National Basketball Association

NBA 30 Teams/30 Days Preview: Chicago Bulls

Published Oct. 27, 2014 6:16 p.m. ET

foxsports

Editor's note: This is the 28th of Sam Amico's 30 NBA team previews entering the 2014-15 season.

Projected Starters

C Joakim Noah; PF Pau Gasol; SF Mike Dunleavy; SG Jimmy Butler; PG Derrick Rose.

Key Reserves

PF Taj Gibson; PG Kirk Hinrich; F Doug McDermott; G-F Tony Snell; C Nazr Mohammed; F Nikola Mirotic; PG Aaron Brooks; PF Solomon Jones.

Coach

Tom Thibodeau, fifth year (all with Bulls). You can make the case, every year, that Thibodeau is the NBA's best coach. It's not so much he's a defensive genius as it is he gets his guys to defend -- a lot. When you can reach your players the way Thibodeau can, and when your players believe in the coach, strategy is almost beside the point. Any strategy works when the players listen. And that is Thibs' genius. He has gained his team's respect, perhaps like no other coach in the NBA. Because of that, the Bulls are a serious threat every year.

Strengths

When it comes to chasing a championship, it all starts with Rose. If he's healthy, or somewhat close, he leads the team in every area. He can drive past you, shoot over you, lock you down and give his teammates lots of hope. ... Whereas Rose leads by quiet example, Noah is considerably more outwardly intense. But Noah is perhaps the NBA's best frontcourt defender, grabbing, clawing and just always being in excellent position. He also covered for the defensive shortcomings of Carlos Boozer and will do the same for Gasol. ... Speaking of Gasol, he's lost a step (or three), but is still an effective scorer at his advancing age. The Bulls upgraded at power forward. ... Overall, the depth is good with underrated guys like Gibson, Hinrich and others off the bench.

Weaknesses

The Bulls are so-so on the wings, with Dunleavy and Butler being nice players, but ones from which you never really know what to expect. ... Aside from Rose and Gibson, this isn't an athletic team. And we still don't know how much Rose has lost, or how durable he can be. ... Who here creates his own shot outside of Rose? ... Even when Rose was healthy and at his best, there were always questions whether this was a team that could actually win a championship.

Outlook

As has been the case in each of the past two seasons, it all comes down to Rose. At least, if the Bulls are thinking title it does. But if Rose is healthy, he becomes the all-around weapon, the super-duper star who can lead the Bulls to really cool things. They are fairly deep at every position, with players who understand their roles and play hard for their coach. But it just seems like they need a year to readjust to Rose before winning a title. Getting to the Finals, however, is undoubtedly doable.