21-year old starting point guard Derrick Rose just seems to be getting better. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Rose makes everyone on his team better despite not being a pure pass first point guard. Rose has now played in 159 games (158 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 36.9 minutes, 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. I look for Rose to take his game up another notch in 2010-11.

26-year old C.J. Watson was signed away from the Warriors to backup Rose this year. Watson played in 65 games (15 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 174 games (33 starts) in his three years in the NBA and he has averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Watson is not a pure point guard but the Bulls think he will be fine when Rose needs a break.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLS POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: A

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.

33-year old Brad Miller will be the starting center for the Bulls this season. He played in 70 games for the Kings and Bulls last season in which he averaged 30.0 minutes, 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Miller also shot 41.1% from three point range which is outstanding for a center. He is just a good all-around basketball player but the Bulls will likely watch his minutes this season as he is getting older. Joakim Noah will back him up again this season which should allow Miller to get the rest he will need this season. Aaron Gray will be out for a little bit with a injury but he’s back for the Bulls. He played in 56 games for the Bulls last season and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. 33-year old James Jones will likely be the #3 center for the Bulls until Gray is ready to return to action. He only played in 2 games for the Knicks last season averaging 5.0 minutes, 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Don’t expect much out of him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: C+

23-year old Tyrus Thomas will start again this season at power forward for the Bulls and he appears to finally be getting it. He played in 79 games for the Bulls last year and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 10.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.2 steals and 1.9 blocked shots per game. He has the ability to score more if the Bulls need him to but he will likely be the 5th option on offense. That means to improve his scoring average he will likely have to hit the glass hard but he’s capable of that. 24-year old Joakim Noah is similar to Anderson Varejao of the Cavs as he plays very hard on both ends of the basketball court. He will be backing up Thomas at power forward and Brad Miller at center. He played in 80 games for the Bulls last season and he averaged 24.2 minutes, 6.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Look for him to get more minutes this season as the Bulls feed off his energy when he’s on the basketball court. Rookie first round picks James Johnson and Taj Gibson could also get minutes at power forward for the Bulls this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-

24-year old Luol Deng will be the starter at small forward again this season for the Bulls. He played in only 49 games last season for the Bulls and he averaged 34.0 minutes, 14.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. A healthy Deng gives the Bulls a lethal weapon on both offense and defense as he plays hard on both ends of the basketball court. The Bulls drafted two forwards in the first round to guard against the health of Deng this season. First up is 22-year old James Johnson who was selected with the 16th pick of the first round out of Wake Forest. He’s a big guy at 6’9″, 245 pounds and he will likely cause opposing teams to play a big lineup when he’s on the court. 24-year old Taj Gibson was also picked in the first round with the 26th pick out of USC. He is also 6’9″ but he weighs in at 225 pounds. Both Johnson and Gibson will likely get some minutes at power forward too as long as Deng stays healthy.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-

When 29-year old John Salmons came over in a trade with Brad Miller from the Kings the Bulls thought they would make the playoffs. They did exactly that and Salmons comes into this season as the starting shooting guard. He played in 79 games for the Kings+Bulls last season and he averaged 37.5 minutes, 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Salmons also is a outstanding shooter as he hit 41.5% from three point range last year. Salmons is a young 29 years old as he didn’t play a lot during the early part of his career so he has a lot of time left to help the Bulls. 28-year old Kirk Hinrich will be the #3 guard on the Bulls as he can handle both shooting guard and point guard. He played in 51 games for the Bulls last season and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Hinrich could start on a lot of NBA teams so he should help the Bulls a lot off the bench. Jannero Pargo could also get some minutes at shooting guard this season.

PREDICTED GRADE FOR THE SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B