The Chicago Bulls started off the round two series against the Atlanta Hawks on the wrong foot Monday night after dropping a 103-95 decision.

The Bulls started off slow yet again. Derrick Rose started off 0-7 in the first quarter (two-for-10), he went nine-for-17 in the second half.

After the Bulls trailed by 11 in the first quarter, they came back and outscored the Hawks 32-23 in the second quarter ending the first half trailing by one, 51-50.

The Bulls continued their run and took their first lead of the game, the Hawks answered back with Joe Johnson scoring 11 points in the third and a pair of free throws from Zaza Pachulia giving the Hawks the slim lead and leeway the rest of the game.

The Bulls slow start was due to poor shot selection mainly. They need to be more patient on the offense and get going in the paint. The Bulls only made 13-16 free throws; Rose went 2-7 from the charity stripe.

Rose finished the night with 24 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three turnovers. Luol Deng scored 21 points and six assists. Carlos Boozer started, regardless of a toe turf injury, and chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Joakim Noah scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards. The Bulls only shot 45% on the floor and 44% from behind the arc.

Meanwhile, the Hawks were without Kirk Hinrich, but shot 51% on the floor and 54% behind the arc and out-rebounded the Bulls 38-37.

Joe Johnson led all scorers with 34 points, including a five-of-five from the 3-point line. Jeff Teague, in place of Hinrich, scored 10 points and dished out five assists. Jamal Crawford came off the bench with 22 points. Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds. The Hawks bench outscored the Bulls Bench Mob 37-22.

The Bulls will have another shot at the United Center on Wednesday night.

Bulls Extras: It was announced during halftime that an ESPN source stated Derrick Rose to be the NBA MVP (officially)…Rose came off limping after he turned his left ankle (again), stepping on Crawford’s foot in the final seconds…Hawks went on a 12-5 run to regain the lead in the third…Bulls shot only 29% in the first quarter.

Congratulations to Derrick Rose on being named the 2010-2011 NBA MVP. During the regular season he averaged 25 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game while playing 37 minutes a night and led the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 record.

Coach of the Year

Its official, Chicago Bulls fans! The NBA has announced this afternoon that Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has been named the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2010-2011 season.

Coach Thibs will the fourth Bulls coach to receive this honor. He is also the seventh first-year coach in the NBA to be named Coach of the Year.

“I think it’s more than a team award. When you win the way we’ve won this season, and hopefully we still have some more winning to do, individuals end up being recognized. But I think it’s a lot more about the team, the players, the organization and the entire coaching staff. You don’t achieve by yourself in this game.” – Coach Tom Thibodeau

The Chicago Bulls went from 41 wins last season (under Vinny Del Negro) to a 62-win season this year.

Thibs has led the Bulls to the best record in the NBA with a 62-20 record, which also tied the NBA record for most wins by a first-year head coach. The Bulls also went 24-4 after the All-Star break.

Coach Thibodeau is all about defense, and this season the Bulls led the NBA in most defensive categories such as:

Opponent field goal percentage: 43% (First)

Opponent three-point field goal percentage: 32.6% (First)

Opponent rebounds per game: 38.4 (First)

Opponent points per game: 91.3 (Second)

Opponent assists per game: 19 (Second)

Rebounds per game: 44.2 (Second)

Blocks per game: 5.71 (Fifth)

Coach Thibs will be joining Johnny “Red” Kerr (1967), Dick Motta (1971) and Phil Jackson (1996) in Bulls history.

Second-Round Preview

The Bulls will tip of round two at the United Center vs. the Atlanta Hawks Monday night. Former Bull Kirk Hinrich will likely miss out on the series due to significant strain to his right hamstring suffered in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ series-clinching victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday.

The Bulls might be without Carlos Boozer, who’s suffering from a turf toe injury. Boozer hadn’t comment on the issue; however, teammate Joakim Noah is sure that Boozy will show up Monday night:

                “He’ll be ready.” – Noah on Boozer probable return Monday

With Hinrich out for the Hawks, Jeff Teague will be filling in the role of guarding All-Star (soon-to-be MVP) Derrick Rose.

Containing Rose won’t be easy, even if he’s not at 100 percent. Game 5 of the first round against Indiana should’ve taught them that.

Give the Hawks credit though: They were swept in the first round playoffs last year, and came back this year with upset over Orlando, taking the series 4-2.

Rose did average 25.3 points and had a total of 10 turnovers over three games against the Hawks during the regular season; however, the 83-80 loss to the Hawks on March 2^nd left Rose with just 12 points on a 5-of-21 shooting and six turnovers (mostly due to Hinrich’s defense on Rose).

Rose expects this series to be a challenge, seeing the Hawks as athletic and balanced.

If the Bulls can manage to play like they did in game five of the first round vs. Indiana, the Bulls can come out the victor. They need the Bench Mob to show up in this round, and if Carlos Boozer does return, we need his best minus the foul trouble. The Bulls have to get him going on that pick-and-roll.

Be prepared for a great series Bulls fans! Round two is under way. *Ding, Ding*