Preseason Starts Tomorrow in Indiana!

By Sean Mackey

Finally, after a 5 month wait, the Chicago Bulls are back! The boys in red will be taking on the Indiana Pacers at the Conseco Fieldhouse tomorrow night at 7pm in the first of 8 preseason exhibitions. I didn't think I would be this excited with Ben Gordon leaving us for the dirty Pistons, but I have some faith that Chicago can make it to the playoffs this year. With a new emphasis on defense, the Bulls will look to shut teams down then run the ball. I like that idea but can the Bulls actually play defense? Well, we'll get our first glance at the team tomorrow night and see how well they do against a team they "should" be blowing out by 20 on a regular basis. Here's a look at the projected starters:

PG: Derrick Rose
SG: John Salmons
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Tyrus Thomas
C: Joakim Noah

PG: TJ Ford
SG: Brandon Rush
SF: Danny Granger
PF: Troy Murphy
C: Roy Hibbert

Chicago's A-Gray is going to be out for 6-8 weeks with an injury and Indiana will be without rookie Tyler Hansbrough and SG Mike Dunleavy. Overall, the Pacers starting five is terrible. Granger's a great player but he can't shoulder that kind of load.

Things to Watch For:

1. James Johnson - The biggest question mark in the 2009 NBA Draft, will he succeed?

2. Joakim Noah - Worked on post moves and put on 5 lbs of muscle. The man is ready to bang.

3. Luol Deng - Out for most of last season, will he return in top form?

4. John Salmons - Can he compensate for the loss of Ben Gordon?

5. Derrick Rose - All-star material? You bet.

Alex and I will be in attendance towards the nosebleeds for this colossal battle of crappiness sporting our ridiculous 1990's Champion jerseys and heckling Pacers fans.