Two weeks ago, the Chicago Bulls were perched on the second spot of the Eastern Conference behind the amazing Atlanta Hawks.
But when key Bulls players like Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson joined Derrick Rose in the injured list, the Chicago squad starting losing games even as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to make their impressive run as of late.
As a result, the Chicago Bulls slid to the fourth spot as of March 18, but only half a game behind the third-running Toronto Raptors.
With Pau Gasol still in the lineup and a plenty or reliable role players, the Chicago Bulls are expected to make the playoffs. The team made it to the playoffs last year even without Derrick Rose but they exited on the first round.
The windy city ballclub certainly wants to have a better playoff showing this time around so much so that everyone is hoping that Derrick Rose will soon be back in their lineup.
Positive news
There has been some positive news on the Bulls practice as of late. Although still recuperating from his recent surgery that repaired his medial meniscus, Derrick Rose has already been attending the Bulls practice.
Along with Rose are Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson who are also doing non-contact practice during the Bulls sessions at the gym. These developments are actually getting Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau very excited.
After the third but minor surgery on his knee, Derrick Rose was given four to six weeks time within which he might be healed and cleared to play. The Bulls point guard is already on his third week of rehabilitation and based on his movements during the non-contact practice, Tom Thibodeau says that Rose is healing ahead of schedule.
He is hoping that his chief Bull will soon be able to play and it looks like Rose will indeed be ready to play during the playoffs for the Bulls.
The Bulls coach said that the non-contact practice is the next phase of the rehabilitation of Derrick Rose, as well as Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson. Thibodeau said that Rose still needs to strengthen his knee and the non-contact practice was a major step for his full recovery.
Playoff positioning
The Chicago Bulls is hoping to have better positioning come the playoffs. With its current spot of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, it is guaranteed homecourt advantage only in the first round.
The team obviously wants to reclaim the second spot that it held for a long time. It only surrendered the second seeding to the Cleveland Cavaliers when Rose, Butler, and Gibson started being sidelined one after the other as a result of injuries. In addition, center Joakim Noah is also playing limited minutes as he just came from injury too.
With 14 games remaining in its calendar, the Bulls can still go as high as second spot in the Eastern Conference which would also guarantee them homecourt advantage up to the second round of the playoffs. It is unlikely that any other team in the East can dislodge the Hawks from its lofty spot.