Why Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls' First Win Is a Sign of Things to Come

The Chicago Bulls opened their 2011-2012 campaign by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Christmas Day in an exciting game, that culminated with a 12-5 run in the last minute and a half, and a Derrick Rose game winner with 4.8 seconds left. After the exciting game, there are some things that we can take and look at to forecast the season. 

The Bad

This game was just sloppy. Much of this can be attributed to the shortened preseason, but the Bulls looked absolutely awful on offense at times, and it looked like they had no way of getting out of their funk. The worst moments offensively came with Derrick Rose off the floor, because the Bench Mob had no ability to get things going offensively. In the third quarter and fourth quarter, it was like the basket had a lid on it, and no one on the team could get anything going until late. 

The lack of offensive options really took its toll against the Los Angeles defense. For most of the third quarter, the Bulls were just settling for long jump shots. There was very little ball movement for that period, and there wasn't anyone who was taking it into the teeth of the defense until Derrick Rose late. The Bulls need to find a player other than Derrick Rose who you can give the ball to for some easy offense, hopefully either Carlos Boozer in the near future or Rip Hamilton. 

Foul trouble was also an issue that could follow the Bulls. While Rip Hamilton is a serviceable defender, he may get into foul trouble against the elite shooting guards of the NBA, and that will hurt you much more than Keith Bogans getting into foul trouble last year because you want Rip to be around at the end of games. 

The Good

To start things off, the Bench Mob is without a doubt the best bench rotation in the entire league. Even though at times they had lots of trouble scoring, they showed an ability to play tough defense when necessary. As well, they did an excellent job of rebounding, especially Omer Asik who grabbed eight rebounds in only 19 minutes. The bench mob did have some trouble scoring, and that was largely due to just missing open shots. You have to imagine that more times than not, someone on the bench mob will have their shot going, and that will only increase their effectiveness. 

Luol Deng as well had an excellent game, even though he did not appear to on the box score. Deng finished with 21 points on the night, but his biggest effect was coming up big when it counted. With 45 seconds left in the game, Deng finished with a three point play, two clutch free throws, and three straight stops against Kobe Bryant to set the stage for Rose's game winner. Even though he was not hitting his shots, he still managed to contribute fully, and that is a great sign for the season.

To add to things, Carlos Boozer played a very solid game. He showed just about what he is going to show all season: he can provide some efficient offense, some rebounding, and almost no defense. 

The best signs however had to do with Derrick Rose's performance. To start things off, we saw a VERY efficient Derrick Rose on the floor Sunday afternoon. Rose finished with 22 points on merely 13 field goal attempts, even though he did not get a single free throw attempt. Throughout the game, Rose was doing a very good job of trying to get his team involved. He only finished with five assists, but that was not his fault, his teammates just weren't hitting their shots. However the best thing that we saw from Rose yesterday was his 4-6 shooting from three point land. Even more than last season, Rose just looks confident in his shot. Of course at some point, it was too a fault, but having a consistent long-range shot just makes Rose that much more dangerous, especially on a team that lacks three point shooters. Of course the best sign is that Derrick Rose can still "MVP" teams in the final seconds, even over seven footer Pau Gasol. 

Conclusions

Christmas Day was a mixed bag in terms of production, but the Bulls managed to pull off this win against a team that has won two of the last three titles anyway. You have to imagine that the Bulls will perform much better typically, and so Bulls fans should be optimistic about the season.