7 Burning Questions Facing the Chicago Bulls Heading into Next Season

Last season, there was basically one burning question facing the Chicago Bulls, and it was "Can they win the title?" This year there are a number of additional questions, and that is not one of them. Derrick Rose's torn ACL saw to that. 

And, just in case you were thinking, "That's OK. We survived without him last year, we can survive without him this year," the Bulls revamped the majority of their bench. 

As a result, the Bulls are facing more questions this year than last and with less optimism than the year before that. 

These are the burning questions that Bulls fans are asking themselves as we wind down to the start of the NBA season. 

Can Carlos Boozer Do Enough to Keep from Being Amnestied?

One big question is the cloud that is circling Carlos Boozer.

Prior to his arrival in Chicago, he averaged 19.0 points and 11.2 boards per 36 minutes. Since his arrival in Chicago, he's averaged 19.0 points and 10.6 boards per 36 minutes. That colossal drop-off in production...wait a second. 

What were those numbers again?

Yeah, uhm. If you look at it, Boozer is actually pretty much right on his career averages per 36 minutes, and he's coming off the first season in his career where he played every game. 

So, it's a slight possibility his demise has been just a tad distorted.

However, on the flip side of this conversation, it's not about what he doesn't do, so much as when he doesn't do it. 

Last year, he scored 11.3 points per 36 minutes in clutch time. He also saw his rebounding go down from 10.4 to 8.5. His normally bad defense became even worse as his defensive rating rises from 98.9 to 104.2.

As a result, he's found it harder and harder to find himself on the court at the end of games. 

When you're the highest paid guy for your team on the court, you're expected to put your best foot forward in the clutch, not disappear. 

Boozer seems to shine against the weaker teams but struggles against stronger competition. Since joining the Bulls, he's had 23 games with 20 points and 10 boards. Of those, 18 have been against teams with losing records. 

If Boozer wants to play out his contract, he's going to have "get going when the tough gets going" as the expression goes. 

Will the New Point Guards Suffice Until Derrick Rose Returns?

Without Derrick Rose to run the team the Bulls offense is going to have a tough time. Rose's particular blend of skills are the thing which makes the Bulls offense hum, and the reality is none of the replacements have the same blend of skills. 

Marquise Teague might have it, but he's so young and inexperienced that he's a long way from being NBA-ready. 

Kirk Hinrich might have been a worthy replacement once, but he's past his prime. 

Nate Robinson has the ability to penetrate, but not the ability to pass. 

The best hope is that, as last year, the trio of C.J. Watson, John Lucas III and Mike James can do it piecemeal, providing what's needed as it's needed. 

Hinrich, whose glory years were in Chicago will likely be the starter. If he can recover some of that "Chicago-Hinrich," things might not be too bad. 

Can Taj Gibson Prove Himself as a Starter?

For those who wish to see Carlos Boozer amnestied, there needs to be another major question answered first. Can Taj Gibson produce enough offense to replace him?

In the previous 89 games he started, he's only averaged 9.1 points per game. However, the majority of those games came in his rookie season. 

Last year, he averaged 13.6 points per 36 minutes, indicating what kind of production he might have in a starter's role. 

During the postseason, though, he blossomed into a better offensive player than Bulls fans are used to seeing as he averaged 15.0 points per game, often turning the flow of a game with a dynamic play. The number is only slightly higher, but his production was about way more than the number. 

There's also pretty strong evidence the Bulls are a better team with Gibson on the court than when Carlos Boozer is. Defensively, it's not even a discussion. Offensively, surprisingly it is. The Bulls only score one more point per 100 possessions with Boozer on the court. 

Gibson isn't going to produce as much offense as Boozer, but if he can score 15, then the Bulls won't even have to find a new starting power forward if they let Boozer go. 

Will the New Bench Mob Be Able to Replace the Old One?

So much of the Bulls' success last year was the result of the stellar bench play of the "Bench Mob" as they came to be known. 

The Bulls bench was sixth in net efficiency last year, but that only begins to tell the story, as again and again, they had to step up and take over starting roles. 

Derrick Rose missed 27 starts. 

Richard Hamilton missed 38 starts. 

Luol Deng missed 12 starts. 

Joakim Noah missed two starts. 

That's 70 starts, an average of more than one per game, just from the starters. Then, add to that the fact that backup point guard C.J. Watson missed another 17 games and Taj Gibson missed three. 

"Next player up" became the mantra for the team that won the most games in the regular season. It was an impressive, season-long performance. 

Now though, many of the heroes of various games are gone, including Watson, Kyle Korver, Omer Asik and John Lucas III. 

There is a new group who has come into take their place, and there's reason for cautious optimism. Of course, until that optimism is realized, it's just that, so for now, the question is, "Can they?"

Will Luol Deng's Wrist Hold Up?

Last season, Luol Deng tore a tendon in his wrist. Rather than get surgery, he played through it. 

Then, he played through it for the playoffs. 

Then, he played through it for the Olympics. 

Now, he's going to keep playing through it for the preseason. And the regular season...

These injuries can heal on their own, and it's possible that Deng is beginning to have just that happen. During the Olympics, he was using both hands, which wasn't something we saw much of after the injury occurred. 

There are some who made an issue of his field-goal percentage and thought that was indicative of his injury. However, the non-shooting hand is where he's injured, and that's probably more systematic of having to carry the second-worst Olympic team on his back. 

Will his injury heal completely, though, or will it be problematic through the season? If it looks like the Bulls won't be landing a playoff spot, that Derrick Rose might not come back or if it's bothering him too much, he may go ahead and get the surgery. 

In such a case "tanking" might not be such a horrible idea. 

Will Tom Thibodeau Get a New Deal Before the End of the Season?

Tom Thibodeau is the only coach in NBA history to win the regular-season title his first two years as a head coach. Oddly enough, some use that against him. 

They say that he cares "too much" about winning regular-season games, he plays his players too much, and as a result of that, his teams break down in the postseason. 

You could point to the injury issues that the Bulls have had in the postseason as "evidence" that those arguments are right, but it's hard to find a specific postseason injury which can be attributed to "overplaying." 

If the worst criticism of a coach is that he tries too hard to win, and succeeds at it, then that's a fault I'll take 365 days a year, 366 on leap-years. 

So of course, this begs the question. What in the wide, wide world of sports are the Bulls doing? They have yet to extend him, and by gosh, it's time they did. 

Of course, we could just long for the good old days of Vinny Del Idiot...erp Negro. 

When Will Derrick Rose Return, If He Should Return at All?

Derrick Rose and his torn ACL are enough to make any self-respecting Bulls fan weep every time they think of last season. 

It was like we were taunted with what could be, and it was ripped from us. Rose was finally healthy, and the Bulls were going to destroy the Sixers and were on an express train to the Eastern Conference finals. It was like Game 1 was the best the Bulls had played all season. 

Then, in a tragic instance, it was over just as it was getting started. Rose was lying on the ground after a seemingly innocuous landing, and we knew. We didn't want to know, but we knew it was over. 

Not only was last season destroyed, but perhaps, next as well. How soon can Rose come back? How soon should Rose come back? Those aren't really the same questions. 

Some of the reports by ESPN suggest he could be ready as soon as January, according to Scott Powers. Some say he is ahead of schedule. Some say he might sit out the entire season, though those are mostly older reports.

But, when should he return? Should he return as soon as able or should he sit out the entire season just to be on the safe side?

While opinions vary, the best opinions are those of his physicians. The day they feel he is ready, he should be on the court. He shouldn't go out one day earlier, regardless of what he wants, because from what we know of Rose, he''ll want to be out there too early.

However, there's no reason to prolong his return either. The Bulls could actually have an inverse of last season, with a mediocre regular-season record and an outstanding NBA record. 

Chicago played a mere 15 games with their starting five last year, and they were 13-2 in those games. When they get everyone healthy, they are a very formidable team, even with a different Bench Mob.

Rose will need time to shake off the trust and to learn to trust his knee. If he returns after the All-Star break, that gives him just enough time to get back into game shape.

There's the silver lining behind the cloud. If Rose is rested, fresh, healthy and has gotten back to being Rose, the Bulls could have a postseason run. Of course, that's a lot of "ifs" but I like the idea of having "ifs" to hope for.