The Chicago Bulls played their first game of the season tonight, against the Indiana Pacers, and won, 104-95. Though both teams seemed a bit disorganized on the court, the Bulls were also doing a lot of things right, starting with their newly added players.
New to the Bulls this season (but sadly not all guaranteed to stay) are Derrick Byars, Chris Richard, James Johnson, Taj Gibson and Jannero Pargo (who did not play this evening). Out of this group, Chris Richard seems to be the weakest link, unable to deliver much defense and handling the ball a little loosely from time to time, but even he had some key plays that helped the team out as a whole. Personally Byars and Johnson are my favorites from the newcomers, but in terms of this game it was Gibson who really shined, being lead scorer with 19 points. Could the Bulls have pulled through without this new crew? Probably. But theres no reason to not take the extra support when its handed to us, especially when that support ends up giving us a total of 37 points.
As for the rest of the Bulls, it was John Salmons who really showed off his stuff. With 15 points and a whole lot of fancy footwork, Salmons is well on his way to having the best season of his career.
And of course, no Bulls entry would be complete without a word about Derrick Rose. Though he did not get as many minutes as hes regularly used to, probably to give the new players a chance, he delivered a solid 17 points and is continuing to break ankles with his drives.
Judging by their first preseason game, If the Bulls tighten up on their turnovers and change up their defense strategies, they can certainly make the Playoffs again. With John Salmons in Ben Gordon's old spot, Derrick perfecting his drive and the new guys helping out, the Bulls should once again have a season to be proud of.
Bulls baby. Bulls.
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