"I Know I'm Going to Win a Championship Soon"

The above quote by Derrick Rose during Monday's Media Day is trying to rival his 2010 question of why he couldn't be MVP.  Obviously, those are much greater expectations.  Whether the Bulls can fulfill those however is a taller order. 

Any NBA star has a chance to win MVP, but it requires a team effort and lots of talent to win a title.  Only a few teams are capable of doing that in any given season.  The NBA is far more selective with its true contenders.  That merely happens on its own, not by some secret committee at the league office in New York (I hope).

That said, I think he may be onto something.  I've already stated on here that if these Bulls are ever going to win a title, this will have to be the season.  Despite Cleveland being the popular pick, LeBron James will not guarantee a championship and has even said it could take some time before the team gets to where it wants to be.  If that's true, now is the time for the Bulls to make their move, so this statement might have been properly timed.

While it doesn't sound as intimidating as James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the Bulls appear to be marketing a Big 3 of their own in Rose, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol.  The trio was photographed together in the first of what could be many memorable moments together.  Tom Thibodeau has the utmost confidence in them, so it's no surprise he's penciled them into his starting lineup for now alongside Jimmy Butler and Mike Dunleavy.

A former MVP point guard is at the center of the club alongside an All-Star center in his prime and a proven low-post scorer.  Considering how weak the East is, that should be enough to get to the conference finals or at the very least, out of the first round.  There's too much talent on this roster to not make it that far.  The only other threats I can see are Miami and Washington, teams still stacked veteran and young talent respectively.

None of this, mind you, will make a difference if Rose's knees betray him once again.  Rose acknowledged that he's going to have to answer questions about them for the rest of his career.  Like everyone else in Chicago, I tensely observed the world championships hoping the worst wouldn't happen.  I didn't care how poorly he performed as long as he returned from Spain in one piece, which he did.

Many are worried that he didn't play particularly well, but remember that he was just trying to get some semblance of a groove back.  In a way, it's a blessing that his first real action didn't come in the preseason or even the first weeks of the regular season.  Although he was trying his best to help the U.S. win gold, his first priority is with the Bulls.  It's best he didn't unleash everything he can be or else, we all would have been really nervous.

So for now, let's be happy that the Bulls are confident in Rose and he's confident in his team.  If everything goes according to plan, this could be a special season on the West Side.  Call it wishful thinking or call it being overly optimistic.  But look at the roster from top to bottom and it's hard not to imagine this club doing some serious damage in the upcoming campaign.

If you prefer to think the glass is half-empty, you're certainly entitled to your opinion.  At the same time though, you should consider what would happen should we see the opposite.  You're seeing an Eastern Conference championship or even a rally in Grant Park, aren't you?  Yeah, just imagine how great it would be.