Chicago Bulls: Season Openers in The Last Five Years

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Mar 15, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts to a call in action against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

2010-11: Rough start to the Thibodeau era

Believe it or not, there was once a time where Tom Thibodeau wasn’t criticized. In his first year as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, the Bulls won 62 games (the most since the 1997-98 season), and Thibodeau was named the coach of the year.

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The Thibodeau era didn’t exactly get off to the hottest start, as the Bulls fell to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2010-11 season opener, 106-95.

Derrick Rose struggled, shooting 12-for-31 on the night, Joakim Noah had a huge 18-point, 19-rebound outing, but the Bulls got little else in the loss.

The Bulls were without Carlos Boozer for the opener, who injured his hand in training camp. Despite Boozer’s injury and a thumb injury to Noah later on the season after a 12-8 start in the first 20 games, the Bulls exploded for 50 wins in the last 62 games of the year and rode into the playoffs as the top overall seed.

There was probably panic and frustration after the opener, but little did the critics know how good the Bulls would become throughout the 2010-11 season.

Also, this happened:

Next: A complete layout of the 2015-16 Chicago Bulls season

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