Bulls Are Unconventional Championship Contender
CHICAGO (WSCR) At this point in the season, the fact that the Chicago Bulls are in the conference finals isn't much of a surprise. But a year ago, the only people who may have seen this coming were the ones who thought Derrick Rose would win the MVP Award.
A year removed from going 41-41 and getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bulls ended the regular season with a league-best 62-20 record, the youngest MVP in NBA history, the NBA's Coach of the Year and the Co-Executive of the Year.
"I don't think they got enough credit for what they've done this year," Sekou Smith, of NBA.com, said on the Mully and Hanley Show when talking about the Bulls. "The reason I think a lot of people are reluctant to give them the praise they deserve, is because they're not a star-studded team. They don't have three or four, you know, elite players like the Lakers had or like the Heat have.
LISTEN: Sekou Smith On The Mully And Hanley Show
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"They've done it with a team-first approach, and obviously with Derrick Rose leading the way, and Tom Thibodeau's defensive mentality totally taking over the mindset of that team. And it's not built conventionally, the way we're used to championship teams being built in the NBA the past few years. You know, we're used to two and three stars and a bunch of role players, and that being the formula. And I think what they've done in Chicago is really fantastic, because they've taken a group of guys and got them to buy in and believe that they can win at a high level, pretty much the same way the Detroit Pistons did a few years ago when they dominated the Eastern Conference for about a six-year stretch."
