How Far Can Chicago Go?

     Without Derrick Rose, the Bulls season was supposed to be in shambles. Experts were predicting them to miss the playoffs and fans were hoping the they would mail in the season to get a high draft pick. Well Tom Thibodeau isn't one to mail in anything and he has the Bulls at 11-8 this year. A quarter through this season and Chicago is fourth in the East. There's no date yet for when Rose will return. So, with or without their star, how far can these Bulls go?

     We know that all roads go through Miami in the East, but who comes next? The Knicks are for real and look to have the inside track on the number two seed. But after that it's wide open. Boston seems to always figure things out, but they're old and inconsistent on defense. Brooklyn has the players, but they're inconsistent as well. The Sixers and Pacers have too many questions, and the Hawks may be a product of a soft early schedule. So all that being said, here's the case for the Bulls. 

     The Bulls lost a lot of things in Rose, but never once did they lose effort or defense intensity. They remain a top-five team defensively and never take a night off. The key for the Bulls has been shutting down the 3. Against the Knicks yesterday, the NBA's best 3-point shooting team, the Bulls won by holding the Knicks to a low percentage beyond the arc. But even more importantly, they they held the Knicks to only 23 attempts. New York is at their best when shooting 35 plus 3's, so the credit goes to the good perimeter D of Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler for not surrendering open looks. 

     The scoring was bound to suffer without Rose, and then even more so when second-leading scorer Rip Hamilton went out indefinitely last week. But the Bulls are getting the points at the line. Chicago ranks second in the NBA in free-throw percentage. They do not have the most talented scorers, but they are getting the easy points. For example, they were a perfect 18-18 against the Knicks last night. 

     The Bulls can get a top-four seed in the East. Deng continues to play well year after year and could be an All-Star for the second straight year. Joakim Noah plays his heart out every game and is the emotional force for Chicago. Despite a void at point guard, Butler and Taj Gibson represent young Bulls players who are willing to buy-in completely to Thibodeau's defensive philosophy. With a top-three coach and a huge, supportive fan base, the Bulls will make noise in April and will be downright scary if Rose is back in time to give them that emotional lift. Right now, the Bulls look like they can win a playoff series and give a team like Miami or New York a competitive series in the second-round.