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Bulls’ amazing aura just continues to grow

By Mike McGraw

These are heady times for the Bulls.

At the start of the season, 50 wins were considered high expectations. Far-fetched doesn’t even begin to describe 60 wins or snagging the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

When Derrick Rose opened training camp by asking, “Why can’t I be MVP?” the obvious reaction was to appreciate the sentiment, but scoff at the possibility.

Now the Bulls are breathing down Boston’s neck for first in the East and have a softer closing schedule than the Celtics. They need to go 13-4 to reach 60 wins and just went 13-4 over a 17-game stretch that included 11 on the road.

Rose’s magic number to clinch the MVP award is probably about 10. If he can last 10 more games without an injury or anything crazy happening, the award is his.

On top of all this, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf suggested this week four championships are within reach for this team. Then Michael Jordan trumped that forecast by calling for a second six-peat during Saturday’s 1991 reunion.

Anyone ready to predict eight championships for Derrick Rose? Will Perdue, Dennis Hopson?

Inside the Bulls locker room after an easy win over the Jazz, the players tried to digest the post- and pre- championship celebration Jordan created. Of course, they were asked to imagine coming back for the 20-year reunion of an NBA title that hasn’t happened yet.

“Hearing the reception Scottie (Pippen) got and MJ got, that’s deep stuff,” Joakim Noah said. “No need to put any added pressure on ourselves. We’re not worried about expectations. We’re just trying to focus on improving and becoming the best team we can be.”

The job of staying focused will only get more difficult. Anyone familiar with the Chicago sports scene realizes the growing buzz will become an avalanche of adulation if the Bulls get to the conference finals or beyond.

In recent weeks, most every seat at the United Center has been filled at tipoff. A mundane contest like last Monday’s win over New Orleans drew the highest television rating in the history of Comcast SportsNet’s Bulls coverage.

“I feel like there’s a little bit more buzz or a lot more people watching. Not just in Chicago,” said Luol Deng the longest-tenured Bull. “It’s the most fans I’ve seen on the road, trying to get autographs and stuff before the game or at the bus. I think it does (get us pumped up).”

Kyle Korver is used to intense fan interest, coming from Salt Lake City, where the Jazz is the state’s only major professional team.

“In Miami the other night, we walked out of the tunnel and there were a ton of fans there for the Bulls,” Korver said. “Every arena we go to, they’re chanting ‘MVP’ for Derrick. That’s pretty cool. It’s a really fun thing.”

Added Ronnie Brewer, another former Jazz player, “It’s a good feeling. It makes you want to go out there and play harder. If you’re out and people recognize you, they’re always going to stop and give you their two cents. To me, it’s entertaining.”

One Bulls player who isn’t quite feeling the love is Brian Scalabrine. He’s a special circumstance, though, since he was one of Boston’s biggest sports celebrities during the past three years.

“Chicago’s so big. It’s much more along the lines of New York, where people don’t recognize me at all,” Scalabrine said. “In Boston, everywhere I went, I was recognized.

“But a lot of that, I think, actually has to do with the timing. It seems like we’ve been on the road a lot. We practice, then I go home and have the kids. So I don’t get out that much.”

Jordan seemed genuinely enthused by the idea of another Bulls championship run, even though his Charlotte Bobcats could draw the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.

“There’s no question when you see the love those guys received, it’s well deserved,” Noah said. “When we’re on the road and we get the love that we get, a lot of it is because of what they did.

“The Bulls are a franchise that’s recognized all over the world and it’s because of those guys. We’re trying to do something special, but we really respect the tradition.”

Ÿ mmcgraw@dailyherald.com. Get the latest Bulls new via Twitter by following McGrawDHBulls.

Joakim Noah says the Bulls are trying to stay focused and not worry about expectations.” Associated Press