Last night the Bulls pulled off a big win in San Antonio giving them a season sweep of San Antonio and their third consecutive victory, all of which have come on the road against western conference opponents. You might be wondering why this is significant. Aside from their 4-15 road record prior to this streak, in the post-Michael Jordan era the Bulls have gone multiple seasons without getting a single road win against a western conference team, so three in one season is a big deal, let alone three in a row. And the three wins didn’ come against bad teams. Along with San Antonio, they won in Phoenix and in Houston. Not only are those 3 playoff teams, but those are 3 of the toughest venues for road teams to play in the entire league. Does it mean anything for the Bulls? Well, I’d like to think it shows that they are maturing and finally capable of beating good teams, not just the bottom feeders they’ve been living off of for the last decade.
But that could just be wishful thinking. This could be nothing more than the Bulls being on a hot streak and catching these other teams at the right time. Prior to this current win streak they lost consecutive games against the Clippers and Warriors. Both teams with worse records, and the warriors only has 6 NBA players on their roster because of injuries and the flu and were forced to bring up 2 players from the developmental league just to fill out a roster in case someone else got hurt. That one was a little embarrassing. That’s why this is one of the most frustrating Bulls teams I can remember.
As good as this team has show flashes of being, they have shown flashes that they can be equally as bad. In addition to the teams they beat on this 3 game winning streak they have also defeated Boston and Cleveland on the road, and Atlanta and Orlando at home. Those are the top 4 seeds in the Eastern Conference. However, they’ve also lost by 35 to Atlanta, lost at home to the Nets, who are 3-40 and well on their way to the worst record in NBA history, and blew a 35 point second half lead to Sacramento at home. The one thing you can say about this team is you never know what to expect out of them on any given night. You could see them play great or be historically bad.
In there defense, most of the bad was earlier in the season and they have been playing exceptionally well as of late. After an embarrassing loss at the Knicks on December 22nd the Bulls record was a season worst 10-17. Since then they have gone 11-5, with 5 of the 11 wins on the road, to pull their overall record to 21-22. This is a pretty big turn around for a team playing as badly as they were with a coach on the verge of being fired. I don’t know why it took nearly getting fired for Bulls coach Vinny “the hair” Del Negro to realize that Derrick Rose is his best player and you just need to put the ball in his hands and let him go. After it became public knowledge that his job was on the line Vinny must have decided he had nothing to lose and finally turned the team over to Rose, and the results couldn’t have been better.
I don’t know if he will make the all star team this year, but if Derrick Rose keeps playing the way he has been there will be a dozen all star appearances to come in his career. He got off to a very slow start this year, averaging just under 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists after the end of November, but he has gotten better, a lot better, as the season has gone on. In December he averaged 20.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists, and in January those numbers have shot up to 23.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. I don’t think its a fluke that the Bulls have gotten better as Rose has gotten better.
But Derrick has had some help. Joakim Noah is second in the league in rebounding and is turning into an all star caliber center, and while he isn’t a great offensive threat, you can no longer ignore him when he has the ball. Luol Deng is have a solid season. He may never be an all star but he is a damn good player that is capable of big games and is considered one of the best mid-range shooters in the league. Kirk Hinrich has been steady and solid as usually, and rookie Taj Gibson has shown signs he can be a key contributor in the post opposite Noah. He’s had a few double-doubles this year, has been a solid rebounder and post defender, and has a nice mid-range shot. He’s turned out to be a steal as a late first round pick.
The Bulls have some players to work with already on the roster and with the huge amount of salary cap space that will be available after this season, they will be looking to make a splash in free agency. As a team, they have been getting better as the season has gone on and will more than likely be a playoff team this year with a very young nucleus. With a potential big free agent addition in the offseason, it looks like the Bulls arrow is pointing up and will be for a long time.
This all sounds great and I am excited to see the Bulls winning a little bit, but I am tired of hearing how young this team is and how they are starting to show signs of maturity.
It is time to start winning games.
Want to know who is a young team and winning games? The Blackhawks. I think their team captain is younger than all of us and they are doing pretty darn well for themselves.
I’m with Adam on this one. Ever since Kraus broke up the championship team the management has not been able to build a contender, just a couple of pretenders. The Bulls bore me! Since that breakup I’ve seen 3 young teams get broken up because they were just pretenders. They seem to start the rebuilding process every 3 years. I do like Rose and Noah has turned into a beast which I didn’t expect. But they are still far from a championship contender. They’ll make the playoffs again this year and maybe even win a series but that’s it, one and done. Until management gets serious and shows they really want to put a winner on the court the Bulls will continue to be 2nd class NBA citizens and a bore to watch. I just can’t get excited about this franchise anymore.
I want a superstar. Bring me Wade!
you clearly didn’t read the part about the cap space after this season. Management knows they can’t win a title or even a conference title with the group that they have. But they have a guy in Rose that can take over late in a game. Pairing him with someone like Wade may over shadow him and that’s not why you picked him No 1 overall. Look for them to go after Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudamire in the offseason (or possibly through a trade) to pair with Noah. With Noah on the glass and on defense the only thing the new guy will have to do is score and block the occasional shot. Then they will use the left over cap money to get a tall, athletic 2 guard who’s main responsibilities will be as a perimeter defender and spot up shooter, that type of player won’t command a lot of money and could possibly be drafted. That will allow Rose to drive and dish to a shooter and have the option to run a high-low pick and roll game (think Stockton and Malone or Nash and Stoudamire only more athletic). While the idea of Wade is nice, that would make for too many stars in the backcourt and very little balance on offense.,
Well, Ryan I name you GM of the Bulls. I like your ideas! I wish the Bulls management would take to that kind of thinking. A great #1, solid #2 and fill in the blanks with solid role guys like Noah around them. Then you’d have something happening at the “Mad House On Madison”, like in the Jordan era. They just seem to be content however with trying to find one star and filling in around him. And they haven’t found that star yet, although they may have one in Rose,(Can you say Isaiah Thomas?) That won’t make it happen in the NBA. In the NBA you need a great #1, solid #2 and then a whole lot of GOOD role guys. Until the management changes their thinking they’ll continue to be a just a tease!
OK, Dave, I accept your job offer. But don’t think that the Bulls current management doesn’t already think what I am thinking. Hell, where do you think I got the idea. The free agent class this coming offseason may be the best ever and the Bulls’ management knows damn well that they have to get involved. I don’t believe they are thinking great #1 and solid #2, I believe they want #1 and #1A. Believe me when I say they will go for one of the big time free agents this summer. Like I said early, I believe they will try to make that guy a post player. The dream of Dwayne Wade is a nice one. A Chicago guy coming back home to help his local team win. Sounds like a story book ending, but if you think about it logically it makes no sense. The Bulls would have a great point guard (and Rose will be great if he’s not already) and a great 2 guard but huge voids on the post, and that doesn’t work. That’s not how you win championships in today’s NBA. Think about it. The Celtics have Pierce and Garnett, Shaq and Kobe with the Lakers won 3 in a row, Shaq and Wade won one, Kobe and Gasol last year. You need to pair Rose with a dominant post player. Imagine a lineup with Rose at the point, a front line of Stoudamire or Bosh getting 24 points and 10 boards along with Noah getting 10 and 12 and playing great defense, and role players at the 2 and 3 positions that can shoot from distance and defend the perimeter. Factor in a bench of Taj Gibson who can contribute at the 3, 4, and 5 along with a veteran guard (they just got one in Devin Brown from New Orleans for the useless Aaron Gray). That is how you win titles in this league and I guarantee you they will either look to sign or try to trade for that post player and keep Rose, Noah, Deng, and either Taj Gibson or James Johnson. If, or should I say when, that happens their only worry becomes finding that role playing 2 guard to play next to Rose, and believe me, with the extra cap money the Bulls will have, that guy will be available.
I hope your right Ryan. I would love to get excited about the Bulls again. Their track record though since the championship team breakup tells me its only pipe dreaming. Until I see it on the court winning games I can’t believe in the current management of this franchise.
Slow down with all this Bulls hype. They don’t even almost have a team that can compete with the big boys of the league. Sure, they can beat up some mediocre teams, but when it comes to the bostons, Lakers, Cavs, Mavs, Hawks, Spurs, even Nuggets of the world, they are trash.
don’t tell me you are a Piston’s fan too. And as for not being able to compete against the big boys, they’ve beat Boston (on the road), Atlanta, the Spurs (twice), the Hornets (twice), the Cavs (on the road), the Magic, the Suns (on the road), the Rockets (on the road). I don’t know what you call that, but its certainly not trash.