Chicago is full of surprises this year and is blowing away people's expectations; To the Cubs making the World Series, to the Chicago Bulls actually being efficient from the 3-point line. It's a rollercoaster of lowered expectations eventually meeting a much higher reality, but like rollercoasters, Chicago Bulls always has its ups and it's down.
Sometimes you experience something that starts off really strong and compelling: like a movie with an interesting plot such as Interstellar, having a huge lead in a video game like NBA 2K17, being up 3-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals. Then everything you thought was going right, makes a left, and you're wondering how the hell did this just happen?
You might be saying the exact same thing about the Chicago Bulls promising start this season.
The Chicago Bulls have found success at the start of their season, already winning the first couple of games they played and having a hot start. During these games, Bulls have surprisingly managed to be one of the most efficient teams from the 3 point line, which is not how it was expected to play out. The Bulls also currently have the #1 offense in the NBA season (111.5 PPG) to start off the season. At the start of the season, the Chicago Bulls are playing like a better team than the Golden State Warriors. You heard that right.
What was expected when the Chicago Bulls signed Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo was for the team's 3-point percentage to fall drastically and lead to horrible spacing with all of the starters on the floor, but it's actually the opposite. Chicago's "Big 3" is encouraging each other to shoot threes, and the Bulls offense are starting to see major improvement when they are all on the floor. Rondo is proving to be the Bulls best facilitator in a long time, which was desperately needed to fit Coach Hoiberg's offense. The Bulls trio are shooting threes much more efficiently, specifically, Dwyane Wade who hit a dagger three to seal the deal against the Boston Celtics, keep in mind he has already made 4 three's compared to last year when he made 7 the whole season.
Dwyane Wade makes a throat slash gesture after hitting the 3-point dagger. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Despite the Bulls trio making a huge impact, Doug McDermott has been consistently making threes, Robin Lopez and the Bulls bench have been absolutely solid so far. The ability to take your starters out and maintain a 20 point lead against the Indian Pacers was something unheard of from the Bulls we knew last year. But fans have heard of this similar scenario, Bulls were second in the East in early January, 10 games above .500, and then ended up missing playoffs, finishing ninth in the east.
"Am I impressed? No. I know what we’re capable of. I’ve seen it,” Butler said to CSNChicago.com at his locker Saturday night. “On the outside looking in, you might be impressed but we have a long way to go. I think we can do so much better in so many areas but we gotta keep going in the right direction.”
The Bulls first two games had the luxury of being at home, also facing an Indiana Pacers team missing a key bench players after a back to back game on the road. They've simply had it easy for now, the Bulls are playing with a ton of energy because the NBA season is still fresh, it's really only two games. Sure, the promise it's shown so far is compelling enough to persuade fans into believing the Bulls are a top 3-point shooting team, Wade being a 3-point specialist and Bulls being an Eastern Conference Final contender. The truth is Bulls have had a hot start just as they did last year, and it's going to take more than two games to see if they are going burn out and leave us scratching our heads wondering why, who and what the issue is.
“The league is a game of runs. You do look around and say, they might be for real. We took care of home court. No big deal.” Rondo Explained.
The Bulls have raised fans expectations this season and look to be a promising team so far, But simmer down on your hot takes people until we've at least past somewhere close to the halfway mark. It's been a common theme of raising expectations for Chicago every year, only to be disappointed midway through the season. For now, Chicago Bull's is currently one of the most entertaining teams to watch, how this season will turn out is a cliffhanger we will soon get an answer too.
