Grand Opening

As the New York Knicks prepared to open the season against the Bulls at Madison Square Garden, they were undoubtedly hoping Oak Park native Iman Shumpert could repeat the above image as part of a winning effort.  It didn't happen and the Knicks needed a prayer to even stay competitive.  The Bulls ran the home team out of the building 104-80.

The defense was in sync from the very beginning.  It took half a quarter for the offense to break out, but once it did, there was no preventing the Bulls from a victory.  It's impossible to predict an entire season based on the first regular-season contest, but if this game was any indication, the scoring is already light-years ahead of what we had to watch last season.

Brooklyn native Taj Gibson came off the bench like a player possessed and led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting.  Pau Gasol let it be known he's going to be quite an offensive upgrade over Carlos Boozer by putting in 21 almost effortlessly.  He also picked this game to achieve his first double-double as a Bull with 11 rebounds.

All eyes were on Derrick Rose in his first meaningful NBA game in almost a year, and he performed decently as he scored 13.  Sharing that total in his first Bulls game was Aaron Brooks, an early indication that he will indeed be that next big backup point guard in Chicago.  Doug McDermott had 12 in his first NBA contest and looked supremely confident in doing so.  Kirk Hinrich struggled out of the gate, but rebounded in the second half to finish with 12, nine of which came from beyond the three-point line.

The bench quickly became an example of how deep this year's Bulls are and why they should contend in the East if Rose can stay healthy.  The Knicks' second unit had no answers for how to contain them and it took the Garden crowd out before it could affect the course of the game.  If you loved the first incarnation of the Bench Mob, you're going to love what this one has to offer.  In time, they should gain the same cult following Watson, Korver and Asik did before them.

We certainly can't fault Carmelo Anthony for following the money to the City That Never Sleeps.  It's tough for anyone to turn down the money he signed for.  For all of the triangle offense he'll learn under Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher though, he and the rest of his Knicks just can't match the defense the Bulls unleashed on them.  He had trouble creating his own shot and his teammates struggled to find good looks most of the time.

As for Rose, it certainly would have been nice to see him take over.  It's not like he didn't try.  Quite the contrary, he drove to the hoop many times in the first half and made up for his near misses by making seven of eight free-throw attempts.  Let's at least wait until the calendar flips to November to direct any criticism his way.

Atop the Central with a perfect 1-0 record, the Bulls will quickly face their first real test of the season Halloween night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  The schedule makers did a good job letting us see Rose and LeBron James face off so early.  It's also as early a preview of a potential conference finals as we're going to get.  That means little in the NBA, but we can at least get a feel for it.

Eager to Win East: 2014-15 Preview

For most of Tom Thibodeau's tenure as Bulls head coach, each season has begun with expectations higher than the previous year.  That's because he has a knack for getting the most out of his players nearly every game and people have figured that's bound to pay off sooner or later.  However, the Bulls have made only one trip to the conference finals under his watch, leaving many to wonder what could have been every year.  Now, winning the East is more possible than it ever has been.

The consensus is the Bulls have their deepest team under the current regime of Thibodeau, Gar Forman and John Paxson.  They addressed their low-post scorer need with Pau Gasol, drafted a promising rookie in Doug McDermott and finally brought Nikola Mirotic over from Europe.  Add everyone who was already in Chicago and you're looking at a group few opponents will want to face on a nightly basis.

The East has changed with LeBron James returning to Cleveland and Kevin Love joining him.  Many consider that club the favorite to reach the NBA Finals this year on that alone.  But remember that James needed some time to get used to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh when he first arrived in Miami and he's already told people to cool it with championship predictions for his new Cavs.  That said, this will have to be the year for these Bulls to go the furthest they've ever gone, so let's look at the players who could help make that possible.

Every Bulls story begins and ends with Derrick Rose, the former MVP who is trying to return to his old self consistently with two reconstructed knees.  After a poor showing for Team USA in the World Championships and a shaky start to the preseason, he finally led the Bulls in scoring during their final couple of exhibitions.  This is the year the unselfish Rose will have to become selfish with the ball in order to return to the top of the precipice he once stood on.  Besides that, he's the only player on the team who can create his own shot, so expect the ball to be in his hands when the Bulls need offense the most.

As much as we don't like to talk about it, the greatest truth about the Bulls' season is that they're one major Rose injury away from having all this NBA Finals talk go down the tubes.  With their star point guard suddenly prone to his body breaking down, many Bulls previews have included the phrase "Derrick Rose, if healthy" for good reason.  Whether it's scoring himself, finding open teammates or playing Thibodeau's lockdown defense, he will be counted on heavily to do it all.  His value is so high it would almost make sense to stop this preview right here.

But I must go on, beginning with Jimmy Butler, Rose's fellow starting guard who can become a free agent after this year (I'll save that talk for later).  He plays heavy minutes regularly and has improved every year since coming into the league.  His offense would be valuable to any team and he's extremely focused on defense when he needs to be.  You can call him an example of a basketball player who wasn't born with the most natural talent, but gets the most out of what he has, leading to momentum for his team and thus, more victories.

The starting forwards, Gasol and Mike Dunleavy, bring a collective 25 years of NBA experience to the team, meaning they know what it takes to win in the league better than anyone else.  This is where the Bulls will have to show that being older in certain areas doesn't mean unable to keep up with the younger, fresher players on the floor.  Offense typically sticks around longer, so for a team that couldn't possibly have a worse time scoring than it did last year, this is a valuable facet of their starting lineup.

Gasol won a pair of NBA championships with the Lakers, so he brings that important knowledge with him as well as his low-post offense.  Maybe he's lost a step or two and isn't as explosive a scorer as Carmelo Anthony, but his 18.3 points per game for his career and seven-foot frame make him an immediate upgrade over Carlos Boozer.  If he can show he won't be a defensive liability during his age-34 season, the Bulls will be solid at the four throughout a typical 48-minute contest.

There was much debate whether the rookie McDermott should start at small forward, but for now, Dunleavy's endurance (he played all 82 games last year) and potent offense are enough to keep the spot he took after Luol Deng was traded last season.  His biggest weapon is his solid shooting, which will definitely be needed for the Bulls to rebound from a bad year on offense.  It's very likely he'll play the least out of the five starters, but that will merely take the pressure of doing more than needed off of him.  This way, he can concentrate on providing the Bulls with what he can until the deep bench is unleashed (more on that in a bit).

All energy on the Bulls runs through starting center Joakim Noah, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who's just coming off knee surgery.  When he plays well, he gets pumped up and the rest of the team responds.  Doing it at the United Center is a bonus because it really gets the crowd going, which allows the team to feed off the extra energy in the building and will them to be ahead when the clock hits zero.  Without Noah, the Bulls would be a very different team, certainly not a championship contender.

Besides the defense he's become so known for, Noah reinvented his game last year to become one of the best passing centers in the league.  He basically forced himself to do it after Rose went down, which raises the question of whether he would have unleashed that part of his game if Rose had stayed healthy.  This combination makes him one of the most exciting two-way players in the league.  His mere presence is enough to affect the course of a game, which is a big reason why we as Bulls fans have fallen in love with him more as he's continued to raise himself.

Taj Gibson was told to train as a starter this offseason, but that chance will have to wait a little longer with the signing of Gasol.  Still, things are looking up for him one year after averaging a career-high 13 points and shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line.  He plays very well on both offense and defense and, while his game isn't built on flash, he has enough talent to show he's worthy to be on the same court as basketball's best.  This makes him one of the favorites for Sixth Man of the Year.

Not since Rose's selection in 2008 have the Bulls ended draft night with a player as decorated as McDermott.  Last year's national player of the year out of Creighton was lauded for his scoring and high basketball IQ, all of the above being qualities Forman and Paxson admire.  A rookie with that resume should be ready to contribute right away, something Thibodeau will have to recognize as he hasn't been generous with rookies' minutes in the past.  In fact, if he plays well enough to begin the season, don't be surprised if he takes Dunleavy's spot as a starter.

After the Bulls held onto his rights for three years, they finally brought Mirotic over from Real Madrid of the Spanish league.  While he was a star in Europe, we don't yet know how that will translate with the North American game.  However, expectations are high that he will eventually be as critical to the Bulls' success as Toni Kukoc was during the 90s.  He might even surpass McDermott in value, but all that will be decided as the two players gain more NBA experience.

One acquisition that would have made greater headlines in the Bulls' previous three offseasons would have been that of Aaron Brooks.  Despite averaging just nine points between Houston and Denver last season, Thibodeau's offensive system gives Brooks a chance to thrive at the point the way D.J. Augustin and Nate Robinson did before him.  He'll be 30 in January, so he's about the right age where he's hoping for a breakout season, resulting in someone overpaying for him next year.  For now, he's trying to win a championship, and he's never had a better chance than he does now.

The rest of the roster focuses on guys the Bulls have confidence in to help out as the season progresses.  Kirk Hinrich and Nazr Mohammed are not the players they once were, but provide the veteran leadership that will hopefully allow them to contribute just enough.  Tony Snell played a lot his rookie year and has room for growth, which the Bulls believe as they just picked up his option for next year.  E'Twaun Moore has two years to prove he's worth that investment of the organization's money and Cameron Bairstow will have plenty to prove as the second-round pick out of New Mexico.

Thibodeau had a valuable summer as an assistant to Mike Krzyzewski for the gold-medal Team USA World Cup team.  Hopefully, a combination of observing Rose, watching Paul George's gruesome injury and other factors told him you don't have to step on the gas every single night at the expense of health to your players.  A minutes limit on guys who aren't completely healthy are worth consideration, particularly during the regular season.  Sure, it goes against what he's preached ever since coming to Chicago, but in today's NBA, you can't be too careful when the organization has invested so much money in its stars.

That doesn't mean we're going to see a completely different coach out of him though.  He'll still be the same tough-nosed individual roaming the sidelines in order to conduct his orchestra.  Perhaps though, he'll do so with a more guarded mentality.  The bottom line is he needs to find that middle ground between crazy for wins and fearful of injuries and fatigue.

In a conference as wide open as the East, that trip to the NBA Finals is there for the taking.  The Bulls and Cavaliers are the most primed to battle it out for that simply because how talent-driven the league is.  I predict the Bulls will finish behind Cleveland in the Central and also bow out to them in the conference finals.  Despite all the high expectations for this year's club, James is the one player you still have to go through and until the Bulls learn how to take his team down, I can't see them playing for the O'Brien Trophy.

This season filled with hope begins Wednesday when the Bulls take on the New York Knicks in a nationally televised game at Madison Square Garden.  Driving public interest in this contest will be Anthony facing the team he scorned to re-sign in the Big Apple for more money.  Of course, this is just the first of many interesting storylines that will surround the team this season.  It's time to play basketball and have fun doing it.

Minutes Manager

Ever since he's become an NBA head coach, Tom Thibodeau has developed a reputation for driving his players hard day in and day out.  Many would argue that it's hurt the Bulls come playoff time as guys are banged up and too tired to catch that second wind required in the second season.  Now, Thibodeau has to force a little compassion into himself out of necessity.

With Derrick Rose making a second comeback, Joakim Noah trying to rebound from knee surgery and Jimmy Butler nursing an injured left thumb, Thibodeau has to look at limiting minutes for his stars.  To do such a thing goes against every fiber of his being.  But if the Bulls are to win the East, as Sports Illustrated has predicted them to do, he'll have to sacrifice a little bit of pride.

Entering his fifth year as the head of the Bulls, Thibodeau has to recognize that some games are meant to be lost.  Certain victories also don't have to send a message by resulting in a blowout.  2 1/2 years after Rose's ACL tear, he's still dealing with some flak for keeping the star in when the game was already decided.  Can you imagine what would happen with him if Rose goes down again in a similar situation?

Of course, if Thibodeau chooses to rest his stars during certain stretches as other coaches have been known to do in recent years, there's going to be frustration on certain nights that the Bulls let games they should have won slipped away.  As long as that method is limited to the extent that it won't affect playoff seeding, it seems to be all right.  But everything just mentioned is going to come with the territory, whether Thibodeau likes it or not.

This season will show how much Thibodeau has grown as a coach, if at all.  Too much has happened over the past four years for him to be too stubborn to do any kind of growing.  Now, the Bulls are presented with perhaps their best chance to return to the Finals since the 90s.  It could all hinge on whether a hard-nosed approach has to take a bit of a backseat to one that's more conservative in handling key injuries.

Rose-y Outburst

We can talk all we want about the Bulls dropping their first match-up 107-98 against the new Cleveland Cavaliers at Ohio State.  But the game didn't count and we'll have plenty of time to dissect the pros and cons of both East contenders.  If you're a Bulls fan, Derrick Rose was the best news they could have received.

While most of the local crowd was focused on LeBron James, the star from the team LeBron exalted earlier in the day scored 30 points in 24 minutes.  That beat Kyrie Irving's total by two and also contributed to his game-high 12 field goals.  It's worth noting he attempted 18 shots from the field, so those shooting struggles everyone has been concerned about were not present here.

This offensive explosion prompted a happy locker room after the game.  Those who have been around Rose the longest were the most vocal.  Taj Gibson thought the performance was a reminder of "old memories", Tom Thibodeau reiterated the belief of many that he's coaching "an MVP-caliber player" and Joakim Noah called the outburst "big for our team."

Obviously, it's going to take more than a 30-point preseason game to convince many that Rose has come all the way back.  For all we know, this is just a flash in the pan in what will be a struggling season.  However, this should let at least a few people know he's not a lost cause.  Yes, his knees might still betray him again (hopefully not), but let's perish that thought.

If this becomes the norm for Rose however, this was just the first of many eventful battles we'll be seeing between the Bulls and Cavs within the division for the next few years.  A rivalry like this is good for the NBA and especially the putrid East.  All the power can't be in the West, so it's up to these teams to do battle in the way basketball was meant to be played.

Fortunately for us, Rose won't have to wait that long to do battle with LeBron for real.  A Halloween meeting at the United Center, the second game of the season, could really give the Bulls a swift kick.  They should want to make a statement early during a year that might be their best shot to reach the NBA Finals.  While LeBron claims that the Bulls have the better team chemistry of the two teams, we'll see how they both gel together during the playoffs.

The Bulls will end their exhibition schedule Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in St. Louis.  Andrew Wiggins, the Cavs' first-round pick they traded for Kevin Love, will be around to preview how he can help a franchise in limbo.  And while that's going on, how about another decent game from Rose, assuming he plays much?  Any momentum over the next week is good.

Small Forward, Big Decision?

For the most part, the Bulls' starting lineup has been set.  It would take a large-scale event to bump Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol or Jimmy Butler out of there.  Then there's the question that remains unanswered:  should Mike Dunleavy or Doug McDermott take the remaining spot at small forward?

As you may recall, Dunleavy moved into this spot in the rotation last season after the Bulls traded Luol Deng.  He was originally brought in to provide some offense off the bench, but after Rose tore his meniscus, the season's expectations changed and everything that led to this job was set in motion.  With over a decade of NBA experience and a potent offensive game, Dunleavy seemed like a natural fit to reclaim what had been his when the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs and Tom Thibodeau agreed.  But with McDermott having started in his place twice already this preseason, it's possible the veteran will be starting games on the bench instead.

McDermott has played no fewer than 26 minutes in each of the team's first five preseason games.  His shooting has been up and down over these contests, but even when he's laboring for points, he's cleaning up on the glass, totaling at least eight rebounds three times.  For all the talk there's been about the offense and high basketball IQ McDermott will provide, we apparently haven't discussed his low-post play quite as much, but that 6-8, 225-pound frame makes you think he could double as a four without all the muscle.  While he hasn't been overly spectacular so far, he's showing off the hard work and results Thibodeau admires, making this issue that continues to hang over the exhibition schedule.

Thibodeau's final decision may come down to two things.  First, does he really want a championship contender to have two rookies (the other being Nikola Mirotic) coming off the bench regularly?  It's been quite some time since the Bulls were faced with such a dilemma.  The last major example I can think of was the 2004-05 Bulls when Deng came into the league along with Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon and Andres Nocioni.  Deng and Duhon started most of their games that year, but the current Bulls have much higher expectations, so this is a decision not to be taken lightly.

The second question is whether McDermott is more talented than Dunleavy, to which a yes answer should probably make him the starter by default.  It's a rule of thumb that you have to start those above anyone else, even if that means playing a rookie.  Which of these two players has the better chance to help the Bulls this year is not yet known, but even if it's Dunleavy, a scoring veteran off the bench might be the best solution.  The Spurs have put Danny Green in the starting lineup ahead of Manu Ginobili and it's paid off for them, so it gives the idea some legitimacy.

I still believe Dunleavy is the starter until McDermott can prove himself in the regular season, when the intensity will pick up and make conditions tougher.  I voted for Dunleavy in a SportsNation poll about this very question, but 74 percent of the over 3,600 voters as of Friday afternoon selected McDermott.  Maybe they're right about this touted rookie starting the first game of the season and continuing to build from there.  I just think a rookie who wasn't picked in the top 10 of the draft needs a few games to truly show everybody he has arrived.

Despite my belief, I think McDermott will have taken Dunleavy's place by the middle of November.  He's looked good so far and the Bulls sacrificed their two first-round picks in June to acquire the rights to him.  That's a lot of stock to put into any rookie, so it shows how confident the front office believes McDermott can help.  Plus, getting to play with four of the best players at their positions can only help his learning experience.

With the opening tip only 12 days away, there's still time for both players to show what they can bring to this year's team.  Regardless of who ends up where, the Bulls are going to get good offense from both.  It's just a matter of what balance will give them the best chance to win.  Thibodeau is smart, so I think we can trust him.

Nuggets Not Golden in Second Half

Unlike last preseason, during which the Bulls ran the table, it took them three games this year to get in the win column.  After doing it Saturday against Milwaukee, they did it again Monday, in comeback fashion this time against the Denver Nuggets.  Trailing by 21 in the second quarter, they outscored the Nuggets 52-32 for a 110-90 victory.

Jimmy Butler, whose increased scoring last season was coupled with decreased shooting numbers, led all scorers with 21 points.  This was accompanied by 7-of-8 shooting from the field and making all seven free throws.  Derrick Rose, who has been encouraged by Tom Thibodeau lately to up his game even further, scored 15 despite going 4-of-12 from the floor.  He matched Butler's perfect night at the charity stripe, but had only six attempts.

Doug McDermott gave Denver a taste of what they could be missing from their first-round draft pick by scoring 16 and knocking down three of his four shots from downtown.  Taj Gibson offered the latest evidence that he would start on almost any other team with 15.  Nikola Mirotic showcased the newest reason to think he's the next European to successfully jump to the NBA.  He scored 12 and had a game-high four steals, so that's good reason for optimism.

Although there's still a few more exhibition games to be played, a glance at the box score tonight shows none of the players signed right before training camp have a real chance to make the final cut.  Solomon Jones and Ben Hansbrough both sat on the bench throughout.  Kim English apparently wasn't active, but one has to imagine he wouldn't be in much better shape had he suited up.  If certain players on the team don't have a chance of much playing time this year, the aforementioned players have no chance of even making it to opening night.

More important than the players' performances, tonight reminded everyone that the Bulls will be in most of their games and can never be counted out.  If you take a big lead against them, as Denver did tonight, you have to go for the kill because that won't be safe otherwise.  They can just as easily turn the tables and blow you out right back.

The fake games continue Thursday as the Bulls take on the Atlanta Hawks.  It's hard to expect anything too exciting besides anticipation of a match-up between an East contender and a team that may back its way into the playoffs.  Sometimes, it's rough to be a fan of this conference.

Preseason Starts Like Postseason Ends

It almost made too much sense that the Bulls' first dress rehearsal for the season would come against the Washington Wizards.  After all, this was the same team that dominated the Bulls in last year's playoffs to force an early exit few were expecting.  Appropriately, things picked up where they left off with an 85-81 Wizards victory.

Like any preseason contest, the focus was less on the final score and more on the players hoping to thrill when the real games begin.  Nowhere was that focus greater than on Derrick Rose, who played aggressively enough to score 11 points in 14 minutes.  Mike Dunleavy and Taj Gibson contributed with 10 apiece.  The leading scorer though was Nikola Mirotic, who played against real NBA competition for the first time and finished with 17, partially thanks to shooting 34 percent from the floor.

Even though he wasn't on the Wizards last season, Paul Pierce somehow didn't allow any love to be lost between the clubs.  He and Joakim Noah exchanged some minor blows at one point.  Fortunately, it was a mere footnote in a game nobody will care to remember because it didn't count.

Back to Rose, tonight marked the beginning of phase two in a series of games that don't matter when it comes to leading the Bulls to victories.  The next couple of weeks will be filled with tension as this slate continues to threaten the star point guard's season.  It's pretty sad that this is what we've come to dread, but this happens when you're building your franchise around someone whose knees have betrayed him.  The reconstructed knees held up during the world championships and did just fine tonight, so for now, we have a reprieve.

The Bulls will quickly get back at it Tuesday as they play the Detroit Pistons at the Palace.  At least we might have something to look forward to in Chicago.  The Pistons are far from contenders and may get further after this year if Greg Monroe leaves.  In cases like that, we should count our blessings.