The momentum started ironically when Jerry Reinsdorf had these very harsh comments on the Bulls team a few weeks ago, while they were touring the Western Conference. They won several key games on this road trip, winning 3 in a row at some point, which they hadn't done for 2 years I think. More recently they beat the Nuggets at home, a then-slumping Pistons team that is new starting to come back, and most of all they had this fantastic win over the Rockets at the United Center on Sunday. I watched all 3 games, the one against Houston especially, when they came back from a 17-point deficit in the second half to win by 2 on a Derrick Rose basket.
It was about time such a plethoric roster proves something. Of course Derrick Rose is the future leader of the team, but the player who's been the most surprising and key to me is Ben Gordon. This guy's been refused a big contract, and instead of collapsing, he proved the staff wrong by putting up his best numbers: 48% shooting, 40% from 3-point range. "Contract years" as we call these years when you have to prove your value are usually said to boost a player, but easier said than done, especially when your staff denies what your agent considers to be your value all summer long. Luol Deng, on the other hand, usually more consistent, has been a disappointment.
The whole roster is impressive when you think of it:
- PG: Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich
- SG: Ben Gordon,
- SF: Luol Deng, John Salmons
- PF: Tyrus Thomas
- C: Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray
I still wish they could trade 3 of these guys for a Dwyane Wade or another player of superstar caliber as they clearly lack leadership and playoff experience and clutch, but in the meantime the depth is here, and I can see them maybe not catching up on the Pistons, but finishing 7th in the East.
