Are the Chicago Bulls Really Good Enough To Win the East?

The Chicago Bulls made some decent moves during the NBA's offseason, but so far their acquisitions have been over-shadowed by the player they failed to land.

The Bulls were reportedly on the short list of teams vying for the services of LeBron James, and Chicago's hopes for a NBA championship were perceived to end once James decided to join the Miami Heat.

Or did they?

Miami, Boston, and Orlando are regarded as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference crown next season, but Chicago has quietly positioned themselves as a strong contender in the East.

The Bulls plundered the Utah Jazz's roster, signing away Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, and Kyle Korver during the NBA's free agency period.

Boozer should team with center Joakim Noah to form one of the most dominant post tandems in the NBA and Korver should provide the outside scoring Chicago lost in Kirk Hinrich.

Brewer is an underrated defender; at 6'7" he has the size to guard players in the paint and the versatility to defend guards on the perimeter.

None of those players are capable of replacing what James would have meant to the franchise, but the potential to be the East's top rebounding team is a nice consolation prize.

In fact, the Bulls led the NBA in rebounding last season. Noah ranked seventh in that category with 11.0 rebounds per game, while Boozer was just ahead of him at sixth with 11.2 rebounds per game.

In the postseason Boozer and Noah ranked first and second respectively in rebounding. Although those numbers are impressive, Boozer is worth much more to the Bulls as an interior offensive force.

Boozer joins a slim group of elite power forwards in the East which includes Chris Bosh of Miami, Boston's Kevin Garnett, and Atlanta's Josh Smith.

Chicago has the potential to control games from the interior and they also have one of the conference's premier point guards in Derrick Rose.

Rose is one of the quicker, stronger point guards in the NBA. His penetration is nearly impossible to prevent due to his explosive first step off the dribble.

Rose is also an above-average defender who is capable of shifting the momentum of a game with his transition defense in the open court.

Boozer, Rose, Noah, and forward Luol Deng will be the head-liners for Chicago, but the Bulls also have a nice mixture of talent and experience to surround them.

C.J. Watson should prove to be a more than capable back-up to Rose and forward Taj Gibson has proved he can be a steady player when called upon.

Kurt Thomas may not be able to give Chicago much in terms of production, but he can serve as a mentor to the younger players and he is still able to provide spurts of strong defensive play.

On paper, Chicago's roster appears fully capable of competing with any of the East's top teams. They even have an advantage over the Heat, Celtics, and Magic in some areas.

Chicago has a better front court than the Heat, Rose should be able to hold his own against Boston's Rajon Rondo, and the Bulls may be better defensively than Orlando.

Of course each of those teams would have their own advantages over Chicago should a playoff matchup occur.

Boston boasts more playoff experience, Orlando has the NBA's most dominant post player in Dwight Howard, and it's hard to match Miami's star trio of Wade, James, and Bosh.

But Chicago does have the roster to compete with those teams and it would be foolish to dismiss them from the conversation of Eastern Conference contenders.

I'm not convinced that Chicago will have what it takes to beat those teams in the postseason, but the Bulls' roster suggests they should be more than capable of holding their own.