Tonight the Chicago Bulls host the Memphis Grizzlies and try to record their 3^rd straight victory in their home opener tonight. The Bulls back-to-back wins starred Derrick Rose and his aggressive demeanor on the court.

Friday versus the Los Angeles Clippers in LA, Rose posted 29 points and 16 assists (one shy of tying his career high). He also shot 57 percent on the floor (8-for-14 on the floor, 3-for-4 behind the arc). Richard “Rip” Hamilton also broke out of his shell that night with 16 points and five rebounds. Someone the Bulls desperately need to take some pressure off Rose.

“Knowing that guys don’t need any pick-and-roll; they can just score. That makes us tough, makes me feel good knowing I have shooters.” – Derrick Rose on Bulls’ offense this season

Another name comes to mind, Luol Deng. This season he is putting up 18.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. If the Bulls can keep having performances like this, the possibilities are endless.

The only area the Bulls need to really work on is taking care of the ball and their defense. After giving up 20 turnovers against the Warriors, the Bulls have brought the average down from 18 to 16 per game. A number I am sure that Coach Thibodeau and the Bulls will bring down as they progress. The defense is allowing their opponents score 96.3 points per game.

The Memphis Grizzlies’ big men, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph are averaging 35.3 ppg and 17.7 rpg combined.

The Bulls will need to keep their momentum going to bring the Madhouse on Madison to life tonight for the first time since preseason versus the Indiana Pacers December 20.

Monday night, we watched a different Chicago Bulls team perform. A team, I hope, we don’t see again anytime soon. The Bulls are now 1-1 on the regular season.

On Christmas day in Los Angeles, the Bulls showed up as a competitive group that came back in the final three minutes after trailing by eight points. Not only did they have a game winning floater by the MVP himself (Derrick Rose), but we witnessed Coach Thibodeau’s defensive-minded team is just that: defensive-minded still.

Game two, what would be back-to-back nights for Chicago, in Golden State is a completely different game with two completely different teams. The Bulls had trouble keeping up with the Warriors, giving up 20 turnovers and 20 points on the fastbreak. Chicago also settled for too many outside shots, going 8-for-24 behind the arc. They were outscored in the pain 42-32. Regardless of five Bulls in double-figures, Luol Deng had 22 points and 10 rebounds; Derrick Rose chipped in 13 points and eight assists, the Warriors starting backcourt, Monte Ellis and Stephen Curry, combined for 47 points and 17 assists.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulls turned the game around, erasing a 19-point deficit, bringing them within five. It wasn’t enough and the lack of intensity was the probable cause for their first loss of the season.

Tonight, the Bulls will visit the Sacramento Kings.

First things first, they need to provide a defensive edge. In the previous two games, they allowed their opponent shoot over 47 percent on the floor. Containing Kings’ guard Marcus Thorton should be one of the top assignments tonight, possibly for newly acquired guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton. In his last three games against the Bulls, Thorton has shot just under 59 percent on the floor.

The Bulls need to find a way to drive the ball to the rim and not settle for the jump shot a majority of the time. The lack of energy on offense has forced the Bulls into 34 total turnovers in a two-game span.

The addition of Hamilton to the roster and the excelling performance of Deng (almost every game) should take some pressure off of Rose, which is the goal Chicago was trying to reach over the summer. Rose has been stopped in the paint these past two games due to double teams but Rose must overcome that and find a way around the defenders. Rose has been 13-for-30 on the floor. In LA, he went 4-for-6 behind the arc and the next day at Golden State he went a cold 1-for-8.

From a fan’s perspective, I believe he can and will excel and the team is still trying to mold together, it’s just a matter of time. Stay tuned and see what happens tonight in Sacramento!

Adidas has launched a special commercial to commemorate Derrick Rose being the youngest recipient of the NBA’s MVP award.

In case you missed it, nba.com did a really good video of their Top 10 Plays of the season for the Bulls. Enjoy!

The Chicago Bulls showed the Timberwolves just why they’re still the number one in the Eastern Conference with a 108-91 win Wednesday night at the Target Center.

The Bulls came out in playoff form making an early 30-19 run in the first quarter. In the previous three games (vs. Memphis, at Milwaukee and vs. Philadelphia), the Bulls have come out sluggish on both sides of the court forcing them to go 2-1 while breaking their winning streak at 14.

Bulls forward Carlos Boozer hadn’t been reaching his full potential in the last few games but managed to change that with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Kurt Thomas started for Joakim Noah who sat out due to a sore ankle and posted 6 points (3-4) and 8 rebounds. Derrick Rose posted his 13^th double-double with 23 points and 10 assists. Luol Deng chipped in 13 points and 5 assists.

The Bulls played unselfish basketball, sharing the ball and posting 31 assists to Minnesota’s 12. They shot 50.6% on the floor.

Coach Thibodeau was pleased with the Bulls defense, forcing the Wolves to only 41.2% (29.4% behind the arc).

“I thought our locker room was serious, and I thought the start of our start of the game was serious…We established a defensive mindset, a defensive game plan, and I think that got us going.”

The Bulls Bench Mob pitched in 39 points; However, Minnesota had 45 points. CJ Watson posted 13 points off of 5-8 shooting.

Bulls Extra: Bulls outrebounded Minnesota 50-34…Kevin Love posted 16 points and 9 rebounds in 27 minutes in his first game back from a strained left groin…Bulls visit the Detroit Pistons Friday night, former Piston & Bull Dennis Rodman is having his jersey (#10) retired during halftime at The Palace of Auburn Hills…The Bulls are 2 ½ games ahead in first place.

In case you didn’t know, Skip Bayless might be the biggest hater of Derrick Rose alive. On today’s 1st and 10 he went all in on Derrick Rose and made his case why this year’s MVP race isn’t as clear cut as everyone thinks. It’s definitely worth a watch, but I’m not responsible if you want to punch your monitor or send him hate tweets (@RealSkipBayless).

For those of you who missed it, Kelly Dwyer posted an interesting article today on Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie Blog about Floyd Mayweather betting on the Chicago Bulls to win the game against the Atlanta Hawks last week. It’s definitely worth the read.

An MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. It also stands for a player who shows their importance to the game, their team not just by scoring the most points or making the biggest play, but by proving how their leadership, decisions on and off the court, motivation and passion determine the outcome of the game and the season in general. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose displays it in every game.

Saturday’s 95-87 win at Milwaukee is a good example of how Rose proved himself worthy of the MVP accolade. The Bulls trailed most of the way, by 12 at the 6:07 mark into the 3^rd quarter. With 3:44 remaining in the 3^rd, down by 10, Rose’s behind-the-back dribble drive off a Boozer screen, found teammate Luol Deng in the paint for the easy bucket.

Rose ended his night with 30 points (8 of them came in the final 3 minutes) and a career high 17 assists. The Bulls within 2 at the 3:42 mark, Rose connects with Carlos Boozer for the tie at 83. Boozer finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Rose then went back-to-back-to-back to take the lead 93-87 with 42 seconds left in the game.

Joakim Noah posted a double-double, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Four Bulls players were in double figures, while the Bench Mob pitched in 25 points (54 points total in the last 2 games). Ronnie Brewer chipped in 10 points.

Defensively, the Bulls held the Bucks to 39.2% on the floor, while forcing 11 turnovers. Offensively, the Bulls suffered behind the arc, only shooting 21.4% (3-14) but made up for it shooting 50% on the floor and 85.7% in the final 5 minutes of the game, and outrebounding the Bucks 47-37.

Ex-Bull John Salmons scored 25 points while Carlos Delfino shot 7-11 (5-7 behind the arc) for 23 points.

Bulls Extras: The Bulls are 53-19 and host the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night…Bulls have 10 games remaining in the regular season…The Bulls have now swept the season series with the Milwaukee Bucks…

To those of you who will read this article, I am letting you know that after months of just sitting here, I (Joe Willett) will be taking over this site to bring you some fresh Chicago Bull news and opinion.

I will be bringing over esteemed Bleacher Report writers Bob Warja, who also posts at my other website TheDailyCub.com, as well as Sayre Bedinger, who has written over 200 articles on Bleacher Report in under a year.

We will bring you the best Bulls coverage we can, and hopefully you can enjoy our work.

Lets hope I can be a better leader than Vinny Del Negro.

-Joe Willett

The Bulls were down by four with about 20.5 seconds left in regulation, when Ben Grodon threw up a three and was fouled.

Gordon was able to hit the and he hit the free throw to convert the four point play. This sent the game into OT at 106-106.

Ben Gordon had this to say about his clutch 3-pointer:

“I just got a little freedom on that pick by Drew (Gooden). I just drived to shoot it and fortunately Eric Gordon grabbed my arm and I was able to finish.”

The Bulls fell behind in OT early, when the Clippers hit a three.

Then Luol Deng hit back to back jumpers to give the Bulls a 110-109 lead.

Then with 1:09 left Andres Nocioni he took a charge from Zach Randolph which set up the best play of the game.

Derrick Rose a rookie from Memphis drove to the lane made the shot and was fouled. He converted the three point play with 42 seconds left.

That is just clutch!

The Clippers struggled to score at the end, thus the Bulls won 115-109.

Nocioni and Gordon lead the Bulls in scoring with 22 points each.

Tyrus Thomas left early in the first quarter with a concussion.

All quotes from Yahoo Sports.