Chicago Bulls Maintaining Championship Relevancy
It’s been nearly 18-months since we’ve seen Derrick Rose suit up for a regular season game. The Bulls didn’t do anything to improve their rosters, but will have their star point-guard finally healthy. The return of Rose should instantly motivate the veteran role players in the likes of Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, and Kirk Hinrich. Without Rose on the team last year, that really helped mold Carlos Boozer’s confidence for the team to average over 16 points and nearly grab 10 boards an outing.
Led by head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls do something very few teams do and that’s play complete team shut down defense, collectively. Derrick Rose publicly came out last week, citing the Miami Heat as their only competition in the league, and with a pending MVP-like season (judging from his pre-season play so far), Derrick Rose will be looking to back up those words.
The team has now permanently moved rising player Jimmy Butler from being backup to Deng into the starting lineup. The Bulls showed last year they could still function as a team upsetting the higher seeded Brooklyn Nets in game 7 on the road; but lost to the Miami Heat in 5 grueling games that definitely weren’t push overs. Now with Rose back, the team is in the mindset they can beat any team in the league and Miami is their only focus, after being eliminated by the Heat in the playoffs 2 of the last 3 seasons. A well-rested Rose with an improved shot and added confidence in his step, will be something no team wants to see heading into the post season.