After recovering from injury star player looks in good touch
Derek Rose form will be crucial for Bulls in the new season and match against New York Knicks
New York: Formidable contenders for the championships on most occasions, the Chicago Bulls, on the eve of their first game of the NBA season look distinctly dangerous. And not without reason.
Former Bulls’ coach Phil Jackson, who collected most of his 11 championship rings with the Chicago outfit during his early days will probably feel the heat more than anyone else. Having been appointed top honcho of the New York Knicks, Jackson, considered as one of the greatest coaches in the game, will have a sense of deja vu when his new team takes on his former team.
If anything, he knows the Bulls are probably the toughest in the Eastern conference. Led by Hall of Famer and the legendary Michael Jordan, the Bulls had their biggest spell of success in the 90s. Between 1991 and ’98 they won six NBA championships with the triumvirate of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Jackson at the helm. Jordan is long retired and Jackson has crossed over to the Knicks but by the looks of it, the Bulls, with the arrival of Derrick Rose, are seemingly the team to beat again.
Though the Bulls made their pitch for Carmelo Anthony as a free agent, Jackson’s persuasive powers ensured ‘Melo’ re-signed with the Knicks leaving Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau to gun for Anthony’s teammate Pau Gasol instead.Going by their pre-season performances, which however ended in a narrow 113-112 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 4-4 record, the Bulls will be happy that they are in the best of frame, mentally and physically. And much of it owes to Rose’s return.
Shedding his long-standing injury worries, Rose, the 2011 MVP, was almost non-existent in the past two seasons battling knee injuries but a fitter and healthier Rose, who showed more than enough glimpses of his form in the pre-matchups, is back to where he belongs. Averaging about 25 points in the last three pre-season games, Rose has set himself up for his first regular campaign in almost three years with his morale-boosting show.
Add to that veteran Gasol’s invaluable experience and hot young talents in Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls are set to make a run for the Finals. Even without Rose, the Bulls wound up the 2013-14 season with a 48-34 win-loss record, tying it for the third-best in the Eastern conference before being ousted by the Washington Wizards in the first round playoffs. For the 56-year-old Thibodeau, in charge of the Bulls for a fifth year running it will all come to fruition if Rose, as expected, blooms again.
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