Chicago Bulls: Looking into the Eastern Conference Playoffs contenders – NBA Feature Part 1
As the regular season comes to an end, the short spanned NBA campaign of 66 games has been nothing short of a spectacle. The tight schedule of this season brought front the physical and mental fitness of these
top athletes as they looked to literally put in night in and night out performances.
However as the regular season finishes off and the playoff picture is panned out, legitimate contenders have been separated from the slackers. It does not come as much of a surprise to see some of the usual teams
gearing up for the second and most crucial part of the season.
It is only in the playoffs that one gets to see the true competitive edge of several of these players as they look to pull out all the stops to win the all important NBA Championship.
In this series, we will try and break down the top contenders from the Eastern Conference who will be looking to win it all, come playoff time.
1. Chicago Bulls
It does not come as a surprise to see the Chicago Bulls clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference and the best record in the league as well, at 50-16. Bulls are the type of team who seem to purely function
on the philosophy of considering no player bigger than the team and their current record is an ascertainable proof of this approach.
But achieving this feat was no easy task at all and that too without their best player, Derrick Rose who had to miss one quarter of the season due to various injuries. However the current Bulls roster has been
able to achieve this mark with the help of some above average players who don’t seem to be fazed by anybody at all.
One of the strongest attributes of the current Bulls squad has been their overall team defence rather than relying on high scoring. Their hard work on the defensive end of the court has paid off in high numbers
as they have been able to put up an almost same home and away record throughout the season.
Their defence has merely been a compliment to their rebounding statistics. Bulls are number 1 in rebounding in the entire NBA and in Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, the team holds two solid rebounders.
With Derrick Rose hopefully getting fully fit and healthy to play in the playoffs, Bulls present a formidably fierce pairing on the back court. Rose along with Richard Hamilton will be a force to reckon with
in the playoffs, as Hamilton has only recently showed signs of being back to his tireless self.
Let us not forget Luol Deng and the season he has had so far, making his first All-Star appearance this season, Deng has had one of the best seasons in his career so far. He has been the go to guy for Chicago
in the absence of the Rose and has carried much of the burden on his shoulders helping his team notch up the best record in the league.
Along with the likes of Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer plus some several key contributors, Bulls have got themselves an imposing roster and will be looking to one up their performance
of reaching the Conference Final last year. Last but not the least Coach Tom Thibodeau has been the mastermind behind the Bulls success so far and is one of the likely contenders for the coach of the year title.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
Tags: