Chicago Bulls Report Card: Early Grades for All the Bulls' Key Players

The Chicago Bulls have burst out of the gate and sit in a familiar position atop the NBA's Eastern Conference with a record of 10-2. 

The season is still young, but it is worth looking at some of the grades for the Bulls' key players.

The player grades run the gamut from an extremely disappointing player in a rut to a surprising player who reinvented himself. 

I am only looking at what I would consider the key players of the Chicago Bulls, so unfortunately, for those of you dying to hear my assessment of John Lucas or Jimmy Butler, you will have to wait until another time. 

Instead, I have looked at the top seven players on the team: Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Richard Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Joakim Noah. 

While Taj Gibson and Omer Asik have played significant roles on the 2011-12 Bulls, I set a cutoff at 20 minutes per game. 

The grades themselves are reflective of how well that player has played this year, statistically how he matches up and are relative grades based on expectations.

Now, let us look at how the key players for the Chicago Bulls have graded out over the early part of the season.

Derrick Rose: A

Derrick Rose: A

What more can be said about the NBA’s MVP and the Chicago Bulls' undisputed leader? 

Rose leads the Chicago Bulls in points, assists as well as PER. Moreover, Rose has looked every bit as good as he did last season.

Rose's plus/minus stands at an almost shocking plus-96, and his Net48 of plus-15.5 simply shows the tremendous impact he has when on the floor and makes Rose stand out as one of the most valuable players in the NBA. 

Rose's three-point percentage remains above 30 percent, and he has continued to draw fouls, getting to the line nearly six times per game. 

More importantly, Rose continues to be the heart and soul of the Bulls team. Whenever they need a big score or someone to lead them from a deficit, Rose has been there. 

Individually, he has taken over numerous games by himself and has risen to the occasion in every big matchup, including his stellar performance against Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers two weeks ago. 

Rose may not win the MVP this year due to increased competition, but Rose has done everything in the 2011-12 to earn that honor again. 

Carlos Boozer: B

Carlos Boozer: B

Say what you will about Carlos Boozer, but he has done everything he has been asked this short year. 

The key to Boozer has always been health and defense. Boozer has always been a consistent scorer, but his inability to remain healthy for long stretches of last year doomed him. 

Defense is never going to be a strong point for Boozer and while he has not been great on that end, he certainly has not hurt Chicago defensively. 

Boozer's PER of 19.1 is up slightly from his overall total last year of 18.8.

Boozer's scoring has dipped, but that has more to do with the increased minutes of backup big men Taj Gibson and Omer Asik in addition to the numerous Chicago blowout wins. 

Offensively, Boozer has remained consistent shooting 51 percent.

Even if his 18-footers and fade-away post shots are infuriating for fans, if he is hitting them, we cannot complain. 

Boozer is not playing up to the level that he's being paid or that's expected by Bulls fans, but he has been a solid and steady contributor to the Bulls this year. 

Luol Deng: A

Luol Deng: A

Derrick Rose has no doubt been the Bulls best player this season, but Luol Deng is not far behind. Deng's quietly turned into Rose's Robin and has had the best season of his career thus far.

The most valuable thing Deng has done so far this year is shave that really awful Mohawk. It was a nice try, but it just didn't work. 

Seriously though, defensively, Deng continues to be elite, and his Christmas Day showcase against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers showed just how great his defense has become.

Much like Rose, Deng's floor time stats are stunning, coming in at plus-88 and plus-13.3 in Net48.

Deng leads the Bulls in minutes played and has seen his rebounds per game rise from a little over five per game to a career-high 6.7 this year.

Deng is not shooting very efficiently this year, which is affecting his PER (14.7). He will have to do better from long distance, as his 29 percent is very different from the 34 percent he shot last season.

Simply put, Deng has been one of the Bulls' best players this season even if the box score doesn't reflect it. His grade may seem slightly above his contributions, but for one of the NBA's best defensive teams, Deng's contributions are unmatched.

His length and athleticism continue to make him one of the best defensive players in the NBA.

If the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year was awarded to a player with solid perimeter defense and a high volume of blocks, we could be talking about Deng in that conversation.

Unfortunately, Deng’s contributions will continue to go largely unnoticed by everyone but Bulls fans.

Richard Hamilton: C

Richard Hamilton: C

It has been a love/hate relationship between Richard Hamilton and the Chicago Bulls this season.

Hamilton has not played poorly at all, but he has not played particularly well. 

The main thing for Hamilton has been injuries, as he has been plagued by a strained hamstring and has only found himself in five games. 

Even then, his 12.4 points per game certainly aren't bad, but Bulls fans had higher expectations for the once high-scoring Hamilton. 

Hamilton's 12.8 PER also tells the story of a player who has been solid but largely mediocre. 

Rip has shot well from the field (45 percent) but has struggled with this three-point shot, shooting only 28 percent and taking a little over one per game. 

The idea that Hamilton would come into the Bulls system and hit three or four three-pointers a game seems to have been a long shot.

It was assumed Hamilton was sleepwalking through his past few years in Detroit, but it's likely his best days are well behind him. 

C is a perfect grade for Hamilton's year because it has not been bad, but I struggle giving him anything above average. It may take a fully healthy Hamilton before we can fairly asses him, but at this point, he's been mediocre. 

Ronnie Brewer: B

Ronnie Brewer: B

The surprise of the early Bulls season has been the play of Ronnie Brewer.

Brewer has issues with his hand and wrist last year, and despite word of his injury, Bulls fans were disappointed by his contributions. 

Fast-forward to this year, and Brewer has arguably been the Bulls' third-best player.

Brewer's scoring average has increased to 8.5 points per game this year, but his efficiency is at elite levels this year. 

Brewer is shooting an amazing 63 percent on three-points and an equally great 52 percent from the field, both team highs. 

Defensively, Brewer has continued to be one of the Bulls' best defenders if not a little quieter due to a lack of steals. Over the course of the year, I am confident Brewer will generate more turnovers.

Where Hamilton has disappointed in not being a true three-point threat, Brewer has stepped right in.

While it is unlikely he will continue shooting at an elite rate, the inclusion of a three-point shot to Brewer's already versatile game makes him one of the Bulls' key players and one of the best in the early 2011-12 season.

Kyle Korver: B

Kyle Korver: B

I have always been one of Kyle Korver's biggest critics, and if I had written this article a week or so ago, it's likely his grade would have been a D. 

Korver seemed out of rhythm and was having issues hitting his three-point shots.

This past week, Korver has been shooting well and looks like the Korver that Bulls fans expected when he signed as a free agent last offseason.

Korver's scoring remains consistent to where he was last year, but more importantly, his efficiency has risen tremendously.

Last year, Korver shot 43 percent from the field and 41 percent from long distance. This year, he's at 48 percent and 53 percent respectively.

Both of those turn Korver from a streaky three-point shooter to a legit threat.

Korver's defense continues to be subpar (probably an understatement), but his on-the-floor statistics (plus-19.3 Net48) indicate the team is not being hurt by his defense.

If Korver continues the hot play he has displayed the past week, he will continue to be a key member of the Bulls and be a legitimate threat any time he touches the ball.

Joakim Noah: D

Joakim Noah: D

I know this will not be a popular grade, but it has to be said.

Joakim Noah has been a tremendous disappointment for the Chicago Bulls. 

It is not that Noah has gotten worse; he really has not been worse than normal.

It is more that he has not gotten better. Noah appears stuck in a rut and even appears to be regressing offensively. 

Noah's offensive game looks as poor as it did when he first came into the league.

His scoring has fallen from 11.7 points per game to 7.4 this season. His rebounds per game are down from 10.4 to 7.8 and more glaring, his minutes have fallen, especially in the fourth quarter. 

Noah, who had always been an efficient scorer, is now shooting a mere 39 percent from the field, down from 52 percent last year.

That simply cannot happen. 

Noah's rebounding has seemed to regress, and he is struggling bringing the ball into his possession, seeing his defensive rebounds per game drop from 6.6 per game to a mere 4.8 this year. 

Noah will always be the hustle of the Chicago Bulls, but there comes a time when we have to look past that hustle and see how poor Noah has played.

It has come to the point where I cannot fault head coach Tom Thibodeau for playing Omer Asik in the fourth quarter.

I am also at the point where I would not be too upset if Noah did not start.

A healthy, consistent Noah can really be an asset to this Bulls team, but at this point, Noah appears to be the sixth or seventh best player on this team.

Plain and simple, Noah has been a huge disappointment for the 2011-12 Bulls.