Chicago Bulls: DeMar DeRozan unsurprisingly climbing up MVP ladder

When DeMar DeRozan chose the Chicago Bulls this past summer, many of the talking heads ran with their own narratives.

DeRozan wasn’t a fit with Chicago. The Bulls weren’t going to be able to play defense.

Eight games into the season, both headlines have been proven wrong. The Bulls currently sit at 6-2 going into a rematch with the Philadelphia 76ers tonight, just a couple of days after nearly completing an 18-point comeback over this same team.

That game against Philly? It was DeRozan’s most impressive effort of the season, as he poured in 37 points on 59 percent shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to boot.

It is no surprise Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan is getting early season MVP love.

If anybody said DeRozan would find himself in the MVP conversation this season, most would have doubted that idea. Even the die-hard Bulls fans out there might not have believed something so dramatic could happen with DeRozan and the Bulls.

Yet, here we are, looking at the latest MVP rankings from Michael C. Wright and DeRozan checks in at no. 5 behind Ja Morant, Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, respectively.

DeRozan has been playing lights out, especially offensively. That’s something a lot of people didn’t think would be possible, knowing how both he and LaVine need to function with the ball in their hands much of the time. Still, DeRozan and LaVine have made it work — and made it work well.

The Bulls’ season outlook is also only going to get better with time.

DeRozan has been the heart and soul of this Bulls team, and he’s kept them in every game this year in spite of the team still being without much-needed bench spark plug, Coby White. Once White is back in the lineup, this team should look even more dangerous as their bench will get their number one guy back in the fold.

For now, they will continue to depend highly on DeRozan and LaVine, along with the new-look bench mob, to get the job done.

DeRozan is currently averaging 27.0 points on 50.6 percent shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He’s also shooting 38.9 percent from three, which is over 10 percent better than his career average.

DeRozan’s 6.1 rebounds qualify as a career-high, and his 27.0 points are just 0.3 points below the best mark of his career.

It seemed as though he was trying to say all the right things, telling us that this was the most excited he’s been and that he feels this is the best part of his career so far. But, DeRozan wasn’t fabricating. He meant it — and he’s proving it.