Chicago Bulls Report Card: How The Bulls Measure Up in the Season's 1st Quarter

The season is off to a great start for your Chicago Bulls. A 16-8 record may not sound like it, but the Bulls have shown themselves to be a real elite team in the East and even in the league. This 14-8 team came after the formerly cursed Circus Trip (which the Bulls haven't had a winning record on since Jordan) and what Jeff Sagarin calls the fourth hardest schedule in the league.

They've also had to achieve this record without a fully capable Carlos Boozer and without a meshed roster. With this team not fully assembled, it's hard to accurately grade all of the players on the roster, but either way, it's time for the Bulls Quarterly Report! To clear things up, I am grading players by what their expectations were at the beginning of the season:

A—highly exceeds expectations

B—exceeds expectations

C—met expectations

D—below expectations

F—disaster

Derrick Rose—A+

Rose is easily the player on the teams with the highest expectations. But I am not lying to you when I say he has surpassed even my wildest dreams. And this is coming from the biggest Bulls homer this side of the Mississippi. I really wasn't sure how good Rose really could be, but he really is everything that Bulls fans could have hoped he could have been. In my Bulls biased opinion, he's at the front of my MVP discussion. When he has a weakness going into an offseason, he will fix it. There are few players that have that kind of drive. He also has a Kobe Bryant-like killer instinct. If Rose was all about stats, there's no telling how many points he would average. It's crazy how much of a team player he is and he deserves the highest praise for everything he does.

Keith Bogans—C-

You may be wondering why I would rate Bogans this highly. We expected Bogans to sit on the end of the bench and never do anything. Well yes, many of us wish he was there, but he has been a decent player for our team. His role is really just a placeholder until head coach Tom Thibodeau figures out what we need to combat the team we're playing and substitutes Ronnie Brewer or Kyle Korver. We really need to get a legitimate player at the starting two, but Bogans hasn't been awful. Just bad.

Luol Deng—B+

Deng has been a surprise. He has quietly averaged 18 and six and has quietly become a deadly three-point shooter and has actually gotten BETTER as the season has gone along. In November he averaged about 35 percent. In December, he's averaged a blistering 53 percent from three! He's also done what you need to be a perfect complement for Rose—he plays good defense, he moves without the ball and he spaces the floor. Today, I would not trade Deng for Carmelo Anthony.

Carlos Boozer—Incomplete

Boozer has been very effective for this team when we needed it. It seems that whenever we need him to step up, he has. However, he's only done it for a few games and hasn't really put up the numbers consistently. However, I think in the next few weeks we will see him really start dominating.

Joakim Noah–B+

Last night broke the hearts of many a Bulls fan. Noah is having surgery today on torn ligaments in his right thumb. However, this is proof that he has the best heart of any player in the league. He played through an injury that is so difficult to play through. Bulls trainer Fred Tedeschi said, "Every one of these I've dealt with either through pain or instability, they've never been able to play."

The injury clears up a little bit why Noah has been a little off this month. After averaging 12 during November, he only averaged nine so far in December. But for the season, Noah has been having a career year, even after having a crazy year last year. We can only wait for Noah to come back, for he is the heart and soul of the team.

C.J Watson—C+

This grade really isn't Watson's fault. Watson is a scorer, you saw that during the game when Rose was out in Denver. The Bulls have brought him on to be a facilitator, which just is not his game. When we figure out roles, you can really see him emerge.

Ronnie Brewer—B-

If I was running the team, Brewer would be your starting shooting guard. We bring Bogans in as a starter because of his solid defense and adequate offense. However, Brewer is a dangerous offensive player in his own way and is the first real defensive stopper on the perimeter that we've had since Scottie Pippen (Sorry Kirk Hinrich fans, it's true).

Kyle Korver—B

Korver has been up and down so far this season. However, just the threat of Korver shooting makes defenses back off of Rose, which has been huge. Thibs seems to be using Korver in the role of a Ray Allen—space the floor, run off screens and kill teams for leaving him open. Korver has played relatively well in this role.

Taj Gibson—B+

Gibson has been very good for the Bulls. In the few games that Boozer missed, Gibson was one of the best power forwards in the game. No joke. His defense has been elite and his rebounding was vital to many of the Bulls' wins. His offense after Boozer has come back has been off, but he's absolutely one of the top bench big men in the league.

Omer Asik—B-

This may seem high for Asik, but remember what we thought he was going to be at the beginning of the season. Maybe a fifth big, but that was the highest we were willing to put him. Now look at him. With the loss of Noah, we will get to see what Asik can bring. Don't be surprised if he surprises you with his production.

James Johnson—D

 There have been games where Johnson comes in and just turns the tide of the game and wins the game for us. Sadly, these games are few and far between. His defense has been pretty good, but he needs to stop fouling at this insane rate. His offense has been a problem. When he plays in games in situations that matter, he still shoots like it's garbage time. If he can stop fouling and play in the offense, he could be a player in this league.

Kurt Thomas/Brian Scalabrine/John Lucas III—F

Okay, we didn't expect really anything from these players. However, when they've been needed, they've accomplished nothing. Thomas especially was a decent player last year, but he just hasn't shown up at all. Scal is one of those players that you just question why they're in the league. Lucas is a little bit more of an unknown, but those free throws missed in the Denver game really stick with you...

Tom Thibodeau—A-

Thibs has really been a good coach. You really see the difference between a real basketball mind like Thibs compared to a placeholder like Vinny Del Negro. The one criticism I have is that when he brings his bench in, he NEEDS to make sure and keep a starter out. It shouldn't be a line change like in hockey. Other than that, he's been a fantastic coach and I only expect improvement.

Overall—A-

This team has just been fantastic thus far this season. Injuries to top players have been an issue, but the team hasn't missed a beat. Barring some huge setbacks, this team will win 55 games or more and maybe even make the Eastern Conference Finals. All in all, an exciting season ahead for your Chicago Bulls!