Chicago Bulls Tickets

Chicago Bulls 2008/2009 Season Preview The Chicago Bulls were expected to be a possible representative from the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals last season, but instead they inexplicably fell flat on their face and didn't even make the playoffs.

Heading into this season, the Bulls are ready to chalk last season up to inexperience and off-the-court distractions that kept them from realizing their full potential.

The team got their offseason off to a fantastic start when they somehow managed to win the rights to the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft despite having the slimmest of chances to do so.

Instead of taking Michael Beasley, the player who would make the most immediate impact, the Bulls opted to select point guard Derrick Rose. Rose should be a good one, and his selection makes it clear that Chicago has not been happy with the play of Kirk Hinrich or Ben Gordon.

Rose isn't likely to begin the season in the starting lineup, but he could slowly push himself in there by late in the season. A combination of Rose and Gordon at the guard spots could be very difficult for teams to contain.

I think Gordon rebounds nicely this season. He is just way too talented on the offensive end not to be a force. Hinrich was terrible last year but he has a great work ethic and should be much improved in 2008-2009.

Out of all of the players on the roster, I think the one most primed for a breakout season is forward Tyrus Thomas. He was a little raw when he came out of college early, but he is entering his critical third season and seems ready to take off.

The most talented player on the entire team is probably Luol Deng, but he and the Bulls are in a contract dispute that very likely could result in him landing with another team. Deng wants a huge deal but the Bulls seem unwilling to offer him the money he wants. Either way, the team needs to get this out of the way so that there are no distractions heading into the season.

There is no doubting the amount of talent on this roster, but the big question is whether or not it can all come together and result in wins on the court.

There is no way this team missed the playoffs with this amount of talent, but I don't seem them leaping back up into a contender for the conference title. The Bulls will likely end up as the sixth or seventh seed and play the role of a dangerous underdog in the playoffs.