The biggest luxury that this team has is that so many players have been able to step up. Everyone keeps talking about the absence of Ben Gordon, but the Bulls have players who are hungry on offense and looking to make up for his scoring. I like the pecking order Head Coach Vinny Del Negro has established. He uses John Salmons a lot and of course you have a lot of creativity from Derrick Rose. They’ve got a lot of versatility out there on the court, then you look at their bench and guys like Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller can come in and step up with big plays. This is a team that plays well together, and you can’t underscore the importance of that in this league. Not to take anything away from Ben Gordon, but that style of play and how the offense revolved around him when he was in the game became too predictable. Their chemistry seems to be a lot better too at this point in the season.
The Bulls offense is garbage. They are currently ranked 27th out of 30th in the league. Last year the Bulls were ranked 15th in the league in offense. The Bulls scored 12.5 points more per 100 possessions last year than they do this year. That is a MONUMENTAL drop in offensive production. Yeah, the offense around Ben Gordon might have been more predictable...but it worked, and it worked because we had an elite offensive talent.
Right now, only Joakim Noah and Brad Miller have scoring efficiencies that are better than last year's league average.
1. Derrick Rose: It’s all about the continued development of this second-year point guard. He has started out a little slower than he’d like due to that ankle injury and keeping him healthy is obviously a huge priority. The loss of him for any extended time would really set their chemistry back. He’s the Bulls’ number one component and their driving force. He brings something to the game that they haven’t had for a long time, and that’s an All-Star caliber point guard. The thing I really like about him is that he plays bigger than his size. You have to respect how fearless he is going into the paint whether it’s driving the lane or crashing the glass. He plays a well-rounded game; he’s no little guy on the floor. He’s a young kid that is going to continue to get better and better and he doesn’t mind doing the dirty work along the way.
Derrick Rose is nowhere close to being an allstar caliber point guard right now and hasn't shown any commitment to doing the dirty work...or playing defense for that matter.
There is one reason, and only one reason why the Bulls have started out the season 3-2. I'm going to write it big so people remember this.
DEFENSE
and it has nothing to do with the absence of Ben Gordon, and the replacement of Gordon with defensive stalwart John Salmons. It has everything to do with Luol Deng, Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, and Tyrus Thomas. Those four guys are the ones making smart rotations and cutting off penetration. Those are the four guys responsible for the Bulls being a dominant defensive team so far this year.
