A Layout of The Chicago Bulls 2015-16 Regular Season

Oct 20, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg directs his team against the Indiana Pacers during the first half preseason game at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s a complete layout of projections, thoughts, preseason takeaways and much, much more for the Chicago Bulls in the 2015-16 season.

On May 8, 2015, the Chicago Bulls found themselves up 2-1 in a series against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers after one of the most improbable game-winning shots in recent memory. Derrick Rose‘s fadeaway three-point at the horn in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals put the Bulls in a position they had never been before. For the first time, the Bulls had won more than just a single game against a LeBron James-led team in the postseason.

Six days (and a buzzer-beating fadeaway three from the corner by James in Game 4) later, the season was over for the Bulls. The dominoes began to fall for the Bulls, as Tom Thibodeau would later be fired to end his toxic relationship with the front office. Not only were the Bulls in search of a new head coach, rumors of tension between Derrick Rose and rising star Jimmy Butler — who completed a contract year for the ages — began to spread like a plague throughout the news.

As if a 21-point loss at home in an elimination game wasn’t embarrassing enough, the Bulls were without a coach and supposedly without an in-sync backcourt.

Then, with one move by the Bulls front office, the Bulls began to put the pieces of the puzzle back together. Bulls president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman brought Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg back to the NBA and back to the Bulls, where Hoiberg played four seasons in the post-Michael Jordan era.

ALSO AT PIPPEN AIN’T EASY: Welcome Back, Derrick Rose

After the announcement that Hoiberg was the new head man for the Bulls, Butler took his newly-found fame, had some fun over the summer and quieted any rumors between Rose and himself. On top of the new coach and the so-called “backcourt beef” being squashed, the Bulls got a steal with their only draft pick on draft night in Bobby Portis. Last year’s player of the year in the SEC was one of the brightest young stars during the Las Vegas Summer League over the summer break for the Bulls.

To say that the 2015-16 season — the golden 50th anniversary of the Chicago Bulls franchise — will be full of anticipation and intrigue, is the understatement of all understatements.

Let’s take a look at the Bulls season from a few different angles heading into Tuesday night’s rematch with James and the Cavaliers.

Next: Projections