Baffoe: So The Bulls Are A Thing

By Tim Baffoe--

(CBS) Hey, lookie there. It's the Chicago Bulls.

Amid the blur of the greatest sports experience in a Chicago generation, if not history, and while trying to avoid the knee deep sump pump backup that is the Chicago Bears, the Bulls are out there being sort of interesting.

While Pau Gasol migrated to more cosmopolitan environs in San Antonio and Joakim Noah took his mouth and pending injuries to New York alongside Derrick Rose -- who's doing photo ops with jurors in his civil rape case -- the Bulls have managed to kind of be relevant. This winter seems to not be headed for barren sports tundra after all.

Don't get me wrong here: The Bulls aren't contending for any title, other than Most Interesting Team, at least. Because while they aren't on the level of LeBron's Cavaliers or the Warriors' super-team, this is a squad that's entirely capable of putting on a show most nights. That was the case Monday night in their spanking of the Orlando Magic by a 112-80 margin at the United Center. That's … something to be thankful for, right?

The Magic entered play having won three straight while the Bulls were losers of three straight. But the Bulls were somehow rejuvenated and opened the game with 37 points in the first quarter. Thirty-seven!

The Bulls were 21st in the NBA in scoring last season. Through the first seven games of 2016-'17, they're eighth. They were in the bottom half of the league in points allowed last year. They're tied for 10th right now. It's not stuff to make you giddy, but it's … a thing. Right?

Especially if you consider the spilled tub of nacho cheese on a barber shop floor that is the team's front office this decade. Remember when we were told the Bulls were going to try to get younger and more athletic?

"Our goal is to get younger and more athletic," general manager Gar Forman said after the Rose trade that brought in 28-year-old Robin Lopez and 24-year-old Jerian Grant (and the quickly jettisoned veteran Jose Calderon), "and this trade moves us in that direction and allows us to start changing the structure of our team."

Two weeks later, the Bulls had agreed to terms with a starting backcourt of 34-year-old Dwyane Wade and 30-year-old Rajon Rondo. LOL. Oh, Bulls.

But what Executive vice president John Paxson and Forman did there -- probably inadvertently -- was at least make the Bulls incredibly fascinating on paper. After ridding the team of two stalwarts who never jibed with the tapioca of Fred Hoiberg in Rose and Noah, they brought in two more established veterans who have little reason to take their coach seriously. The potential for soap opera here instantly went peak. And if the Bulls aren't going to win a championship but also aren't going to try to rebuild, hell if I'm going to stop them from mixing various types of gunpowder in the same keg.

Thank you, GarPax, in fact. You gave us a reason to watch ... if only for car crash purposes.

In the meantime, the Bulls on the court have been mostly entertaining when not otherwise listless. Their losses Friday and Saturday nights to the Knicks and Indiana Pacers, respectively, were embarrassments in which the Bulls looked like they had been informed five minutes before tip off that they had a game to play.

But then the Bulls have played four games of fantastically fun basketball like Monday night. Below is a look at the Bulls when they started 3-0 compared to the Bulls that then lost three games straight, per Will Gottlieb of The Athletic.

Look at that wonderful spasticity. You may never know what kind of Bulls are going to show up. It's like hoops Russian roulette, and who isn't stimulated by that randomness?

And then they're hitting 3-pointers, for the most part. The Bulls are ninth in the league there despite a 3-of-19 showing Monday night. Wade has hit 10 3-pointers so far this year, which might not seem crazy until you realize he hit just seven all of last season. Niko Mirotic is still a mess seomtimes, but then maybe rookie Denzel Valentine -- riding the wave of that huge Summer League championship -- has a chance to spread his wings with the injury to Michael Carter-Williams. Who knows? Who knows anything about the Bulls from day to day? It's great.

Taj Gibson is still out there kicking ass, and Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio are super goofy and fun to watch. And Doug McDermott ... tries really hard and has fundamentals, in case you're of that ilk that "doesn't watch the NBA because (dog whistle dog whistle dog whistle)." And special guest Paul Zipser!

It ain't great, but it ain't bad either. This is a playoff team probably. Maybe. Hopefully. The Bears aren't giving us the adrenaline fix for the jones that Cubs baseball left us. The Blackhawks are there still, which is cool and helps.

But, hey, the Bulls are at least … something.  

Tim Baffoe is a columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow Tim on Twitter @TimBaffoe. The views expressed on this page are those of the author, not CBS Local Chicago or our affiliated television and radio stations.