Chicago Bulls' Bullvolution: How They Became a Championship Contender

The Chicago Bulls are currently tied with the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and have established that they are a real threat to contend for the NBA title this year. In fact Hollinger's Playoff Odds have the Bulls as 24.3 percent favorites to win it all, a full eight percent better than the next biggest favorite, the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The Bulls were not supposed to be here this year. A team freshly formulated with so many key contributors 25 and under and a rookie head coach wasn't seen as a team that could mature this quickly and elevate themselves into the top of the East.

So what happened? How did they become so good so fast?

When you look at the Bulls you can see things beginning to develop from the early stages to now and trace the growth of the team into the contender they have become. They have learned things in months that it takes other teams seasons to learn. Viewing the team you can see why they have been able to grow, and how they have done it. 

PUTTING THE TEAM TOGETHER

It started out in the preseason. Perhaps some people that aren't getting enough credit here are the people in the front office—namely GM, Gar Forman, and owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, who put the team together. They used the right criteria in assembling the team and that's made a big difference. 

They didn't put together the individual pieces, but they put together components of a whole. They started with a coach who not only knew the Xs and Os but had a reputation of being a coach who worked well with players but without being intimidated by them. He'd even mollified some of the more problematic players such as Latrell Sprewell.

Then they added players who weren't afraid to be coached and took a lot of input from their new coach in terms of what players they wanted to include on the team. What they ended up with was a team that not only fit well together and fit into the system, but also played well together, both on and off the court.

The significance of this is that players who didn't have a reputation such as Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and even Derrick Rose, were willing to receive the coaching of the Tom Thibodeau, the defensive guru. No one can coach a player who isn't willing to be coached. When the two best players are willing to receive it the rest of the team is too, particularly when the team is close. 

In fact, one of the big undercurrents of this team's success is that this is a team that really likes each other. They eat dinner together as a team because they want to. They call each other and text each other. They aren't just teammates, they are honestly friends. 

Such details can be often overlooked when a team comes together because it factors into how well a team handles adversity. If a team has internal conflicts, when adversity comes it splits apart. If a team has internal cohesion, when adversity comes it makes the team better.

The way this team was constructed is a big part of the reason for the success of the team, and that can't be understated. It didn't guarantee success, but it guaranteed the possibility of it. 

LEARNING TO PLAY TOGETHER AND LEARNING TO CLOSE

Being assembled is one thing. Actually playing is another. It didn't help the Bulls that they opened the season against one of the league's better teams on the road. They played Oklahoma City tough on the road on ESPN and as the game came down to the end, the Thunder started to pull away. The commentators mentioned, "they (the Bulls) need to learn to close before they can become a contender." 

In their next game, their home opener, they were down by 21 to the Detroit Pistons when they stormed back and then pulled away, eventually winning the game by 10.

The first part of the season was much like that. The Bulls would have huge lapses where they were completely sloppy and outplayed, then there would glimpses of how brilliant they could be. They started off 2-2, then lost another close game in Boston when Derrick Rose, with the game tied, was going to the rim and was called for a charge in the closing seconds. The game went into overtime and the Bulls eventually lost, but they started to show signs of a team that could close. 

Then the Bulls had a four game home stand, winning all four games, and three of them by seven points or less. Two of them came down to the last possession. 

Then they had a four game road trip where they went 4-3. There were four more close games, and the Bulls won three of them. The only close game they lost was due to the fact that Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer were both unavailable for the game. The other two games were to two of the better NBA teams, the Lakers and Spurs. 

After the road trip there was a sense of optimism. The team was learning to play together and play well in the clutch. They'd done all of this without Carlos Boozer, their key offseason acquisition. Their first home game back, Carlos Boozer would join the lineup and real optimism was starting to brew in Chicago.

LEARNING TO PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE

The Bulls were obliterated by the Magic in their first game back. There's no kind way of putting it. Carlos Boozer was clearly not all the way back, and out of sync with the team. The defense was horrific. The Bulls followed that up by a trip to Boston where they were once again dismantled.

After that they pulled out a tough win against the Rockets at home, giving up 116 points in the process. 

Two questions came up in regards to the Bulls. First, whether the defense was really going to be a "Thibordeau" defense. While it was better than average, it wasn't nearly elite. As a result the Bulls looked nothing close to an elite team.

The Bulls also were having trouble beating the best teams in the NBA. They'd fallen to the Lakers, the Spurs, the Thunder, the Magic and the Celtics twice. Their average margin of victory was under one point. While the Bulls looked to be a winning team, they had to learn some things. They had to learn to come together defensively and they had to learn to beat the better teams in the NBA.  

Their next two games were an opportunity to improve themselves as the Thunder and the Lakers were on their way into town. Playing outstanding defense, the Bulls won both of those games and started to show signs of a turnaround in both of those areas. 

Prior to the Thunder game the Bulls were 10-8, outscored their opponents by .95 points per game, and yielded 99.7 points per game. For the rest of the month they outscored their opponents by an average of 13 points, went 11-2, and held their opponents to 85.5 points. 

The team had beaten the Lakers and Thunder at home, but then they lost to the Knicks on the road. They also had been amassing their impressive record and stats by beating up mostly on little teams. They were even against teams with winning records, not bad, but not great either. They looked like a team on the rise, but still a step away from the elite. 

DERRICK ROSE LEARNS TO GET TO THE LINE

In the Bulls loss to the Knicks Derrick Rose felt there were several times where he didn't get foul calls he should have gotten. Two weeks earlier he'd been whistled for his first technical ever—in high school, college or the pros. 

Frustrated with his lack of calls, Rose started spending time at home watching the tape, studying other players who were successful at drawing fouls, and trying to figure out what he was doing wrong and why he wasn't getting the calls. He realized he was hitting the lane too quickly and that if hesitated and leaned in, he'd be able to draw more fouls. 

Prior to that Rose was only getting 5.5 free throw attempts per game. Since then he's gotten there 7.7 times. He's also increased his free throw percentage by ten percent. The team's offensive rating has increased by four points per 100 possessions and the Bulls' record reflects that. Prior to his foul epiphany the Bulls were 21-9. Since then they are 29-10.  

It also translated into beating the elite teams. Between the start of the New Year and the All-Star break, the Bulls beat Boston, the Magic, the Mavericks, the Jazz (before the retirement of Sloan and the trade of Williams), the Hornets and the Spurs. In that span there was only one loss against a team with a winning record.

The Bulls were playing elite level defense, they were beating good teams, and they were doing all of this without Joakim Noah. Their last game before the break was on national TV in a Thursday night TNT game against the Spurs. In that game Rose hit a career high 42 points and the Bulls dismantled the team with the best record in the NBA. 

People started to raise the possibility that the Bulls were the team this year. There were still a couple of questions though. First was the question of whether the Bulls could win on the road, as they were only one game over .500 on the road on the season. Second, did they really have enough offense?

POST ALL-STAR BREAK: THE TEAM STARTS TO PEAK

The Bulls' first game back was the first game that Noah came back as well. Playing in Toronto it seemed like a good game to work Joakim back into the lineup. Not quite. The Bulls struggled against the Raptors and eventually lost. More questions were raised about the Bulls' ability to play on the road. 

After a home game the Bulls set out on a five game road trip. They won four of those, including wins in Orlando and Miami. Since then the Bulls have won two of three on the road, and overall have won 11 of their last 15. On the season they still own the worst road record among the top four teams in both conferences, though they've narrowed the gap considerably. 

On the road Orlando is half a game better, the Thunder is 1 1/2 games better and Boston two games better. Still, the Bulls are showing considerable signs of growth going from a team that struggled against marginal teams on the road, to a team that has shown they can beat potential Eastern Conference opponents on the road in the playoffs.

Since the break the bench has also started to get some attention as being one of the better benches in the league, but not for the typical reason that benches get attention. The Bulls bench has become the be best defensive unit in the NBA. Mind you, not the best bench defensive unit, but the best defensive unit period. As a result while they aren't scoring a lot, they are outscoring their opponents, 30-22 since the break. 

Offensively, the Bulls have also started to play considerably better though that may not be readily apparent looking at the raw scores. A cursory glance would leave you to believe that the improvement for the bulls has come on the defensive end. The average score in their games has gone from 98.4-92.4 to 98.0-87.0.  That suggests the difference is the defense is playing together better.

However, the fact is that the pace has also slowed considerably. On the season the Bulls pace is 90.5 per game, but since the break it's been only 87.4. When you look at the offensive rating for the Bulls since the break, they're scoring at a rate of 112.1 per 100 possessions, while their defense is still holding their opponents to 99.5 points per 100 possessions.  

The Bulls improvement in offense is in part due to a continued improvement from their shooting guards and Luol Deng from behind the arc. Prior to the break the Bulls were only hitting on 5.4 threes per game. Since then the Bulls have been hitting on 7.4. In the month of March they are averaging 8.1.

The reason for the improvement seems to be that the team is beginning to feel comfortable with the set offenses. The way it is supposed to work is as a combination of the drive and kick offense run in Phoenix and the flex offense which was run by Jerry Slaon in Utah. It emphasizes Derrick Rose penetrating to collapse defenses and then either shooting or kicking out. That's the drive and kick part of it. 

The flex part of it emphasizes ball movement and using passing to set up shots either in the paint or from behind the arc. The Bulls have been averaging two more assists per game by players not named Rose since the All-Star break, indicating that the "flex" part of the equation is working better.  

The genius behind the offense is that when the two things are working together and the perimeter shooters are hitting their shots it's a virtually unguardable offense. If teams go into a zone to prevent the three then Boozer and Noah will destroy you in the paint. If you spread out, Rose will split your defense. If you clog the lane, the three point shooters will light you up.

The Bulls' boost in offensive rating has come as teams have keyed on stopping Rose, whose assists and scoring are actually slightly down since the break, but as a result the rest of the team is starting to catch fire.

STILL TIME TO GROW SOME MORE 

This bodes well for the Bulls postseason prospects as the slower pace is indicative of how playoff basketball is played, with teams playing out of half-court sets. Chicago's recent dominance has been in playoff style basketball.  

The growth of the team has been evident through the season. They still have a couple of things they need to work on. Mainly right now the problem is taking their foot off the gas. They still have occasional lapse where they let things either get out of hand (such as the Pacers game) or they let teams get back into games they should have won (like the Hawks game). 

They also could improve in the chemistry between Noah and Boozer, who haven't had much chance to play together. It hasn't helped that Boozer had to miss five more games due to an ankle sprain. Chicago has only played 24 games with both players in the lineup. The last 14 games give them a chance to play together, and in game shape for the first time.

Still, since the break the Bulls far and away lead the league in efficiency differential at 24.4. By comparison Dallas is second with 19.9. They are playing outstanding at both ends of the court. That there is still room for more growth seems unfathomable but the Bulls have exceeding expectations all season long, even when those expectations adjust. 

With more time to grow, can the Bulls grow into a championship team this year? It depends on if they take the learning  process into the playoffs. This is a team that has learned in one season what it normally takes teams two or three to learn. If they can do the same in the playoffs, taking each series as a learning opportunity they may convert that first seed into an NBA championship.