The Chicago Bulls are getting ready to open the season against the Miami Heat and that will mark the return of Derrick Rose to the starting lineup after missing all of last season and the two teams will play at American Airlines Arena in South Florida starting up at 8 pm on the TNT channel and the game will be on the radio as well.
The radio coverage will be on WMVP-AM 1000 in Chicago and also on local Miami radio. The Bulls come into the season with high expectations and Rose is being looked at with heavy eyes, as he is coming back from serious knee surgery and everyone is wondering how fresh he will be.
Rose has looked very good in the preseason and he has been explosive off the dribble and now the season gets started and he could be a potential MVP candidate this time around with his return, while Miami and LeBron will clearly be the favorites. 90 percent of general managers selected LeBron after being asked who they would pick to start a team and while Rose did not crack the top of the list, he is one of the top three players in the East heading into the season.
The Bulls play tenacious defense and after winning 45 games last season, bringing back Rose and adding Mike Dunleavy to help shore up the outside shooting could be just what the team needs to get over the top. The Bulls next will play the Knicks at the United Center on Friday and that is an anticipated game, as Chicago gets to play two of the top contenders in the conference in just the first two games.
The Knicks, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets along with the Indiana Pacers are expected to be the top teams in the conference and ones like the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards also feel like they have a chance. Miami will be the favorite until someone knocks them off and since it has been three years now, that isn't looking likely and the Bulls could be one of the teams that does it.
Rose comes back looking strong and it remains to be seen how he will be at regular season game speed. The team won 45 games without him and a playoff series last season and now they have their MVP back in the lineup. The Heat have retooled as well and added Greg Oden and they should be a very strong teams this season as well. Luol Deng led the team in scoring last season while Joakim Noah was first in rebounding and Kirk Hinrich was tops in assists. LeBron was the man once again and led all three for Miami and they will play the Sixers next on the road after opening against the Bulls.