NBA Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls Prove They Are Contenders With Or Without Derrick Rose

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By @DSchultz89

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The Chicago Bulls are a championship contender with or without Derrick Rose, and they proved this once again with an impressive 105-89 throttling of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Bulls were without Rose as well as big man Pau Gasol, and the Clippers seized the momentum early on and lead as the Bulls struggled to adjust to losing two starters. However, the Clippers’ ball movement eventually became stagnant, while the Bulls continued to set picks and zip the ball around the floor. Six players for the Bulls scored in double-figures, led by Jimmy Butler‘s 22 points to go along with eight assists and six rebounds.

Both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul struggled to get going against a rugged Chicago defense, which limited the pair to only 26 shot attempts for the game. The Clippers relied too much on Jamal Crawford’s ability to score on isolation plays, and failed to match the Bulls’ energy on the offensive side of the floor as Chicago tallied up 28 assists on the night compared to 20 for the Clippers.

The Bulls have always been known as a “defense first” team and rightfully so, but they demonstrated on Monday that they have vastly improved on offense. Both their ball movement and depth off the bench have improved tremendously.

While much on the spotlight remains on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bulls are already showing why they should be considered the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference. This was already an outstanding defensive team, but now they are showing early signs that they have the capability to round into a formidable offensive one as well.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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