standing:

Derrick Rose: 10 games

Luol Deng: seven games

Richard Hamilton: 24 games

And those are just the starters.

The concern for Chicago coming into this season was the health of their frontcourt, more specifically Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.

Well, despite the rapid succession of games played, Boozer has started all 35 contests and Noah has only missed one game.

Hamilton was stop and go earlier this season. His longest stretch of consecutive games played was five, and that was back in late January.

His current inactive streak sits at 12 games, but in Chicago’s defense, they have said they are being extra cautious this time around.

Rose and Deng have rebounded well from their injuries; Hamilton seems to be the x-factor going into the home stretch.

If the medical staff in Chicago can get him going, the Bulls will have a reliable offensive option that can mean the difference in close games with the likes of the Heat and other conference rivals.

It’s been going well so far for the Bulls, yes, it’s hard to say if they can keep this up in the postseason.

Teams tend to turn it up a notch or two in the playoffs.

Chicago can and will do the same, but you can’t help but wonder if it will be enough if they are shorthanded playing against a fully staffed opponent.

2. How Will They Rebound Against Their Biggest Conference Rivals?

The Bulls have the Pacers and Heat in their sights since losing their first matchups to both teams back in January.

The games were close, decided by five and four points respectively, and the losses came when Chicago was playing without Deng.

Not one to use anything like that as an excuse, Rose went on record saying that the loss to Heat actually showed how good they really are.

The game went down to the last minute, and there were multiple opportunities for the undermanned Bulls to pull out the win.

There are three more games to be played against Miami, and the next two (March 14 and April 12) are in the United Center; Rose and company will definitely be looking to hold serve on those nights.

As for the Pacers, they handed Chicago their first home loss of the season and managed to upset the usually even-keel Rose in the process.

ESPNChicago.com reported that during the postgame conference Rose was quoted saying:

"I'll never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game," Rose told reporters. "I can't wait to play them again."

Rose is usually not the one to show that kind of frustration, so it will be very interesting to see how he responds when the teams meet again in Chicago on March 5.

Even though regular-season games are merely tune-ups for the perpetually playoff bound, they still hold some significance as it relates to player motivation.

A lot will be read into Chicago’s upcoming rematches with Miami and Indiana, and they will have to show that they can bounce back against their toughest opponents.

3. Can Thibodeau Effectively Manage His Injured/Recovering Players’ Minutes?

Rose has battled with turf toe and back spasms over the course of this season.

The injuries have not seemed to slow him down since sitting out five games this month; in fact, Chicago’s last game against Milwaukee showed a few flashes of the old explosive Rose Bulls fans have grown accustomed to seeing.

Deng’s injured left wrist will remain injured until it is operated on. It seems like he will push through the season for now and elect to worry about surgery later.

These two players are on the court a lot with both stars playing around 37 or 38 minutes per game.

Deng usually plays more because he is the guy Thibodeau leaves on the floor when the second unit is in.

While these two guys don’t appear to have lost much of a step, the nature of their injuries is the type that can come back and bother them at any time.

Thibodeau is aware of this and knows he has to play it very carefully if he wants to keep Chicago near the top without pointlessly risking further damage to either player.

Chicago has played very well in each star's absence, and if they keep the current pace, they would probably finish no worse than second in the Conference.

The lingering issue, however, is how fresh will Rose and Deng be for the playoffs?

That completely rests on the strategizing of Chicago’s guru-in-the-making, Coach Thibodeau.

He has not backed down much since both players came back. Rose played 35 and 30 minutes in the two games leading into the All-Star break, and Deng has averaged 38 minutes since returning from his time away (going over 40 minutes five out of the last 10 games).

Time will only tell if Thibs can take his foot off of the gas a little bit and allow his team to ease into the postseason.

All in All

The Chicago Bulls aren’t the only team with unanswered questions at the break of the season, but Bulls fans probably aren’t too concerned with what the other teams’ issues may be.

Chicago is in a position they haven’t been in for quite some time, and the biggest threat to it all is themselves.

They will continue to go out and play their best every night. Some games will have great results, and other games will have not so great results.

The points presented here are not the only things the Bulls may be concerning themselves with.

There’s still the issue of getting more consistent support from the role players.

There’s the ongoing issue of landing a third center and whether or not to make some blockbuster deal that would put them in better contention.

Despite presence of those matters, and a host of others outsiders are not privy to, it seems like if they can just get healthy and keep it together, everything else will be inconsequential.

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