Any Chicago Bulls fans that have full and undivided loyalty to the organization but still will be enjoying the playoffs may be asking themselves who they should root for this year. It’s never an easy question to answer, but I am going to offer some solutions for consideration.
Obviously, there are those certain teams a fan can just never root for. You know who those teams are to you, the ones you might hope lose on any random night for no specific reason. That doesn’t do much for who someone will choose to root for, though.
Many don’t need to root for a team to enjoy the playoffs, many others get more out of the game by having a rooting interest. If that is you, we are going to look for solutions.
Chicago Bulls fans can root for a number of former Bulls players
There are naturally a number of former Chicago Bulls players playing for other teams in this year’s NBA playoffs. While some former Bulls are competing for an NBA championship, many others are on teams that can at least make a fun playoff run.
That gives fans more games to have a rooting interest in and is already similar to what many fans will be doing. The majority of Chicago Bulls fans openly root for former members of the organization to be successful, as fans should.
Why not root for the entire team they are playing for? The best example is the New York Knicks, who are littered from top to bottom with former Bulls. They won’t be winning a championship but with throwbacks like Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson on the team, they are hard to not root for when watching.
You will also be able to hear the familiar voice of Thibs yelling from the sideline when you watch the Knicks. It will surely bring back loads of memories. Other notable former Bulls include Bobby Portis on the Bucks and Jimmy Butler on the Miami Heat.
Chicago Bulls fans can root for havoc throughout the playoffs
This idea is one you obviously can’t put any emotions into because losing is inevitable. Still, one way to enjoy the process for you might be to root for the underdogs throughout. People tend to do so anyway, so it isn’t hard to get behind for most games.
Now, will you get the result at the end of the playoffs that you are rooting for? Highly unlikely. Along the way, you can potentially enjoy yourself as the rest of the basketball community watches in disbelief.
More upsets mean more havoc and more havoc means more entertainment in many cases. If you want to see things get absurd, just root for the teams that most people don’t think can make a run. If the minuscule chance something that crazy happens comes to fruition you will enjoy it even more!
Chicago Bulls fans can root for current Bulls connections
This might be the only option presented that offers a somewhat decent possibility of rooting for a team that makes the finals. The Bulls have well-respected people in many levels of their organization and my of them have prior NBA success.
Naturally, that leads to them having connections to players or teams that are at the top of the game. For example, Arturas Karnisovas was a member of the Denver Nuggets front office before the Bulls hired him. He has his fingerprints all over how good the Nuggets are and it would be another reason of why fans should be excited if they were to make a deep playoff run.
Another example that comes to mind is head coach Billy Donovan’s recent connection to Chris Paul. The Phoenix Suns are true NBA contenders but do face the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round.
Still, CP3 is the leader of the Suns and is someone you should appreciate while you can. Seeing him win would be a good moment for many fans of the game. Other notable Donovan connections include Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards.