CHICAGO -- It's a superstar's league, we tell you. And that's as true as ever.

The NBA is a player's league, and the best talent is almost always the tiebreaker and the hammer. Stop LeBron James and you stop the Heat. When Derrick Rose's knees go out, so too go the Chicago Bulls' championship hopes.

That's why Bulls fans dream about Carmelo Anthony.

Taj Gibson is averaging 11.7 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench for the Bulls. In eight games as a starter, he's averaging 19.3 points and 9.8 boards in 42.3 minutes. Ray Amati/NBAE/Getty Images

Yes, you gotta have stars and the right head coach. But that's not enough. It's never been enough. Because the NBA is also a league of Taj Gibsons and Mike Wilhelms. The 26th pick who works his way into a big contract, and the assistant coach who helps him get there. These are the people who make the league go.

After Thursday's practice at the Berto Center, which followed a tight 94-92 victory in Toronto the night before, there were Gibson and Wilhelm working on post moves on a side basket.

Gibson has been one of the steadier Bulls during a season that began with such promise before Rose's season-ending injury. When given the chance to start, the founding member of the Bulls' "Bench Mob" has put up numbers more than worthy of the four-year, $38 million contract extension he signed last season.

Gibson has been a valuable defensive piece for the Bulls since his second season, when defensive guru Tom Thibodeau took over as head coach. But his offensive game has really blossomed this season for hard-charging Chicago, which goes into Friday's game a half-game out of third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls (28-25) have won four straight and are 14-7 since the Luol Deng trade that was supposed to send them spiraling into the lottery. Gibson hasn't exactly been the catalyst -- that would be Joakim Noah and D.J. Augustin -- but Gibson has been steady, with a few offensive explosions mixed in.

The 6-foot-9 Gibson is averaging 12. 8 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. As a bench player, he's averaging 11.7 points and 6 rebounds in 27 minutes. As a starter, in a small sample of eight games, he's averaging 19.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in 42.3 minutes.

Gibson's emergence as an offensive threat in the low blocks has been one of the rewards for watching Bulls games in a Rose-less season. I won't go as far as saying he's an untouchable, like Rose and Noah, but he's a candidate for sixth man of the year and in my mind, a future All-Star. If the Bulls can win a title in the Rose-Thibodeau era, they need Gibson.

"I don't think you could name five better low-post players in the NBA," Bulls center Nazr Mohammed said. "I'm dead serious. I'm talking about low-post guys in the block with their backs to the basket, scoring the ball. I think you'd have a hard time naming five in this new NBA where it's more face up and shoot."

But Gibson had an off night in Toronto, fouling out with 10 points and 3 rebounds in 26 minutes. Thibodeau let him know about it at practice.

"Today he told me he was frustrated with me because he felt I left a lot on the table [against Toronto]," Gibson said. "He said, 'Guys really can't guard you.' He wants to see me succeed and I just push myself every day in practice."

Gibson and Thibodeau are now very tight. They talk about basketball and New York City and Gibson, who turns 29 in June, calls Thibs a father figure.