NBA: Logan and Raja speak with Zion Williamson following the procession of a cruel fat-shaming Mardi Gras float through the streets of New Orleans. And they eventually get around to discussing how DeMar DeRozan has improved his game this season with the Bulls.

And whether he puts them up against the finest of the best in the East. Then they talk about James Harden’s outstanding comeback to the floor with the 76ers. And the first two episodes of Season 5 of Snowfall, before Jomi arrives to vent his fury at the Lakers.

The Bulls have been the NBA‘s biggest conundrum. They were widely regarded as a borderline playoff club to begin the season after years of obscurity, but they have outperformed everyone’s expectations. But just how excellent are they?

The statistics speak for themselves. With a 25-10 record as of Jan. 5, the Bulls were in the first position in the Eastern Conference. According to FiveThirtyEight’s ELO model, they have a 53 percent chance of making the Finals.

This puts them in a tie with the Bucks for the conference’s best Finals odds. According to Cleaning the Glass numbers, they have the league’s No. 5 offense and No. 10 defense.

NBA: The Bulls are ready to crash the NBA’s title contender party

Normally, those kinds of figures would indicate a championship candidate. They’re roughly where last season’s finals, the Bucks and Suns, were at this stage last year.

The Bulls, on the other hand, have been relegated to the toddler table, while the Suns, Nets, Bucks, Jazz, and Warriors are seated in the contending dining hall. That might be a mistake.

The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias that causes us to overestimate the importance of the first piece of information we are given on a topic. Consider last year’s Suns, which were considered as a wonderful tale. But were ignored throughout the playoffs since they were predicted to win just 38 games at the outset of the season.

Preseason expectations are the anchor that is weighing down miles of ice beneath the surface. The Bulls have a genuine shot to win the Eastern Conference. And they’re a few tweaks away from winning it all.

Because it was impossible to forecast how a completely new group would play together, the preseason analysis for this club was always going to be extremely unhelpful. The 16 have played eighty-one percent of the minutes this season.

Bulls who did not appear on the Opening Day roster last season. The puzzle pieces have come together better than anyone thought, and the Bulls have proven that they can defeat anyone on any given night.