Bulls Head to Beantown

The Bulls head to Boston tonight to face the defending champion Celtics.  This should be a tough game for the Bulls, as the Celts took care of the Cavs on opening night, showing that they’re still the team to beat in the East.  Being effective against the vaunted Boston defense is going to be the biggest hurdle the Bulls have to overcome in this contest.  Derrick Rose has his work cut out for him against KG and company, as he’ll be hounded all night by the pesky defense of Rajon Rondo.  Rose is bigger and stronger than Rondo, but it’s inevitable that Rondo picks the rookie a couple of times and at least disrupts his flow throughout the game.

It’s hard to score on the Celtics, but if the Bulls can get their shots going from outside, they’ll have a fighting chance.  Should Ben Gordon go on one of his insane hot streaks during this game, Chicago could steal one here.  It should be interesting to see if Tyrus Thomas can use his athleticism down low and build off his solid performance from Wednesday night.  Containing Paul Pierce and closing out on Ray Allen will be paramount in the Bulls’ defensive effort.

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Bench Could Be Big

The Chicago Bulls’ success this season could hinge on the performance of its bench players. This notion may be a bit deceiving, as the club has two starter-caliber players in Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon. Both guards played very well coming off the bench in the first game of the season, Hinrich scoring 15 and Gordon adding 18 of his own. The two combined for 10 assists as well. Head coach Vinny Del Negro chose to start the two youngest players in his backcourt, Derrick Rose and Thabo Sefolosha, in the season opener. Sefolosha only logged 12 minutes, though, while Hinrich and Gordon each received 25-plus a piece. Del Negro may have opted for this starting backcourt because of its collective size. Rose, at 6-3, is among the bigger points in the league, and Sefolosha stands at 6-7. Both Gordon and Hinrich are undersized for the two position, though Hinrich can play the one when Rose is out of the game.

Whatever Del Negro’s reasoning, Hinrich and Gordon seemed to thrive in their roles coming off the pine, at least in this contest. Other bench players that will play a key role in the Bulls’ success are Andres Nocioni and Joakim Noah. Center Aaron Gray could also get some minutes, as his offensive repertoire in the post is probably the most complete of anyone on the squad.

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Bulls Win Opener

Six Bulls players scored in double figures as the team defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 108-95 in the 2008-09 season opener at the United Center last night.  Forward Luol Deng led the Bulls in scoring with 21 points, shooting an efficient 8 of 13 from the floor.  Rookie point guard Derrick Rose got the start in the contest, and turned in a solid performance.  The homegrown floor general scored 11 points, dished 9 assists, grabbed four boards and swiped three steals in 32 minutes of play.  Forward Tyrus Thomas logged the most playing time, seeing the floor for 41 minutes last night.  Thomas had a good game, dropping 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich both played well off the bench, as Thabo Sefolosha surprising got the start-though he only logged 12 minutes.  Both guards shot 50 percent from the field, as well as from three.  Hinrich ended the game with 15 points and 7 assists, while Gordon added 18.  This is a very encouraging win for the Bulls and gets the team off to a good start.  Vinny Del Negro appeared to have his guys prepared and fared well in his first regular season game as a head coach.

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Season Opener Tonight

Tonight the Bulls kick off their 2008-2009 NBA season when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the United Center.  The Bulls will face their former coach, Scott Skiles, who took the head coaching position in Milwaukee this offseason.  This is a good opportunity for the Bulls to get off on the right foot this season, as the Bucks are not the most formidable of opponents.  The Bulls will have to contain Richard Jefferson and Michael Redd, the Bucks’ two main options on the offensive end.

Tonight Bulls fans will get their first look at rookie Derrick Rose in regular season action.  The Bulls struck gold when they landed the number one pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, despite having a mere 1.7 percent chance of winning the draft lottery.  The Bulls selected Rose, an incredibly talented Chicago-born point guard, over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.  Rose figures to get significant minutes this season, but it will be interesting to see how many he gets in tonight’s opener.  Fans in attendance this evening will surely be looking to see the highly touted rookie.  The club has playoff aspirations for this season, and a solid rookie campaign from Rose would go a long way in securing a postseason berth.

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Bulls Start Season 17th in Power Rankings

The Bulls come in at number 17 on ESPN.com writer Marc Stein’s latest NBA power rankings list.  “Maybe rookies Rose and Del Negro can overcome Chicago’s low-post limitations and glut of guards to lead a return to the playoffs,” Stein writes.  “But who wants to go out on that limb after last season’s team underachieved so badly?”  This is the final update of the power rankings prior to opening night on Wednesday.

The Bulls should contend for a playoff spot this season, and a bounce-back year from newly inked forward Luol Deng would go a long way in accomplishing that goal.  The team is not in a rebuilding mode, but with Del Negro getting his feet wet as a head coach, expectations must be tempered.  Every day this will become a little more of Derrick Rose’s team.  He and Deng are the cornerstones of this franchise.  Ben Gordon is likely gone at the end of the season, and youngsters like Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah have to prove that they can hang with the big boys.  Thomas could be in line for a breakout season, but he could also have another year filled with highlight dunks and wild inconsistency.

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Rosy Outlook

Bulls point guard Derrick Rose comes in at number six to start the season on ESPN.com writer David Thorpe’s rookie watch list.  “The logjam at the guard position in Chicago suggests that, in the short term, Rose might not see huge minutes,” Thorpe writes.  “But he has shown improvement at handling ball screens (on offense), and his body control on at-the-rim finishes is already at a very high level.  He looks to score more than I expected, but should be very effective in that role.  He can really be a punishing point guard due to his size and strength.”

Larry Hughes’ recently injured shoulder may unclog the aforementioned logjam, though.  With Hughes out, Rose could be in line for major minutes.  Second overall pick Michael Beasley came in at number two on the list, behind only Greg Oden, who still technically qualifies as a rookie.  Beasley will probably outdo Rose on the stat sheet this season, but Bulls fans should not fret.  If Rose realizes his potential, he will join the ranks of Chris Paul and Deron Williams in a few years.  Elite point guards just don’t come around as much as good power forwards and this blogger is confident that Chicago made the correct selection in the draft.

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Rose Looking Good

Optimism is running high in the Windy City after Bulls’ first-round draft pick Derrick Rose dropped 30 points on the Celtics the other night.  Rose followed up that performance with a solid game last night.  The number one overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft scored 17 points while dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds.  Rose’s all-around game was on display throughout the Bulls’ 85-75 defeat of the Timberwolves.  These last two preseason contests have gone a long way in showing the vast potential that lies with Rose.  He’s bound to have his struggles throughout his rookie campaign, but he may be more NBA ready than many people are expecting.

Larry Hughes had a good game as well, scoring 21 points on an efficient 8-14 from the field and 2-3 from deep, before leaving in the third quarter with a dislocated shoulder.  Aaron Gray grabbed ten boards in 21 minutes for the club.  Gray is really the only true center on the roster, and could be in line for major minutes if he can put his solid post game to work on a consistent basis.  None of the members of the Bulls’ frontcourt seem to be doing much as far as stepping up and claiming a central role.

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Coming Up Roses

Even though it came during the preseason, last night may have been Derrick Rose’s coming out party.  Rose looked the part of a number one pick in the Bulls’ 109-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.  The rookie point guard came off the bench, but logged 38 minutes.  Rose certainly put those minutes to good use, dropping 30 points on an ultra-efficient 13 of 18 from the field.  The Chicago native also added seven assists while only turning the ball over three times.  More importantly, fans watching this contest saw Rose playing with a supreme confidence that hadn’t been present in any of his previous appearances.

Rose hit a number of tough, clutch shots down the stretch to secure this victory.  Bulls fans may have just gotten a glimpse of the future.  Rose had been lackluster in the preseason until last night’s game, but he appeared to have a different mindset in this contest.  At Memphis, Rose was almost unselfish to a fault because there was so much talent around him.  This blogger wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Vinny Del Negro encouraged Rose to look for his shot, as the preseason is a good opportunity to get a rookie’s feet wet on dominating a game on the offensive end.

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Improving East

The East is now a beast.  OK, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the Eastern Conference figures to be much improved this upcoming NBA season, and much more competitive.  In ESPN.com writer John Hollinger’s annual article on breakout NBA players, he included the conference in general as a breakout candidate.  “I am ready to state boldly that the East, after a long, dark decade in the wilderness, no longer will be the NBA’s doormat,” Hollinger writes.  “In fact, I am projecting that Eastern teams will win six games more than Western teams this season, which would be a huge turnaround from a 2007-08 season in which eight Western teams won at least 50 games.”

With Elton Brand moving to the East and Dwyane Wade 100 percent, the conference basically gains two superstars that it did not have last season.  Hollinger also points out that the West has lost Manu Ginobili and Monta Ellis to significant injuries, while the East has only lost Gilbert Arenas, who was also out for most of last season.  Plus, the reigning NBA Champions reside in the East.  The Celtics, Cavs, Sixers and Pistons all figure to be really good teams that can challenge for the East title.  The improved level of play in the conference won’t make things any easier for the Bulls this season, but they’re up to the challenge.

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Bulls Beat Jazz Friday, Lose Saturday

The Bulls fell to the Utah Jazz 88-80 on Saturday in the team’s fifth preseason game, this coming off a Friday night win against the same Utah team.  Forward Tyrus Thomas played well in the contest, grabbing seven offensive boards and totaling 14 rebounds in the game.  The LSU product also added 14 points.  This will be a very telling season for Thomas.  He’s got all the potential in the world, but hasn’t developed the way the organization had hoped he would and has remained inconsistent for the bulk of his career.  If Thomas can realize some of his potential this season, both the present and future would look even brighter for Chicago.

The Bulls gave rookie Derrick Rose 40 minutes of playing time in this game, but he didn’t do spectacularly.  The Memphis product hit just 4 of his 14 field goal attempts and dished out only two assists.  It’s going to take some time for Rose to adjust to the differences of the pro game.  The point guard position if the most difficult for most players trying to make the transition from the collegiate ranks.  Rose has the tools and potential to be an elite playmaker in the NBA, but it looks like he’d be better suited coming off the bench this season, at least to start the year.

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