Opening Week Comments

With every team having played at least one game it's time for some early thoughts.

Amar'e Stoudemire is going to get beat up all season long. Unless the Knicks can trade for someone ('Melo) he is going to get double and triple teamed every time he touches the ball. And why not? Danilo hasn't proven anything, Felton is average, and Wilson Chandler can't even crack the starting rotation. To beat the Knicks all you have to do is shut down Amar'e, which is going to happen a lot this year.

Boston is going to beat a lot of great teams this year, but they are also going to struggle at times. For example, the 2nd game of a back to back. Games against lesser teams. And of course the long road trips. All of these things can be attributed to the fact the Celtics are old...Very old. This team is going to get up against the likes of the HEAT, Bulls, Magic, Hawks, Lakers, Mavs, Spurs etc...but against teams like the Cavs (who they just lost to) they will struggle more than a top team should. It's hard for a bunch of mid 30-year-olds to get up for every single game and there is little motivation to play hard against the Warriors or the Wolves.

At some point Rudy Fernandez is going to explode at everyone in the Blazers organization. He has been asking for a trade for months now and in two games he's averaging a mere 19 minutes a night. This isn't going to end well. Either Fernandez is going to force his way out off the team or be a HUGE distraction all season long. There is no in between.

Miami may have lost opening night, but they are going to crush most teams. Losing at Boston is nothing to be ashamed of considering it's the first time the 'Big 3' actually played together. And how did they follow up the big loss? By dominating the 76ers in Philadelphia. The HEAT are going to lose games this year, but rarely will they lose to the likes of the Sixers, Wolves, or Nets. It takes time for players to gel so beating the top teams in the league may not happen right away, but they have way to much talent to lose to the crappy teams.

Speaking of Miami, Chris Bosh is about to become the highest paid 14 point per game scorer in history. Everyone is talking about who will lead LeBron or Wade, but I'm much more interested in watching Bosh become a third banana. If anyone is going to blow up after a few losses it will be Bosh demanding more shots and wanting the ball more. I am really hoping this happens. In two games this season, Bosh is averaging 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds. Way to earn that max money.

Blake Griffin looked ridiculously good in his first game. His athleticism is unmatched at the power forward spot. He flies around the court like a guard. As soon as this year he could be a top five player at his position and that is really saying something considering he is competing against Dirk, Bosh, Boozer, etc...

The Suns are still going to be a lot of fun to watch, but they are at best a first round playoff team. They have no inside scoring presence and as a Bulls fan I know you can only go so far with a team based on the perimeter. Plus Hedo looks terrible. I'm still confident the Suns will sneak into the playoffs, but they won't be able to repeat their success of last year's playoff run.

So on to some Bulls thoughts. First and foremost for the Bulls to be a great team Derrick Rose cannot shoot 30 shots a night. I know he has to score, but there were several opportunities in the fourth quarter where Derrick took a tough shot despite someone being open either underneath or on the perimeter. One such occasion was during a pick and roll with Noah where he rolled to the basket. The Thunder doubled Rose, but instead of throwing an alley-oop for an easy two, Rose forced up a floater that he missed. That was a key moment in the game that could have helped swing things in the Bulls favor. I'm not saying Derrick shouldn't force some shots, but he has to learn when to force it and when to trust his teammates, and anytime Noah is involved he should always trust him.

Ronnie Brewer looks terrible. He looks slow, his jumper is even worse than I remember it, and he can't hit a free throw. The Bulls desperately need Brewer to be their starter. They need his athleticism on the break and his ability to lockdown players like Kobe and Wade. Without him it's a steady dose of Bogans and that is never good.

Kurt Thomas should never play, Omer Asik proved in the preseason he deserves a shot at being Noah's backup. He runs, he defends, he rebounds, and he blocks shots. Thomas does none of these things. That is the only complaint I had from Thibs first game as a coach and hopefully it will be my last.

Deng had a rough first game, but I'm not worried about that. He actually played pretty good defense on Kevin Durant for most of the game and it was clear that's where his focus was. Moving forward he needs to continue to be aggressive and then the Bulls should be fine.

Boozer gets his cast off Tuesday, with any luck he'll be back before December. Since it's Boozer expect him back in January. Just kidding...Hopefully.