Chicago Bulls Set To Open Season Against Bucks; Sefolosha to Start at SG

Not Ben Gordon, not Larry Hughes, not even Captain Kirk Hinrich.  No no, when the Chicago Bulls take the floor against the Milwaukee Bucks in both teams' season opener on Tuesday night at the United Center, there will be a new face in the backcourt with number one pick Derrick Rose.  That new face will be former first round draft pick Thabo Sefolosha.

Sefolosha gives the Bulls size at the position, and is four inches taller than either Kirk Hinrich (6'3") or Ben Gordon (6'3").  The former Switzerland star joins Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, Drew Gooden, and Aaron Gray in the Bulls inaugural starting five.

Chicago may have a new look to them, but so does their opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks.  Led by former Bulls Head Coach Scott Skiles, the Bucks made some moves this offseason that they hope will pole vault them into the playoffs.

The biggest move they made was acquiring veteran SF Richard Jefferson from the New Jersey Nets.  The Bucks no longer have Desmond Mason, Mo Williams, Bobby Simmons, or Yi Jianlian, and their bench has been a bit depleted.  They also acquired PG Luke Ridnour from the Thunder this offseason.

One area the Bucks definitely need some improvement is on the defensive side of the ball, as well as with rebounding.  The bad news for them Tuesday night is that the Bulls are very good at both.

Here is a look at both teams depth charts as well as key reserves:

                  Chicago Bulls                                                         Milwaukee Bucks

PG      Derrick Rose   6'3"                                        Luke Ridnour      6'2"

SG     Thabo Sefolosha   6'7"                                   Michael Redd      6'6"

SF      Luol Deng       6'9"                                       Richard Jefferson   6'7"

PF      Drew Gooden    6'11"                                   Charlie Villanueva   6'11"

C       Aaron Gray       7'0"                                     Andrew Bogut        7'0"

Key Reserves:

SG Ben Gordon                                       SF Joe Alexander

PG Kirk Hinrich                                       G Ramon Sessions

PF Tyrus Thomas                                   G Charlie Bell

PF/C Joakim Noah                                   C Dan Gadzuric

SF Andres Nocioni                                   C Malik Allen

I believe the Bulls will have a good game tonight, outrebounding and outplaying the Bucks on the defensive side of the ball.  

Bulls 89, Bucks 81