Chicago Bulls: Are Derrick Rose and Co. Title Contenders Or Pretenders?
A simple question.
Are the Chicago Bulls legitimate contenders or are they pretenders?
They're having as good of a season as any team in the league, currently sitting at third in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, and are one of the top teams in the league. Derrick Rose is having an MVP caliber season, but is it enough to make the Bulls contend for the title?
Well, I'll do my best to be objective in finding the answers, posing various explanations for my reasons.
I encourage you to provide your input, and tell me if you agree with my conclusion or not.
But for now, let's begin...
Contender: Third Best Record in the East
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This is not an opinion, it's a FACT.
The Bulls are just a half game behind the the Miami Heat for the second best record in the Eastern Conference.
They have been a strong team all season long, and it's paying dividends for the Bulls as they have propelled themselves into the upper echelon of elite in the East. This has been a direct result of the Bulls stifling defense, strong play from their stars Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and their no quit mentality.
All season long, the Bulls have faced adversity, but have been able to overcome that and exceed everyone's expectations (Chicago fans included), quickly rising to the top of the league. There is no reason to think it won't continue as the Bulls pose of the best point guards in the league, and a legitimate MVP candidate in Derrick Rose, along with one of the best frontcourts in the league that consists of 20/10 machine Carlos Boozer, hustle-man Joakim Noah, and the always solid and steady Luol Deng.
The Bulls can simply be stated as contenders based on this reason alone: they are the second best team in the east and the third best team in the entire league.
Pretender: Play in the Worst Division in the NBA
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This is also a fact, rather than an opinion.
The combined record for the teams in the Bulls division, excluding them of course, is a pathetic 61-125 (.495), so a bit under .500, meaning none of the teams are even average.
In terms of playoff seedings, forget about it. None of them are currently in line to make the playoffs, although the Milwaukee Bucks are just a half game behind the Bobcats for the eighth seed in the East. Meanwhile the Cleveland Cavaliers hold the worst record in the NBA by far, currently at an atrocious 8-41.
SO how does all this come into play?
Well since the Bulls play in the weakest division, they've had to advantage of playing more sub par teams than other powerhouses like Miami and Boston who have great teams like the Magic and the Knicks in their division.
It all adds up to the Bulls having a perfect 11-0 division record, which at first seems impressive, but at a second glance isn't really all that great.
Contender: One of the Best Starting Five's in the League
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The Bulls starting five is no doubt one of the best in the league (when healthy, of course). By the time Joakim Noah rolls around, the Bulls should pose the following lineup:
PG - Derrick Rose
SG - Keith Bogans
SF - Luol Deng
PF - Carlos Boozer
C - Joakim Noah
The weakest link obviously is at shooting guard with the atrocious Keith Bogans, but Coach Thibodeau has remained strong on his decision of Bogans as shooting guard for the near future, even Bulls fans don't know why.
The other four make up one of the best lineups in the NBA, with the MVP-candidate Derrick Rose, who's taking the league by storm this season and has entrenched himself into the upper echelon of superstars. Then we have one of the best low post options, AKA Mr. 20/10 Carlos Boozer, who has been as good as adversited for the Bulls. Joakim Noah is the glue guy who puts it all together with his hustle and tenacity, while Luol Deng rounds out the starting five with his consistency and versatility.
Only Boston, San Antonio, perhaps Miami and LA Lakers pose a better starting lineup. And not even by that much.
Pretender: Lack Of a Legitimate Shooting Guard
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As stated in the previously slide, the one major weak spot for the Bulls is the lack of a legitimate starting shooting guard.
Keith Bogans will just not cut it come playoff time against teams like Boston and Miami.
Thibodeau will only change the lineup if he sees the Bulls struggling, so in that event, we'd like to see Ronnie Brewer or perhaps Kyle Korver take over the starting role.
Ronnie Brewer provides the tough defense, but has a limited offensive game with a less-than reliable jumper.
Kyle Korver is about as good of a shooter as you can find in the league, but his defense is nothing to praise about. And we all know how much Coach Tom Thibodeau values the other side of the court.
So the brings up the simple conclusion that if the Bulls were to have a legitimate starting shooting guard, perhaps someone like a Kevin Martin or OJ Mayo, they would no doubt be publicly proclaimed contenders. However, until that happens, it's not a foregone conclusion.
Contender: One Of the Best Defensive Teams in The League
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Let me give you some defensive stats about the Bulls to show you just how good of defensive team they are.
The Bulls are third in opponent scoring and currently give up only 91.94 points per game to their opponents. Only Boston and New Orleans give up a lower number.
The Bulls are first in opponent field-goal percantage and allow their opponents to shoot just 42 percent from the field. Again, they are No. 1
The Bulls are third in opponent three-point percentage and allow their opponents to shoot just 33 percent from the three-point line.
The Bulls are second in total rebounds per game with 44.40, only behind Minnesota which has 44.96.
The Bulls are sixth in opponents rebounds per game with 40.06. Only Orlando, New Orleans, LA Clippers, Charlotte and Boston allow lower rebounds.
The Bulls are second in blocks per game with 6.27. Only the Knicks are higher with 6.35 blocks per game.
So there you have it. Those statistics clearly show that the Bulls are an elite defensive team in the NBA, perhaps the best.
And you know what they say....Defense wins championships.
Pretender: Mediocre Team on the Road
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The one point that rival teams and fans of the Bulls will bring up in argument is their road record.
It's a very mediocre 11-10
That in no way screams elite and championship contender, and it's a legitimate point to bring up about the Bulls.
Just how good of a team can they be on the road?
Being just above .500 won't cut it in the playoffs, as you play at least two games on the road in each series.
So the Bulls need to figure out a way to improve their road record to solidify themselves as contenders, because title contenders have to be able to win at home AND on the road.
Currently the other contenders pose a much better road record than the Bulls
Miami - 17-9
Boston - 15-8
San Antonio - 16-6
LA Lakers - 15-8
Dallas - 14-7
So as you can see, the Bulls are currently much behind the other contenders in terms of a being a good road team, and until they can become elite on the road, they won't be elite enough.
Contender: Have Defeated Almost All the Elite Team in the NBA
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To be an elite team in the NBA, you have to be able to defeat the other powerhouses of the league.
The way I see it, right now there are four powerhouse teams besides the Bulls and a couple other second tier teams.
Power house
Boston - 37-11
Miami - 35-14
San Antonio - 41-8
LA Lakers - 34-16
The Next tier
Orlando - 31-19
Dallas - 33-15
Atlanta - 31-18
New Orleans - 32-19
Oklahoma City - 31-17
As of the midway point of the season, the Bulls have defeated: Boston (without Kevin Garnett), Miami (without Lebron James, and Chris Bosh (injured during game), Dallas, Oklahoma City and LA Lakers.
So to conclude, they still have to show they can defeat Boston and Miami at full strength. They have yet to play the Hawks and the Hornets. But they have defeated some impressive teams in Dallas, Oklahoma City and LA Lakers.
So the Bulls are certainly elite, but just how elite? We have yet to find out.
Pretender: Weaker Bench Than East's Elite
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The Bulls current bench (when everyone is healthy) consists of:
PG - CJ Watson
SG - Ronnie Brewer
SF - Kyle Korver/James Johson
PF - Kurt Thomas/Taj Gibson/Brian Scalabrine
C - Omer Asik
That's not really what you call a championship bench.
Sure, there is some depth there but there isn't enough talent on that bench to outplay the bench of other elite teams such as LA Lakers, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs have George Hill, Gary Neal, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner.
The Lakers have Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, Shannon Brown, Lamar Odom, Theo Ratliff.
The Celtics have Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'neal, Nate Robinson, Nate Robinson, Marquis Daniels.
The Magic have Gilbert Arenas, Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick, Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson.
The Heat have strength in numbers with Mike Miller, Eddie House, James Jones, Carlos Arroyo, Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
So as you can see, the Bulls have a decent bench but there are clear not at the top of the list.
Contender: Coach Tom Thibodeau
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This has got to be one of the most underrated reasons as to why the bulls ARE contenders. Their coach Tom Thibodeau has done everything asked of him, and more.
When the Bulls hired Thibodeau, they thought it was going to be a steady process. After all, they had just signed their major free-agents and this was basically a new team. No one thought the Bulls were going to be this good, maybe not even the Bulls organization, but Thibodeau deserves just as much credit as anyone of the team.
He has instilled strong defensive values and core details to which this team has adapted. They've grown to become what Tom Thibodeau himself is, a tough minded, hard-nosed kind of guy. He has become the identity to this team.
The Bulls are notorious for being a tough-minded, hard-nosed, grimy defensive team that simply won't give up without a fight. And they can attribute those qualities to their well deserved leader on the sidelines.
Pretender: Lack of Playoff Experience
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Unfortunately, one thing even Tom Thibodeau can't do, is give the Bulls experience.
Sure, he's been to the finals and even won a title, but until the players go through the process, it simply won't be the same.
Carlos Boozer is the only other player on this team who's had some deep playoff experience, notably his run to the Western Conference Finals with the Utah Jazz. Other than that, Luol Deng has just been to the second round. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah haven't even been out of the first round, and the rest of their cast members aren't enough impact players to give them experience.
This is where teams like Boston and Orlando have the advantage, and even Miami in a sense.
Boston, as it's well known has won a title and been to the finals two times in the past three years. Bottom line: they know what it takes to get there, and win.
Orlando, similar to Boston has been to the finals as well and have had deep post-season runs the past couple of season.
Miami hasn't gone far collectively as this is their first year together, but Lebron James has been to the finals, and also numerous Eastern Conference series. Dwyane Wade has a championship ring. That is saying something in itself.
The Bulls don't really have much playoff experience and this may hurt them come playoff time, when the games slow down and become much more pressurized, regardless of how they are doing in the regular season.
Conclusion: The Bulls Are VERY CLOSE To Being Contenders But Not Quite There Yet
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Bottom line: There's a first time for everything, and the same applies to the Bulls this season.
They have the players, the coach and the mentality to go far in the postseason, but I can't convince myself that they have what it takes to win the title THIS season.
Perhaps, next year or in a year or two, but as for right now, the Bulls are a bit outmatched.
However, I can't reiterate this enough.
NO TEAM WANTS TO PLAY THE BULLS IN THE PLAYOFFS
That's for sure. The Bulls are a tough-minded team and will give their competition whatever they can take.
The first round should be an easy advancement for the Bulls.
The second round might not be too bad if the Bulls are matched up with a team like the Magic, who they match-up well with now.
The two teams I'm not sure the Bulls can defeat at full strength are the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
But then again, we haven't seen this Bulls team at full strength, so that's a point within itself.
The Celtics have a huge front-line that the Bulls simply can't match with Kendrick Perkins, Shaquille O'neal, Jermaine O'Neal and Glen Davis. Not to the mention the fact that they have a better starting five than the Bulls in Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins.
The Miami Heat are a team that the Bulls don't match-up well with. The have the best wing players in the league with Dwyane Wade and Lebron James, two players who will pose HUGE problems for the Bulls wings. Also Carlos Boozer will have his hands full with Chris Bosh. However the Bulls do have a huge advancement at the point and center positions with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
It'll be interesting to see how the Bulls do come playoff time, but as of right now, they're "fringe" contenders, who are very close but not quite there yet.
Acquiring a legit shooting guard would go a long way in helping the Bulls over that hump.
