Butler providing the spark for Bulls in Rose’s absence

At the beginning of the season, I was skeptical, but now I am sure of it – the Chicago Bulls are beginning to transform into a very scary team.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games while avenging a blowout loss at NY on December 19. Mirotic is stepping up on the defensive end of late and recorded multiple blocked shots in four of the last six games.ABOUT THE RAPTORS (21-13): Toronto was almost as dominant in the fourth quarter on Friday as Chicago, outscoring Charlotte 30-12 in the period en route to a 10-point triumph.

Since his coming out party in the Big Apple, Portis has three straight double-digit scoring efforts and two career double-doubles, something he perfected in his collegiate days as he led the SEC with nine double-doubles in league play on his way to conference Player of the Year honors. Out of all of the team strengths in this current winning stretch, however, there are several that stand out the most. But if Friday’s win over the Knicks proved anything, it’s how devastating the Hoiberg Bulls can be offensively when not encumbered with traditional big men. More importantly, does Portis’ emergence make one of the veterans even more expendable in a deal? He was criticised for the statements at the time, though it has clearly lit a spark under the Bulls, who have won their last three games. Also as of right now it is unclear if he will be able to return to the teams Sunday game.

Cameron Bairstow has no illusions how tough a challenge he faces to move up the rotation with the Chicago Bulls but he isn’t shying away from the challenge.

While he found himself in a new unfamiliar role, his mentality and work ethic never changed. Fisher’s embarrassment from training camp continued as Matt Barnes turned to Instagram on Friday to reference his physical altercation with the Knicks coach from October, calling his foe all sorts of nasty things. They have a few teams to watch out for. If the Bulls can continue to execute in this way, then they will continue to win their marquee match-ups.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) is defended by Chicago Bulls guard Aaron Brooks (0) in game five of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at United Center.

The final strength that stands out to me is the improvement of Derrick Rose. While 41% is still not great, it is a huge step in the right direction. This efficiency would greatly benefit the Bulls, as they tend to suffer when Rose struggles from the floor and shoots up 20-25 shots.

“I think I’ve been playing a little timid, scared of re-hurting something so I told myself when I get out there, just play”. The Bulls haven’t used Portis in any lineup this year alongside two of the Gasol-Noah-Gibson trio, per NBA.com – the bigger lineups they’ve used nearly always include Mirotic at small forward, not someone else. For a while, they played like a team that knew it needed a win, but somewhere around the 2 minute mark of the 3rd quarter, the Knicks collectively made a decision to do the basketball equivalent of skydiving without a parachute.