NBA

NBA Power Rankings: Bulls running on fumes without Rose

Things were supposed to be different this season for the Bulls. After slogging their way through last season — one defined by Derrick Rose’s recovery from left knee surgery and decision not to play at all — the Bulls were expected to be one of the true contenders for the Eastern Conference crown alongside the Heat and Pacers, thanks to a healthy Rose and the reuniting of a core group that had been the NBA’s best regular-season team the two years prior.

But that all went up in smoke on Nov. 22, when Rose when down with a torn meniscus in his right knee in Portland, an injury that meant he was lost for another season and potentially changed everything in the Windy City.

To see where the Bulls stand now, look no further than Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks. The Bulls played as hard as they always have under Tom Thibodeau and played suffocating defense. But they simply were unable to score without Rose, Jimmy Butler and Luol Deng — all of whom are currently sidelined — and looked absolutely lost on offense on several possessions down the stretch against a below-average Knicks defense. Without Rose — and also without Nate Robinson, who was so important for the Bulls last season — Chicago has no one who can break a team down off the dribble. Signing D.J. Augustin, who hasn’t been good for over two seasons, isn’t going to change that.

The question now is where does Chicago go from here? Deng is a free agent next summer, and virtually no one expects him to be back with the Bulls, especially given notoriously cheap owner Jerry Reinsdorf already is paying the luxury tax, and only did so to make one last run with this group. Carlos Boozer has one more year left on his contract after this one, which could make him a potential amnesty candidate. Even Joakim Noah, while a terrific player, has already had several injury issues throughout his career.

But all of the questions about the Bulls begin and end with Rose, the only player in the NBA who doesn’t list a high school or college team when he is announced as part of the starting lineup. Instead, his intro is simply this: “From Chicago.”

Rose is the hometown kid made good, and the famously loyal Bulls fans love him unconditionally. But one has to wonder whether Rose is going to be another Brandon Roy, a brilliant flash-in-the-pan who simply couldn’t stay healthy over the long term, much to the dismay of any basketball fan alive. That’s why the rumblings have begun that the Bulls may tear everything down and rebuild, allowing Thibodeau — who has clashed repeatedly with management in recent seasons — to get cut loose.

Add it all up, and what just 18 months ago looked to be one of the top teams in the NBA for years to come instead is full of questions.

(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)

1. Pacers (2): Yes, the Pacers lost to the Thunder on Sunday, but it was coming off beating the Spurs in San Antonio the night before, and they also made a statement and took an early three-game lead over the Heat for homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference.

2. Thunder (4): With wins in 11 of their last 12, Oklahoma City is rolling now that Russell Westbrook is back and fully integrated into their lineup.

3. Trail Blazers (1): Rip City is a terrific Monta Ellis shot at the buzzer Saturday night away from winning 17 of their last 18 games. As Larry David likes to say, that’s pretty, pretty, pretty good.

4. Heat (4): Miami continues to cruise, and clearly won’t have to do much work to lock up the No. 2 seed — at worst — in the Eastern Conference. But after close shaves against the Pacers and Spurs last season, can the two-time defending champions afford not to have homecourt advantage in the playoffs?

5. Spurs (3): The Spurs continue to roll and only have one player (Tony Parker) averaging more than 30 minutes per game (30.2). No one has figured out how to manage the regular season better and more efficiently than Gregg Popovich, and there isn’t a close second.

6. Nuggets (6): Denver has played eight of its last 11 games away from the friendly confines of the Mile High City and went 9-2. Makes you wonder if this team might be better off trading JaVale McGee whenever he’s healthy again.

7. Rockets (9): Impressive blowout win over the Warriors last Friday for Houston, which has a huge game Thursday night on national television in Portland. After getting three days off, the Rockets should be ready.

8. Clippers (10): L.A.’s “other” team continues to get things straightened out, even while dealing with injuries on the wings that led to them signing Stephen Jackson. After Doc Rivers made it through one reunion Wednesday night with his return to Boston, he’ll have a second one when he sees Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in Brooklyn on Thursday.

9. Suns (16): At some point, the Suns have to be taken seriously. And, sitting at 12-9 in the absolutely loaded Western Conference, what better time to do so than now?

10. Warriors (8): Up-and-down week for Golden State, which scored nice victories in Memphis and over Dallas but also got blown out by Houston and lost a close one to Charlotte. The Warriors still remain a must-see for the possibility of a Stephen Curry explosion, though, like the one he had against Dallas on Wednesday night.

11. Mavericks (11): Dallas followed up beating the Blazers in Portland Saturday night with losses to the Kings and Warriors. Welcome to life in the Western Conference. The Mavs would be third by 2.5 games in East. They are tied for eighth place in the West.

12. Timberwolves (14): Right on schedule, Minnesota has gotten back on track after a brutal string of games by beating the Pistons and Sixers at home. This will be a big week coming up, though, with road games against San Antonio, Memphis and Boston before returning home to face Portland.

13. Hawks (13): Atlanta continues to be the “best of the rest” in the pathetic Eastern Conference. Even with their fairly high standing in the conference, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them active in selling off pieces at the trade deadline to gather more assets as general manager Danny Ferry continues to rebuild.

14. Pelicans (17): New Orleans still may be doomed in making a real playoff push this season because of Anthony Davis’ broken hand, but they have managed to tread water while he’s been out thanks to some terrific performances from Ryan Anderson.

15. Grizzlies (12): Over their last five games, the Grizzlies have beaten the Suns and Magic but have been blown out by the Clippers, Warriors and Thunder. With this team looking like it won’t return to the playoffs — let alone return to the Western Conference Finals — do they instead look to shed contracts and rebuild?

16. Wizards (11): Pair of disappointing close losses over the past several days for the Wizards, losing in overtime to the hapless Bucks and then by a point at home to the Nuggets. But at two games below .500, the Wizards are still within a game of third place in the East.

17. Bobcats (21): It may not be the best thing for the franchise long-term, but the Bobcats look like a team that might be able to make the playoffs this season — plus they have three first-round picks (assuming Detroit and Portland stay where they are in the standings) coming to them in the draft in June.

18. Pistons (15): Four straight wins followed by three straight losses sounds just about right for a team with so many new moving parts that are still trying to figure out how to fit. The Pistons defense, though, is improving steadily, which is a good sign for the Pistons moving forward.

19. Lakers (19): Because it’s fun, let’s keep the Lakers in 19th for the fifth consecutive week. That said, it isn’t surprising all of the ball movement and 3-point shooting the Lakers were doing — not to mention winning — without Kobe Bryant has already started to go away now that he’s back in the lineup.

20. Celtics (25): At 10-14, the Celtics still lead the Atlantic Division by a full game. It wouldn’t be surprising, however, if they start to fall off — they just don’t have many scoring options.

21. Cavaliers (24): With wins in four of their last five games, perhaps the Cavs are finally starting to get on track after a brutal start. And, with how badly everyone else in the East has played, they still have plenty of time.

22. Nets (26): Things looked pretty bleak for the Nets after their blowout loss to the Knicks last week. But with back-to-back victories for the first time this season, several games they could and should win upcoming after Thursday night’s showdown with the Clippers and having their full starting lineup for the first time in a month, perhaps good things are finally around the corner for this team.

23. Raptors (25): After sending Rudy Gay to Sacramento this week, expect plenty more moves from first-year general manager Masai Ujiri. He proved in Denver he knows how to tear down a roster; we’ll see if he can do it again in Toronto.

24. Knicks (29): Watching them blow a 23-point lead on Wednesday night to a Bulls team that literally can’t score, it looked like Mike Woodson was in his final minutes on the job. But Amar’e Stoudemire, of all people, helped save Woodson and the Knicks, who now have six straight teams on the schedule that are at or below .500. Can they take advantage?

25. Bulls (20): The Bulls are once again injury-riddled and simply can’t score, as they proved Wednesday by letting the Knicks get one stop after another.

26. Magic (23): One more long, loss-filled season while they can give plenty of playing time to their young players and position themselves nicely for the loaded 2014 draft, in which they have a pair of first-round picks.

27. 76ers (22): After starting the season 3-0, the Sixers have won four of 20. That’s much closer to the kind of winning percentage they were expected to reach before their hot start.

28. Kings (27): The Kings revived the seemingly never-ending debate about Rudy Gay’s ability by acquiring him in a trade with the Raptors on Sunday. It will be quite interesting to see how he fits into a team that has ball-dominating players Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Williams and DeMarcus Cousins.

29. Jazz (30): After going 1-11 without Trey Burke, the Jazz have gone 4-8 since their rookie point guard got healthy and started playing. Yes, the Jazz are still young and still stink, but it shows the value of good point-guard play.

30. Bucks (25): The Bucks have been decimated by injuries, but didn’t have much to begin with. The biggest problem for this team? No one is showing up to their games. Still seems more likely than not that the Bucks are playing elsewhere — likely Seattle — soon.