Chicago Bulls have their hottest start in close to 30 years

After their commanding victory over the New York Knicks, 135-125, giving them their fifth consecutive win, the Bulls have their first 5-0 start since the 1996-97 season, which was the year they won their second of their three straight NBA Finals. During this stretch, the Bulls have ranked sixth in offense and eighth in defense, while firmly solidifying their grip on the Eastern Conference.

Josh Giddey and Billy Donovan recognize that it’s still early in the season

Despite running on a high to start the season and setting a new career high of 32.0 points, and missing another triple-double, falling one assist short (nine), Giddey recognized after the Bulls victory that “there’s a long way to go.”

“We feel good as a group of where we’re at right now, but there’s a long way to go,” Bulls guard Josh Giddey said to ESPN’s Jamal Collier. “Every night there’s different guys making plays and stepping up. We’ve got a bunch of guys — six, seven guys averaging double figures. That kind of speaks volumes to how deep we are as a team and the impact we’re getting across the board.”

Head coach Billy Donovan, who earned his 200th victory as a coach on Friday night, according to Collier, said that the “good connection” his players have is contributing to their winning, but echoed Giddey’s comments, also saying “we get a lot more ways to go and we can’t lose sight.”

“The mentality that they believe, which I think is very, very powerful, I think when there’s belief it’s really, really powerful,” said Bulls coach Billy Donovan. “There’s good connection. They’ve got good relationships. They all can talk to each other. I think there’s a lot of positive things that they have that really go into winning.”

Facing the Knicks again on Sunday and the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, the Bulls can extend their lead in the East and continue to show their viability as a legitimate top team this season.