When Chicago Bulls are Healthy, They’re Among NBA’s Elite
By Chris Peterson
@thepackersguru
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
There is no question that the 82-game NBA regular season is a grind. But it’s a grind that has affected the Chicago Bulls more than others.
So far this season, Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and Mike Dunleavy Jr., have all missed games at one time or another due to injury. Yet, as the All-Star break approaches, the Bulls are getting healthy, just in time for the season’s stretch run.
Noah returned last night in the Bulls’ win over the Dallas Mavericks and even though he scored only six points he impacted the game by pulling down seven rebounds and blocking two shots. His presence provided a lift. The 2014 Defensive Player of the Year is a difference-maker, on both ends of the floor. And Chicago missed his leadership and intensity as much as his play on the floor.
However, Noah is not the only Bulls player getting healthy. Rose is inching toward finally being 100 percent again. Gibson looks to be back to his old self and soon Dunleavy Jr., who practiced this week, will be returning to the lineup.
Those are all good signs for a Chicago team that is still right in the thick of the Eastern Conference race. The Bulls may not be able to catch the Atlanta Hawks, who lead them by 7.5 games for the top spot, but at 29-16, Chicago is tied with the Washington Wizards for third and trail the Toronto Raptors for second by just a single game. The Bulls also need to hold off a hard-charging Cleveland Cavaliers team that has suddenly won five-straight games and trails Chicago by 4.5 games for first place in the Central division.
Yes, the Bulls were struggling but wins over the San Antonio Spurs and the Mavericks on back-to-back nights, something only Chicago and Detroit have done since 1997 according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, proved they are still an elite team.
Chicago is getting healthy and once they have all their pieces firmly back in place, the Bulls will once again be as good as any team in the NBA.
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