The Chicago Bulls have been a team full of trade speculation while having one of the best records in the NBA. Last year, the Bulls were rumored to trade for a shooting guard, to upgrade then starter Keith Bogans. This year trade rumors have been swirling around Carlos Boozer, and how the Bulls need to ship him out of town, for Lakers big man Pau Gasol. Boozer has also been linked to any deal regarding Dwight Howard coming to the Bulls. The team right now has a winning record, and they have not been healthy all season, so why break up a good thing? Carlos Boozer is questioned for his defensive effort which causes the Chicago fans to boo him at any chance they get, but at 27-8 they have the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind Miami. Now, this is the cause of concern for Bulls fans, last year in the playoffs we witnessed Carlos Boozer production drop from 17.6 PPG and 9.6 rebounds in the regular season to 12.6 PPG and 9.7 rebounds in the playoffs. Not to mention he was dominated by Heat forward Chris Bosh throughout the series.
As of now, Carlos numbers are down from last year, but he seems to be playing with more intensity then he did last year. Boozer is averaging 15.8 PPG and is averaging 8.2 rebounds. While his numbers are down, he is the only starter on the Chicago Bulls who has started all 35 games this season. One of the biggest questions is could he co-exist with Bulls center Joakim Noah. Noah and Boozers games are very similar as the both like to operate in the paint, but this year they have seemed to find a way to make it work. Boozer has been a better passer in the lane as well as Noah and they have been finding each other with ease in the paint, making them a dynamic duo down low for Chicago. Now you have Rip Hamilton finally returning from the pesky groin injury, which will help stretch the floor for the Bulls. Which has Ronnie Brewer going back to the bench and making our team injury free. The point of this article is that the Bulls are capable of winning with what they have, and they have not played healthy all year. Once the Bulls get their starting five of Rose,Hamilton,Deng,Boozer, and Noah out on the court for a few games, this team will be nearly unstoppable.