Bulls vs. Lakers: 5 Surprising Things Chicago's First Win Told Us

There were some positives and some negatives for the Chicago Bulls in their opening game victory against the Lakers. On the whole, you're never going to get discouraged by a come-from-behind win against the Lakers in the Staples Center.

On the other hand, not all was bright and sunny, even if they were in California on Christmas Day.

Here are five things we learned about the Bulls in their opening day game. 

Rip Hamilton Needs Time

After the second postseason game against the Pacers, it looked like the Bulls' offensive problems were over. However, it looks like there still is going to be an adjustment time before Richard Hamilton really gets things going. 

In his first game, he got in early foul trouble and only hit on three of eight shots. 

While it's too early to claim this a failure, it does show there's work to do before Hamilton is a working part in this offense.

Boozer Looked Good

Carlos Boozer gets slammed a lot by the Bulls fans, and some of it isn't fair. In spite of going 1-of-4 from the line, Boozer all in all looked pretty decent on both ends of the court.

On the offensive end, he was 7-for-13, and scored 15 points and added six rebounds. While those totals aren't spectacular, they aren't bad. 

More importantly, Boozer moved well on both ends of the court. His slimmed-down physique meant he was a little bit quicker and was better in his rotations than last year. He even had a steal and very nice block. I'm not arguing he's ready for the All-Defense team; I'm arguing he's improved. 

The bottom line is he won his head-to-head matchup with Pau Gasol, who most would argue is a better player, and that's a positive thing to see. 

Luol Deng Is Ready to Step Up and Be a Leader

Luol did not let the grinch shoe-wearing Kobe Bryant steal Christmas from the good people of Chicago. He scored five key points to put the game in reach. He got the steal that set up the game-winning shot. Then he blocked Bryant's shot to seal the game. 

Again and again Deng stepped up big, doing what he needed to do and arguably had the best game for the Bulls. 

Last year during the playoffs, there was a stirring moment where Deng roused the crowd, waving his arms and inciting the United Center to cheer. It was out of character for the normally demure Deng. 

He's looking more and more like he's ready to step into that role, being the veteran leader the Bulls need him to be. 

Derrick Rose Might Be Too Reluctant to Shoot

Derrick Rose seems to be focused on becoming a more efficient player, talking about having a higher "basketball IQ" and making "better decisions" in multiple televised interviews. 

While that's good to hear, and it's apparent in the 22 points he scored on just 13 field-goal attempts, Rose might be to reluctant to shoot. He put up just one shot in the first quarter. In the third quarter, while the rest of the team was 2-for-18 from the field, Rose was 3-for-5, with two of those coming from three-point range. 

When the offense is struggling, Rose still needs to step up and score. 

The Bulls Don't Need to Be Their Best to Win

Perhaps the best lesson is that the Bulls can beat a good team on the road when they aren't playing their best, and that's the sign of an elite team. On the one hand, they had a horrendous shooting stretch where they were 5-for-41. 

On the other hand, during the rest of the the game they were 31-for-48. 

You're not going to be at your best every night. Sometimes you're going to have stretches where the shots don't fall. This game had the same feeling as some games last year that the Bulls lost on the road, like the games against New Jersey or Charlotte. 

Seeing them beat a quality opponent on the road despite certain struggles is a positive and it shows that the young Bulls squad has grown as a group.