The Chicago Bulls are one of the positive surprises of the season. The Bulls revamped their roster in a major way, but no one expected the Bulls to fight for the first seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, they have been slumping as of late. Since the calendar flipped to 2022, they are just 18-17, a far cry from their 23-10 record in the 2021 portion of the season. While they have been slumping lately, there is absolutely no reason why the Bulls could not aim for the title. The East is as volatile as ever and every top team, including the 36-33 Nets, has a chance of coming out of the conference.
Here are three reasons why the Bulls are still a threat despite their slump.
Why Bulls are still a threat despite slump
Return of injured players
Out of the 68 games played this season, the Bulls have had no one available for all 68. Up until now, DeMar DeRozan featured in 64, Zach LaVine in 55, Nikola Vucevic in 60, while former Lakers Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball have featured in 30 and 35 games, respectively.
It is especially the impact of Caruso that is very relevant. According to StatMuse, their record without Caruso is 21-17. Now, that is a winning record, but it is a thin margin, definitely one that would not suggest that the team is 41-27, as they are on the year. With Caruso in the lineup, they have one less win but seven fewer defeats, and his impact on the defensive end especially is what makes him so valuable.
The Bulls are, however, slowly getting all their injured players back. It is true that Lonzo Ball is out and the latest report does not provide a ton of optimism. However, Caruso is back and so is LaVine, who is likely going to miss some time occasionally because of a knee issue, but should mostly be there. Ball's first assessment stated 6-8 weeks and his injury was in January, so he should be ready to start the playoffs, while Patrick Williams is hoping to be back before the end of the month.
The Bulls are hoping to have a full squad come playoff time, which makes them way more dangerous.
Next-man-up mentality
With a ton of injuries, as the Bulls have had, the mentality of the team must be very strong to endure time until the main guys are back. The guys at the end of the bench who do not get a ton of minutes with everyone there need to be ready, as their NBA chance is exactly in these kinds of scenarios. Luckily for the Bulls, they have some of these guys and their next-man-up mentality is what saved one part of their season from a total collapse. The primary example of that mentality is their latest revelation, Ayo Dosunmu.
Dosunmu entered the league as the 38th selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, and not much was expected from the Illinois product. However, he well and truly stepped up when the Bulls needed it most earlier this season and continues to do so. In his rookie year, he is averaging 26.9 minutes on a potential championship contender, which is incredible for a second-round selection. In that time, he is putting up 8.5 points on 52.7% shooting from the field, while also adding 3.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. His numbers are not impressive, but his play on the court is. One stat that maybe says everything about his impact: according to StatMuse, the Bulls' defensive rating falls from 18th, which is not perfect of course, to the worst in the NBA in the five games Dosunmu has not played.
DeMar DeRozan is one of the most underrated players in the league
The only reason why Bulls superstar DeMar DeRozan is not the MVP favorite is that the competition is too fierce this year. Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, and more can be considered as possible MVPs come the end of the season.
However, their great seasons do not negate what the former Raptors and Spurs star has done this season. Not only is he the leader of the league in terms of points scored, but he is also averaging a cool 28.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 50.4% from the field and 87.2% from the free-throw line. Additionally, he broke a record set by Wilt Chamberlain earlier this season, becoming the first player in the history of the NBA to score 35 or more points with 50% or better shooting from the field in seven consecutive games.
As said above, it is a real shame that DeRozan, forgotten by many due to his underwhelming stint in San Antonio, is not frontrunning this MVP field. However, we can still state that the main reason why the Bulls can still be a viable option to come out of the Eastern Conference is DeMar DeRozan. His ability to get his points no matter the defense is going to prove critical in the postseason. When the defenses tighten in and teams are able to plan accordingly, it is so difficult to see anyone fully stopping DeRozan and his coveted midrange.
Thus, when most teams struggle to find a way to score, the Bulls will always have DeRozan to fall back on. As said, it is not the only reason, but the key reason why the Bulls still need to be considered a threat in the East.
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