By Sean Mackey
The Bulls are ridiculously locked in right now. They very well might be the hungriest team in the NBA after winning their second 30+ point win in a row last night, beating the Atlanta Hawks 114-81.
Derrick Rose proved once again why he's the #1 MVP candidate, scoring 30 points including 6-8 from downtown, also dishing out 10 assists. Luol Deng scored 27 points on 10-15 shooting. Taj Gibson had a solid night as well , coming off the bench to tally 9 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jeff Teague led Atlanta with 20 points, however 17 were in the 4th quarter during garbage time.
The Bulls went on an 11-2 run in the 1st quarter and never seemed to let off the gas. By half time, Chicago had shot 73.8% from the field. You can just tell, D-Rose wanted to make his old teammate, Kirk Hinrich look bad. I think everyone in the arena knew the game was already over at the half after Rose hit a buzzer beating 3 right in Hinrich's face. The Atlanta Hawks are a solid team too, they're not like the Kings who the Bulls beat by 40 the night before. Atlanta was able to come back from a 19 point deficit and win the game the last time these teams met. Derrick Rose remembers stuff like this and wanted a little revenge.
If these last two games are any indication of what's to come, the Bulls have a great shot at winning an NBA championship this year. I think everyone (including myself) kind of thought they might be a year off from being a real contender but with hard work and the whole roster buying into a defense first system, they're ready now. None of these guys are putting up stat stuffers every night other than Derrick Rose and Luol Deng but these guys don't care, they want a ring. The selfless play of Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah has been fantastic. Omer Asik could very well be good enough to be a starting center on another NBA club. CJ Watson could very well be a starter as well.
The Bulls next game is against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Go Bulls!
