Derrick Rose is still out with ACL injury but Chicago Bulls still have a strong chance at challenging for the title next season....
Derrick Rose is still recovering from an ACL injury he suffered during Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers last playoffs and may not possibly return to action until the All-Star break next season.
This puts the Chicago Bulls in a very tough position as they would be starting the 2012-2013 campaign without their leader and will face the tough task of repeating as the best team in the NBA for the third year running.
Even though the new campaign is still almost two months away, the biggest question mark over the Bulls capabilities remains that whether or not this will be the season they will be challenging for the NBA Championship. In my view
they do.
One of the major things that does work in their favour is having Tom Thibodeau on the bench. Thibs is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the NBA as he has kept the Bulls competitive with his motion offense and defensive style
of basketball. One of the best advantages of having Thibs coaching is that he is able to get the best out of his players by getting them to play his strategies.
Another factor that gives the Bulls an advantage in their aspirations for the coming season is that the starting line up has almost remained the same. They will have the services of most of their starters to start the season except
Rose.
So with the likes of Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer still around and the bench mob getting a boost during the summer, the Bulls do stand a good chance of making a title run until Rose returns in the second half of the season.
Major additions have been made to the second unit as Omer Asik and C.J. Watson departed, in came several capable and maybe even better backups which make the Bulls bench mob even stronger.
Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, Jimmy Butler, Marquis Teague, Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich and Nazr Mohammed have all been added to make the second unit stronger while Taj Gibson is still around to anchor the production off
the bench. With the new additions, the Bulls have not only added more defensively capable players who fit just right into their system but also capable scorers who will provided the scoring burst coming off the bench.
But the biggest reason, the Bulls stand a chance at pulling off a competitive run is that they have done it previously. With Rose out in 27 games last season, Bulls still pulled off one of their best seasons by finishing the regular
season with best record in the NBA which not only gives them confidence in their capabilities but provides them with a strong example to follow.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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