The Chicago Bulls' Real MVP This Season

Derrick Rose is a local hero and the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player.  But the real MVP of the Bulls’ 2011-12 season is incredible depth at every spot on the roster.

Chicago is currently 1^st in the Eastern Conference standings; en route to a repeat as the likely No. 1 playoff seed in the East.  Rose and fellow Bulls star Luol Deng have both been outstanding when healthy.  But they have been in and out of the lineup with injuries this season and the team has shouldered on without them. 

It has been Chicago’s depth at each position that has allowed coach Tom Thibodeau to plug holes in the roster and keep the Bulls performing at an elite level all season.

Rose is the face of the franchise and the star at point guard.  But C.J. Watson is a capable backup, averaging over 10 points per game and shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point range over the season.  John Lucas III may be third string on the depth chart, but he has also posted several very impressive games, including more than one double-digit outing in a way.  So, although neither of them can replace Rose, Watson and Lucas have kept the team running smoothly during his sporadic absences.

At shooting guard, longtime Detroit Pistons stay Rip Hamilton was supposed to be the star.  He is a guard who can stroke the three and create his own shot.  But Hamilton has missed almost the whole season, which has put the spotlight on his backup Ronnie Brewer.  Brewer is young, a former starter for the Utah Jazz, and a defensive standout, so Hamilton has not been missed in most games.

Luol Deng, the Bulls’ defensive captain and offensive glue guy at small forward, has also struggled with injuries.  But Kyle Korver, a very different player from Deng but nonetheless an effective one, has taken many of the minutes in his absence.  Korver is an ace from three-point range, so he helps the team’s offensive spacing.  All-in-all, Chicago’s two biggest stars, Rose and Deng, and their big off-season acquisition, Hamilton, have both missed significant time, however, the team has barely missed a beat.

The obvious answer: depth is the key to the Bulls’ success.  It’s also a conclusion borne out by statistics: Chicago’s starters are solid, but it is the Bulls’ bench that routinely outscores opponents and helps Chicago pull ahead.  Korver and Brewer were starters on other teams, and Taj Gibson and C.J. Watson are both capable of starting on a decent team.  Omer Asik is one of the games’ best pure defensive big men.  So, it’s hardly surprising that a bench like that routinely keeps Chicago ahead in tight games.

Indeed, it’s more than just an asset: the Bulls’ depth is the real MVP of their injury-riddled-but -extremely successful season.