Even without D'Antoni, Bulls have become an offensive power

When Mike D'Antoni and the New York Knicks visit the United Center on Tuesday, last summer's coaching search will barely register as a story line. With offers from both teams, D'Antoni picked the Knicks over the Bulls.

The former Suns boss turned New York into a high-scoring group. But to the surprise of no one, the Knicks are out of playoff contention and as of Saturday owned the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. Early this season, the Knicks traded away their top two scorers (Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph) to help create cap room for 2010.

The Bulls eventually settled on coaching rookie Vinny Del Negro but didn't miss out on the offensive firepower. In fact, they've become one of the league's most efficient scoring machines. Here is some eye-opening evidence:

• The Bulls shot just 42.1 percent in Saturday's victory over New Jersey. Before that, they shot better than 50 percent from the field in three straight games and six of the previous eight.

During the previous four seasons, including the three playoff years, the Bulls never shot better than 50 percent in three straight games. They just accomplished that feat twice in a span of eight contests.

• During the month of March, with John Salmons starting at small forward, the Bulls ranked fifth in scoring (106.4 points), fifth in field-goal percentage (.474), third in 3-point percentage (.404) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.812).

No other team ranked among the league's top five in more than two of those categories in March.

• Over the last 10 games, the Bulls averaged 109.4 points, shot .498 from the field and posted a 7-3 record.

All this offense is fun to watch, but it won't do a team any good unless some defense works its way into the mix. The Bulls have been OK to poor in that regard. They rank 21st in the league in points allowed (102.5) and are a respectable 13th in defensive field-goal percentage (.456). During their high-scoring month of March, they managed an average scoring margin of plus-2.4.

The biggest difference between the Bulls and Miami (besides Dwyane Wade, of course) is the Heat knows how to turn up the defensive pressure late in games, which is why it's battling Philadelphia for fifth place in the East. The Bulls can get tough defensively at home sometimes but struggle on the road.

The NBA is clearly trending toward higher-scoring games, which is what the league's elders had in mind when the hand-checking rules changed a few years back.

There are 12 teams averaging at least 100 points this season, which would be the most since 1995-96. The dip in scoring was dramatic, considering every team in the league scored at least 103 points per game in 1986-87, while just two averaged more than 100 in 2003-04.

Phoenix is on pace to become the first team to shoot better than 50 percent from the field for a full season since the 1996-97 Jazz. In fact, that's been accomplished just three times in the past 16 years.

So the Bulls were probably smart to increase their offensive production, and a fast-paced game suits their personnel, particularly rookie Derrick Rose.

Will a high-scoring style ever work in the playoffs, when referees traditionally swallow their whistles and let physical play dominate? The Bulls should get a chance to try, since their magic number for clinching a playoff berth is down to four.