Nobody anticipated the Chicago Bulls to play the way they are at the start of the season. They're currently the Eastern Conference's number two seed, despite struggling with several injuries across their team.

It's difficult to say they're one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, but it's also unreasonable to suggest they don't have a shot to win an NBA championship. Given how poor Nikola Vucevic has been at protecting the rim, their main issue is undoubtedly whether they'll be able to stop elite big men like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.

The Bulls elected not to make any trades at the NBA trade deadline, and although it may not have been the best option, you have to hand it to the front office for believing in what they have and not wanting to disrupt the chemistry that exists in Chicago.

If the Bulls want to win an NBA championship, they'll have to need both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan healthy. They'll also need Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, who is probably the team's two best defensive players, to be on the floor.

Let's look at three reasons why the Chicago Bulls have a strong chance of winning the NBA title.

Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they're going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn't enough to get the job done.

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Bulls Eastern Conference

3. DeMar DeRozan is playing like an MVP

If the Chicago Bulls want to have some success in the playoffs, DeMar DeRozan must continue to play at this elite level. There's no disputing that he has a chance to win the MVP award this season, and it's absurd that he isn't getting the credit he deserves from some of the league.

DeMar DeRozan has a history of underperforming in the playoffs, but there's no reason to believe that won't change this time. If he does go silent in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls will have to hope that he can still play some solid basketball and that Zach LaVine can fill in for him.

It will be difficult for the Bulls to win an NBA title if DeMar DeRozan is not playing his best basketball, but anything is possible, and with the way they have played and the way they have picked each other up, they still have a chance to win a championship even if he disappears in the playoffs as he has in previous years.

2. Despite not being healthy, they are still the Eastern Conference's #2 seed

This season, the Chicago Bulls have suffered injuries to practically their entire squad. Patrick Williams has only played in five games, Lonzo Ball has been out for a long period of time, and Alex Caruso has also been out for an extended period of time. Chicago is also dealing with a Zach LaVine injury, which they don't believe is significant, but they'll probably play it conservative simply to ensure that their first or second-best player is healthy for the playoffs.

Because all of these players have been injured, the Bulls have had to rely on other players to fill in for them. Obviously, no team likes to suffer an injury, but the fact is that these injuries might be advantageous to this Bulls squad if their other players return healthy

These injuries may be advantageous in the long run since they have discovered that they have a number of other guys who can help them with a variety of tasks. If it hadn't been for those injuries, none of these players would have had the opportunity to perform as well as they did this year. Injuries are always a difficult aspect of the game, but if those players can return healthy, it might've helped the Bulls in the long run.

1. They are having fun, which is worrisome for other teams

The first thing that comes to mind while watching the Chicago Bulls is that they appear to be having a lot of fun while playing. There's no doubting that this group enjoys themselves when playing together. When a group enjoys themselves while playing together, they are more likely to succeed.