Joakim Noah, not Derrick Rose is the key for Chicago Bulls

Last season was one that most Chicago Bulls fans, including myself, would like to forget about.

Our star point guard, Derrick Rose, was reportedly cleared to play by the team’s medical staff with more than a month to go in the regular season. Despite this, he never set foot on the floor for Chicago – even sitting out a critical playoff matchup with the eventual-repeat NBA Champion Miami Heat.

So far, Rose has bounced back, playing well in preseason games, even scoring 32 in his most recent performance, in which he said he was not holding back at all.

With the captain back on the floor, another piece falls into place for Chicago, which continues to search for its first NBA title since the Michael Jordan-era.

The biggest piece of that puzzle, however, was here all along. It’s big man Joakim Noah, who became the face and protector of the team last season while Rose sat on the sidelines.

The former University of Florida standout put together his best professional season in 2012-13, averaging 11.9 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per contest – all of which were new career highs.

The 28 year-old Noah also shot a career best from the free-throw line, which had been a thorn in the side for much of his career. His 75.1% mark from the charity stripe indicated notable improvement since his rookie season when he shot just 69%.

Noah is quickly becoming one of the game’s premier big men. Combined with Rose and a strong supporting cast, it appears everything is falling into place for Chicago to start a dynasty of its own and dethrone King James and the Heat.