Chicago Bulls Highlights to Get You Pumped Up for 2014-15 Season

Watching highlights of your favorite Chicago Bulls players is sure to get you hyped for the season.

Whether it’s an ankle-breaking Derrick Rose crossover or a game-winning three-pointer by Mike Dunleavy, Bulls basketball can be rather entertaining.

This is one of the most anticipated seasons in team history, and expectations are sky-high.

Rose—who has played only 10 games the past two years due to injury—is back on the hardwood. And he’ll team with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah and former Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol to form an extremely gifted Big Three in the Windy City.

Other players to keep an eye on are Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler, Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic. And with coach Tom Thibodeau still on the sidelines, Chicago’s defense should be fun to watch as usual.

Let’s look at five highlights guaranteed to get Bulls fans ecstatic.

All stats are from Basketball-Reference.com.

Doug McDermott Pours in 31 Big Ones

Bulls rookie Doug McDermott put on a show during this year’s summer league, dropping 31 points on the Denver Nuggets. The sweet-shooting forward impressively knocked down five three-pointers in the contest.

While it was just summer league and not a real NBA game, McDermott still displayed his ability to put the ball in the hoop.

The Bulls lacked offensive firepower last season, finishing with a league-worst 93.7 points per game. 

Meanwhile, as a senior at Creighton, McDermott produced 26.7 points and hit 52.6 percent of his field-goal attempts. He should provide instant offense off Chicago’s bench, nailing jumpers left and right.

It’s Dougie McBuckets Time, Bulls fans! And that means it's time to get stoked.

Pau Gasol Goes for 29 and 12

Although the Bulls didn’t sign Carmelo Anthony, Gasol was a great consolation prize.

Winning a pair of rings with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, he brings much-needed championship experience to his new team.

Gasol also brings scoring punch to the lineup. He just may be the Bulls’ best low-post threat since Elton Brand during the early 2000s.

A season ago, Gasol put up 29 points and 12 boards in a March victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Anthony Davis’ crew just didn’t have an answer for him that night, especially in the paint.

Gasol, who contributed 17.4 points per game last year, should easily replace Carlos Boozer at power forward. He’ll take pressure off Rose and help the Bulls get rid of their "offensively challenged" label.

Joakim Noah: The "Point Center"

Joakim Noah has blossomed into an elite NBA center. He plays excellent defense, rebounds at a high level and can sometimes hurt teams with his scoring.

But his superb passing ability has stood out the most over the past two years. Noah handed out a crazy 5.4 assists in 2013-14. That was the highest average for a center since Sam Lacey's 5.7 in 1979-80.

The video above showcases some of Noah's best passes. It's hard to believe that a 6'11" big man can dish the rock like a 6’2” point guard. No doubt about it: He plays the "point center" role exceptionally well.

With Rose returning and Gasol now in the mix, it’s unlikely that Noah will average five assists per game again. But don't worry; we’ll still witness a bunch of pinpoint dimes from No. 13 this year.

Taj Gibson Posterizes Omer Asik

Taj Gibson is capable of bringing the United Center crowd to its feet with his thunderous dunks.

The building erupted during Chicago's win over the Houston Rockets last March. Receiving a pass from D.J. Augustin in the fourth quarter, Gibson went and threw it down hard over former Bulls teammate Omer Asik. Commentator Marv Albert sounded like he almost fell out of his chair, yelling "Whoa, Taj Gibson!"

Per CSNChicago's Aggrey Sam, Gibson had this to say about the dunk:

"

I really didn’t even think about it. I get amped up when I see stuff like that. My eyes just open up when I see a guy, he’s testing me, and I’m not going to shy away from that. I don’t know why ‘O’ — ‘O’ knows that. But I just saw him coming. But things like that are going to happen. I respect him for even jumping because a lot of big men late in the game wouldn’t do that. That just shows that he’s really in for his team, and I would have done the same thing if I was him.

"

Gibson has made a ton of eye-popping plays throughout his career; surely we'll see a few this season as well.

The Old Derrick Rose Is Back!

This slideshow wouldn’t make much sense without a D-Rose highlight. The 2011 MVP is easily one of the most exciting players the NBA has ever seen.

Rose’s numbers were far from remarkable during this summer’s FIBA World Cup. He averaged 4.8 points per game and shot a miserable 25.4 percent from the field. Yet he did manage to make a spectacular play in the USA’s victory over Finland.

Rose darted through the defense before getting to the basket and throwing down a nasty two-handed dunk. As you can see in the video, USA teammate James Harden certainly liked what he saw.

With that move, Rose gave Bulls fans hope that he can return to his old self.