by Jordan Smith, Chicago Student

The Chicago Bulls are on top of the Eastern Conference and currently hold the best record in the NBA at 41-11 and a comfortable lead over the Miami Heat. Although they have been doing this without their All-Star and MVP Derrick Rose.  He is their go-to guy and can keep them in any game on any night.

Can they be a legitimate threat without their star? The answer is yes, and they have been proving this throughout the whole entire season, playing without Rose who has been suffering from many injuries that keep reoccurring. They are able to play without him because of the Bulls have the best and deepest bench in the league. Many of their bench players could be starters for many other teams in the league, and the arrival of bench player John Lucas have allowed then to still compete against and beat the best teams in the League.

They are better than most teams without Rose. With him healthy, they are nearly unstoppable. The depth of this team has gained their bench the nickname of the “Bench Mob” as it is almost like a whole new group of starters coming into the game to play against most teams backups.

The depth allows Rose to rest his body completely and not try to fight the injuries, or speed up the process to try and comeback early. He has the ability to rest so that he may come back 100% healthy and in time for the playoffs to begin, and prepare to make a run and the NBA World Championship. The Chicago Bulls are still an elite team without Derrick Rose.