The Bulls looked tired tonight as they were getting punished by the Celtics in Boston earlier tonight. They forgot how to play defense overnight as the Celtics shot 58.1% from the floor and a stunning 50% from three point range. Joakim Noah led the way for the Bulls in this game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. Jannero Pargo was very solid off the bench with 13 points in 22 minutes. Tyrus Thomas (8 rebounds, 3 steals), Derrick Rose (2 assists) and Kirk Hinrich (7 assists, 2 steals) each scored 10 points apiece in this game. The Bulls are now 1-1 on the season after this beatdown in Beantown.

The Bulls took full advantage of the Spurs last night who were playing the second of back to back nights. The Bulls outrebounded the Spurs 52-44 last night and they outscored them 27-18 in the third quarter which set the tone for the rest of the game. Luol Deng led the way for the Bulls in this game with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Kirk Hinrich was outstanding off the bench for the Bulls last night with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots in 30 minutes. Tyrus Thomas was effective also in his 26 minutes on the floor as he finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Derrick Rose only made 5 of 12 shots from the floor but he still finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. The Bulls were impressive last night as they start the season 1-0.

The wise guys in Las Vegas have the Bulls regressing a little bit this season. I don’t agree with them but I don’t see the Bulls winning 50 games this season either. They have the look of a .500 team again this season so I would make a small bet on the over if I had to make a bet on the Bulls this year. Having John Salmons and Brad Miller for the entire season should help the Bulls a lot this season and that is the main reason that I like the over.

With Ben Gordon gone this year, the Chicago Bulls are looking for John Salmons, Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich to increase their scoring production from the guard positions.  Fortunately for the Bulls’ guards they have a talented scorer in Jannero Pargo.  Pargo is basically a poor-man’s Ben Gordon, as he can come off the bench and get hot right away.  Pargo played in Europe last year, but in the previous two years Pargo was a great bench scorer for the Hornets.  Pargo may not get a ton of minutes for the Bulls, but he does not need a lot to make an impact.  In two seasons with the Hornets Pargo averaged only 19.8 minutes per game, but averaged 8.6 points per game and 2.5 assists per game.  Pargo’s FG % is not great (career 40%), but he is a good 3 point shooter and is very quick with the ball.  The 6′0″ 180 lbs guard has the ability, like Gordon, to catch fire from behind the ark and turn a game around.  But, also like Gordon, Pargo is a liability on defense as he is very undersized.  He is a career 37% 3-point shooter and I hope Vinny Del Negro uses Pargo’s offensive abilities off the bench the way the Hornets did.

Coach Vinny Del Negro was about as so-so as you can get in your first season as a NBA head coach. He led the Bulls to a 41-41 record (50%) during the regular season and the Bulls were 3-4 (42.9%) in the playoffs. Now it’s time to see if Del Negro can get the Bulls to improve or not. He has the pieces to have a pretty good basketball team but the Eastern Conference is getting tougher. The Bulls look like the 2nd best team in the division so they better play like it.