I did not anticipate writing this recap for the Chicago Bulls this early. The Bulls, who were the number 1 seed in the East & had finished with the best record in the NBA, were knocked out of the playoffs by the 8 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round of the playoffs. This shortened NBA season was killer for all teams, but most notably for the Bulls as they dealt with injuries all year long. The injury bug finally caught up to the Bulls in the playoffs.
The NBA season opened up for the Bulls with a huge bang on Christmas. The Bulls took on Kobe Bryant & the Los Angeles Lakers in LA. The Lakers had taken a pretty sizable lead in the game, but the Bulls came roaring back which led to the 2010-11 MVP of the league, Derrick Rose hitting the game-winning shot. It was an insane game 1 & looked to set the tone for the upcoming season. The story of this Bulls season, however, was not Derrick Rose defending his MVP, but rather, if the team could just get healthy. They had added former NBA champion SG Richard Hamilton to the mix, but he dealt with a number of injuries throughout the year & played very limitedly with Derrick Rose, who also dealt with a slew of injuries. Luol Deng, who was named to his first all-star team, Joakim Noah, & CJ Watson all missed games due to injury for the Bulls this past season, but somehow, despite this, managed to finish the year with a 50-16 record.
Due to the labor disputes that nearly led to the entire season being lost, the season didn't begin until the end of the December & an extremely compacted schedule of 66 games was put in place. Teams were playing 3 games in a row & traveling all across the country with minimal days off. It took a toll on players & hopefully will never have to be implemented again. Despite the fact that it was a good regular season for the Bulls, I could never get rid of the bad taste in my mouth. It was painful to watch my beloved Bulls play with so many injuries. Sure, it was fun watching John Lucas III play big for this team, but I would have much rather seen Derrick Rose on the floor. I never got to see what the team would look like as a unit with Rose, Hamilton, Deng, Carlos Boozer, & Noah on the floor. It just never happened, injuries prevented it.
The playoffs opened up as the Bulls took on the Philadelphia 76ers. Philly, who had started off the year very well, floundered in the 2nd half of the schedule & dropped to the 8 seed. Game 1 of the series saw what I had been wanting to see all season long. A seemingly healthy Bulls squad of Rose, Hamilton, Deng, Boozer, & Noah with the Bench Mob of Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, CJ Watson, Taj Gibson, & Omer Asik completely dominated the 76ers en route to a 103-91 victory. Unfortunately, a terrifying image came across my television screen with less than 1 minute left in the game. After driving to the hoop, the Bulls franchise MVP PG & leading scorer, Derrick Rose fell to the ground clutching his leg. He tried to get up, but couldn't, needing help from the training staff to get off the court. I said it once the game ended, it had felt like the Bulls lost. A few short hours later is was revealed that Rose had torn his ACL & wouldn't play basketball again until 2013. The Bulls playoff chances, championship hopes were dashed. The 76ers took control of the series as the team's chemistry & morale were completely shot. Joakim Noah suffered a badly sprained ankle in game 2 & he was gone as well. The inexperience & lack of leadership on the floor did the Bulls in as the 76ers took the series in 6 after a Bulls meltdown in the 4th quarter of the final game.
The future for the Bulls is not bright. The 2012-13 season will be an extremely tough one to watch as Derrick Rose will not play until February, most likely. Another upcoming blow for this team will be the fact that their all-star small forward Luol Deng will probably miss the beginning of the season recovering from wrist surgery, a surgery he had put off during this past regular season. There is also a chance that Deng may put off the surgery to play in the Olympics this summer for Great Britain, which would push back his potential debut in next season even later. I don't envision the Bulls being a top 2 team in the East next year, as I believe Miami & Indiana will hold those 2 spots securely. They'll be battling with Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, & possibly Orlando for seeding. Nothing will be a sure thing for the Bulls next season.
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