Bulls First Half Summary

Being that the Bulls are nearly halfway through their regular season, I thought that it would be best to start with a short summary of what has happened thus far. 

It seems the Bulls have not skipped a beat from their strong season last year. With a current record of 19-6, it is clear that they have everything it takes to win it all. Their .760 Win Percentage is good enough for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and second in the NBA, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite being plagued by injuries, the Bulls have established themselves as a strong contender to take home the NBA Championship. 

Although they have been on a recent skid, losing 3 of their last 6 games, they have remained competitive in almost all of their losses this season.

 Luol Deng, starting SF and second leading scorer, has missed 7 games 

this season with a torn wrist ligament. Without Deng, the Bulls are 4-3.

Even without the teams second leading scorer, Luol Deng, the Bulls came within 5 points of the Indiana Pacers. At 15-6, the Pacers currently have the 5th best record in the NBA.

Also missing Deng, the Bulls came within 4 points of beating the Miami Heat (last year's Eastern Conference Champions) in Miami. Derrick Rose led Chicago to within one point with 49 seconds left before missing two free-throws that could have given the Bulls the lead. Many, including me, are confident that the Bulls can change the outcome of this game when and if they play the Heat at full-strength.


Their most recent loss came in Philadelphia, when the 76ers beat the Bulls 98-82. The Bulls were missing both Deng and starting SG, Rip Hamilton. 


Last game, the Bulls played the New York Knicks, an under-performing team who many expected to be among the best in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, again without starters Deng and Hamilton, were able to leave Madison Square Garden with a victory, 105-102. They did this even with famous gremlin, Spike Lee, tormenting them from the front row.

 

Multiple photos of Spike Lee heckling the Bulls from his front row seat.

 
Though almost every member of the Bulls starting lineup has suffered injuries, they remain atop the Easter Conference. The Bulls bench (from here on out referred to as the "Bench Mob") arguably the deepest in the league, is the main reasons for Chicago's success. Players like CJ Watson (10 PPG, 3.6 APG), Ronnie Brewer (7.7. PPG, 1.08 SPG), Kyle Korver (7.2 PPG, 2.2 APG) and Taj Gibson (6.8 PPG, 1.41 BPG) have really stepped it up while playing in place of the injured starters.


The Bulls are off to a great start and will only get better from here on out.