CHICAGO — With the NBA less then 24 hours away from tip off, it’s time to get really excited for what this season holds. Last season the Chicago Bulls went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals but fell short of the ultimate goal of a title.
This season the Bulls return with the basically the same cast of characters sans Keith Bogans and plus Richard Hamilton. But although some parts of the team are different the goal remains the same: win an NBA title and return a banner to the United Center. The 2010 season held many memorable moments, from the dominance at the United Center to the emergence of the Bench Mob to the obvious triumph of Derrick Rose’s MVP victory. As we enter the 2011 season here are five stroylines to watch over the course of this 66 game season.
1. Derrick Rose Continuation of his MVP Season
Last season we were all treated to the sudden and amazing emergence of Derrick Rose as a serious NBA superstar. This year he will continue his rise to the top of the NBA and everyone in Chicago should be very excited. To top it off he just got paid — five years, $94 million — and now that Rose has his contract taken care of he can totally focus on his main objective: a championship. Rose has said numerous times it’s not about the money (and hey if I had just gotten a $94 million payday it wouldn’t be about the money for me either). Instead for Rose it’s all about getting a championship and etching his name even deeper into NBA legend and Chicago lore. His 2010 campaign will be tough to top, and don’t expect him to be as dominate as last year but expect him to be close and with the offensive weapons built in around him that’s a pretty sweet deal for Chicago.