Start The Buses...

I promised myself that I would wait until the playoffs started before I would write about the Bulls this season. Since the regular season will end this week, I might as well post now. One of the reasons I wanted to wait was because I just wasn't sure what the Bulls were as a team. Obviously they were going to be an improved basketball team from the Vinny Del Negro Era, but I wasn't sure how much improvement would be made in one offseason.

We're all aware of the slew of the moves that were made in said offseason, but the one move that didn't get made was signing LeBron James. After "The Decision" fallout and the dust finally settled, the early indications appeared that the Bulls were little more than "Utah Jazz East". A solid regular season team, that would be just good enough to get eliminated in the second or third round of the playoffs, in other words. My, oh my, were we wrong...

The Chicago Bulls are going to win the NBA Championship in two months, there I said it. I know it's almost become fashionable to say, write, or express it among many media constituents, but it's safe to take this one to the bank. This Bulls team might not be the flashiest, experienced, or the most "star powered" team in the league, but none of that will matter in the end. The Bulls will win the championship because they are the best team in the NBA, point blank.

Look, we all know about Derrick Rose this season. The fact that Rose has improved tremendously as an outside shooter, at the foul line, and defensively is not a secret to anyone except Dan LeBatard. It's a foregone conclusion that Derrick Rose will be named MVP this season (deservedly so). Derrick has ascended from promising young player to bona fide superstar in just three NBA seasons, but Derrick alone is not the reason the Bulls will win.

The Bulls will win mainly because they are the best overall defensive team in the NBA. Tom Thibodeau's team defense is one of the most stifling defensive units I've ever seen. The Bulls play such tremendous help defense, in which all 5 players on the floor show the ability to recognize where the play is going, and where each other's responsibilities are, night in and night out. From Joakim Noah becoming arguably the best low post defender in the league, to Luol Deng finally being able to defend small forwards, to Keith Bogan's ability to be physical with opposing shooting guards, the Bulls can match up against any opponent and shut them down.

The statistics reflect it too. The Bulls are second in the league in points allowed per game at 91.2 (only .4 off the Boston Celtics average). They are fourth the league in steals. They are first in three point field goal percentage, and first in three pointers allowed in the league. They are also first in opponent field goal percentage in the league. The best part is however, that despite leading the league as a team in these categories, you won't find any single Bulls player in the top 5 of any defensive category. Truly reflecting the team concept of help defense the Bulls appear to be mastering as the season moves on.

In the end, the Bulls will net the Larry O'Brien Trophy, the MVP (Rose), Coach Of The Year (Thibs), and Executive Of The Year (Gar-Pax), all of which are deserved. They've already locked up the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are one game out from the number 1 seed overall.

LeBron who?