Well, at least Derrick Rose was aggressive.

That’s about all you can say about Thursday’ match up between the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Lakers, who pummeled the feisty bunch (108-93) into the year 2001 when Bryce Drew was the soul of the offense.

This team? They don’t seem to have an offense.

I say this on a night when Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich came out flat. Meanwhile, LA was getting second- and third-chance points because of their size with Pau Gasol returning.

What bothers me most about this loss, is that I actually stayed up to watch the game. I’m not talking about the end of it. I’m speaking about the start at 9:30 p.m., central time.

I got off work early and I was home by 5 p.m. – a rarity and luxury to say the least. By 6:30 p.m., I was confident that I could close my eyes for the rest of the night.

I relented and then, after watching that crap until 11:30, I couldn’t fall back asleep. Not even a peanut-butter sandwich could end this bout of insomnia.

More likely, it was watching the Bulls struggle to get to the foul and knock down open jumpers. But you can’t read too much into, really. The LA Lakers are better than this team in every regard—and they have Kobe Bryant.

We have Vinny DelNegro.

This was one of those games that if the Lakers made a single scoring run, the game would be over. It did. It was over.

Anytime Ron Artest has five seconds to stand at the three-point line and consider whether it was a good idea to really quit that job at Best Buy or take the shot, the game is not close.

But there were some positives. Lindsey Hunter made a cameo; he’s kind of like the retired C-list actor that you’ve seen in 15 other movies but you were never sure of his name, but you’re like—"oh, there’s that guy from 'My Cousin Vinny!'"

Joakim Noah played well on the national stage. I hate it when a player from your team (say, Jay Cutler) puts together a wonderful season or has vastly improved and the national sentiment is reduced to what ESPN highlights have made of him or what their reputation has been for the years past (think Brian Urlacher).

Noah’s defense wasn’t sharp but it was important to note that he was not being pushed around by more athletic and stronger centers like Andrew Bynum in the past. He held his own, stayed out of foul trouble and strung together 12 points and 15 rebounds.

He ran the court when he should have and continues to sink that wide open jumper from the elbow, as he should. Teams are still sagging off him to defend Rose and Hinrich as they attempt to drive to the basket to draw the defense.

Noah has better hands and can finish in spite of contact—something that he never had in his repertoire in the past. He has improved vastly. He’s also a confident player, sometimes demanding the ball in the post, not to score, but to move the ball around as well.

Doug Collins made note of Noah’s improvement on Thursday’s telecast, even mentioning as the front-runner for the league’s most-improved player. But he was mostly alone on Thursday, desperately in need of Tyrus Thomas leaping ability to help him handle defensive rebounding chores.

Taj Gibson and Brad Miller do what they can, but neither are enough to stave off two seven-footers.

James Johnson also racked up some garbage minutes, and I’m beginning to see a player that may not ever really fit in the NBA. He reminds me mostly of Lamar Odom, but is not nearly as tall.

He is not in the best of shape and looks aloof on defense, and his rebounding is terrible. I kind of liked the pick at the time for the Bulls because it seemed like they were going for the best player available but he may be years away.

He needs an off-season of conditioning and needs step-by-step instructions on where to be at the right time. I don’t see the value of a point-forward when you have Rose and Hinrich, anyway.

Johnson made a difficult post move in garbage minutes, but has done little else this year to help this team. Gibson, meanwhile, seems much more polished, confident and aggressive with his game.

The contrast is stark.

Just as it was with these two teams. The Lakers are big, but they have shooters who can knock down the three, as well as go to the post and draw contact.

The Bulls can’t do either—and maybe it’s a lesson on how far away they are from a championship.

If this was the way Derrick Rose came out of the gate last year, we’d be calling him a bust.

He’s not really doing anything right: turnovers, the biggest defensive liability on the team, being outplayed by other rookie and no-name point guards, little to no assists and he’s especially passive with no real creativity on the dribble as the Bulls put away the Kings 101-87.

I’m not lowering my expectations, but it’s awfully hard to watch—particularly when we consider how poorly the Bears’ Jay Cutler has played in the last month.

There was a play to close out the half where Rose was isolated at the top of the key against an oversized and slower Beno Udrih, who wouldn’t start on any other team in the NBA, and couldn’t blow by him for an easy basket or to draw the defense, or to draw a foul.

Instead, he switched hands clumsily and had to take a fade-away jumper that hit the front of the rim, where Noah grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the putback.

Nothing looks easy for Rose right now.  

Feel better about your Chicago Bulls now?

I see a clumsy, tentative player who is unsure of his ability right now. So how do you fix it?

Well the good news is we know he’s a better player than this. Nineteen-year-olds don’t come into the league at one of the toughest positions and dominate by becoming the team’s best player with 16.8 points a game and 6 assists.

Stats aside, he was brilliant.

I was quick to point out that Rose wasn’t progressing last year because his coach Vinny DelNegro was still learning his job and that he had nine other coaches on his staff who knew more than he did. By the way, try working for someone that you know you are better at his job than he is. 

You ever get the sense that Del Harris was dropping off coaching books the way Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) did to Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) in ”Se7en”? While Harris is drawing up defensive game plans for the Celtics series, Vinny is listening to dribbling fundamentals on his iPod.

“Set up cones, and have your players try practicing with their off-hand. And then make them dribble with two balls at the same time…”

Perhaps Vinny is doing a better job this year; perhaps not.  Even then, great players excel in spite of their coaches. But I’m still convinced Larry Brown would figure out why Rose struggles on defense so much.  With the Bulls playing so well on defense and needing some easy buckets on offense, the Rose of 2008-2009 would really help this team right now.

There are some questions that worth asking, however.

With so much athleticism and length—and a very coachable prospect mind you—why have we not seen any kind of improvement in Rose’s defensive game? Nothing. Not a stitch of improvement from his rookie debut to now?

Why does his dribble look so long and clumsy? Even if he didn’t play the preseason, he should get his feel back for the game by now.

What exactly did Rose work on in the offseason? We know he’s a worker, but the game should come more natural to him by now . His jumper looks better, but I’m not sure if he’s confident in it—particularly the three, which he has no real intention on taking.

Until Rose hits that shot consistently, defenses will sag and make him drive into a double team where he is often making passes out of step or into traffic.

On a brighter note, the bulls got off to a good start against a team they needed to beat in the Kings who will vie for the top pick in the lottery this year and will struggle with revenue because they still have a picture of Mike Bibby on their promotion material.

Although, they certainly have to be happy with the draft pick of Tyreke Evans who kind of looks like a cross between, well, I don’t know. You don’t see too many 6’5 point guards these days—at least good ones.

He’s a pure point too, and to a fault, the Kings have him out of position at the two. He’s smooth and explosive with a knack for getting to the basket and solid finishing ability. He likes to go to both sides and is aggressive.

Between Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and Ty Lawson, we have a fresh crop of points that all will compete for all-star roster spots in the next decade.

For now, we’ve got to get our guy back to being merely a starter again.

Ask Mike a question for his weekly email column. Dumb questions are encouraged. Michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com

I watched “Observe and Report” with Seth Rogen this weekend per Netflix and I didn’t know what to make of the film.

Was it good? It could have been just as bad as it was funny.

It’s a nasty comedy, one that doesn’t balk at mocking mental disorders or slamming the back of kids’ heads with skateboards. But it was delightfully weird and well-acted, and the parallels are hard to ignore to this Bulls season so far.

For instance, Rogen plays a bipolar, militant mall security guard who is hell-bent on catching a pervert who flashes women. In some ways, you love the character and then you hate him.

Sort of how things are going with Chicago teams these days. So, I give to you eight weird things about the Chicago Bulls so far in reverse order (cue Billy Ocean's Caribean Queen in the background to really get in the mood).

8. Joakim Noah is really good. I mean like-all-star-esque-in-the-thin-crop-of-east centers-good. On Saturday night, he ignited the team with a thunderous slam as he split two defenders to rally a slumping Chicago Bulls’ team. He is finally matching effort with his talent, and is clearly carrying a Bulls team that cannot score or get much out of their cornerstone Derrick Rose.

The Noah story is by far the most important of any so far, and it clearly gives us something to be happy about. Noah actually has some offensive touch and is pulling his weight on defense. Everything about his success tells you what you need to know about the exceptionally athletic Tyrus Thomas: That he’ll never be that good. He doesn’t get it.

7. Vinny DelNegro’s dad is not sitting on the bench anymore. Could you imagine Phil Jackson or Greg Poppovich having their dad sit on the bench with his team?

In last year’s playoff run against the Boston Celtics, DelNonsense had his father sit with the team for some, um, reason. Needless to write, he was one of the NBA’s best punchlines all season long and this merely added to his lore of inepititude. What’s weird this year, is Vinny actually does look competent and has his team better prepared defensively. I still don’t know what that means for the long-term for this team.

6. Derrick Rose is a better shooter than last year but a lesser player. Few athletes have emerged at the point guard position quite like Rose: He’s a physical specimen. He broke into the league last year and was putting everyone on notice that a new breed of point guards were arriving in the NBA.

This year, he looks like he’s battling an injury and teams are trying to get the ball out of his hands with double teams off the high pick-and-roll.

Vinny should just isolate Rose on the perimeter and let him beat his man off the dribble like Dwayne Wade does. After watching rookie point guard Brandon Jennings go off for 55 points, 45 in the second half, against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, it reminds us that Rose may still be years away from being an all-star.

Scoring doesn’t come to him as easily as guys like Jennings or Chris Paul, and he’s not the crazy-assist guy you’d think he was with a mere 6 assists per game last year and 5 per game this year.

His best defense usually consists of Kirk Hinrich coming off the bench.

He’ll get better…but how much better?

5. I don’t hate Joakim Noah’s face anymore. He used to be the guy we rooted against on our own team. Because he was mostly bad for his first two years in the NBA—the bizarre hair, the smallish face, the gangly arms and posture, matched by a bizarre free-throw, the celebrity parents all made him an easy target. The running style never helped either.

Just don’t count on seeing him in Vitamin Water commercials anytime soon.

4. The Bulls suck on offense, and kill on defense. Flip that phrase around for the 2008-2009 season.

3. The Great White Hope is gone. Aaron Gray gave disoriented fans the idea that he was good because:

• He was big and fleshy.
• Made an occasional low-post move.
• Looks like he’s working hard.

We could call it the Aaron-Gray theory. It works like this: Most professional athletes are African-American and the majority of season-ticket holders are not. The hustle, hustle, white guys who look like they’re trying really hard and lack athletic ability become fan favorites (see Andres Nocioni, Tyler Hansbrough, the Bird-Man, Brian Scalabrine and all white defensive tackles).

Problem is: They’re not that good and they capture fans' interests. Admit it, you've fell prey to this several times. We even describe them as "cerebral" or "smart" to make up for their lack of a distinctive skill. 

2. I’m beginning to think that LeBron James may consider the Chicago Bulls in 2010. This needs a column onto its own. But despite a pretty good record after a slow start, I don’t see the Cavs winning a championship this year with so many strong teams out there. And you look at his roster and think what would he stay for?

More importantly, the Bulls will be among many of those with cap space and they have nice roster with Noah, Deng, Rose and Hinrich waiting for him in the third largest market (he's not going to Minnesota or Utah) . I can’t really think of other big-market teams that offer more, unless Bosh comes to Cleveland or James goes to Miami to join Wade.

1. I like Luol Deng again. This may be the real Luol Deng rather than the one we’ve seen for the last two years. Good enough, just not worth $72 million.

Bloated contracts are nothing new in the NBA—but at least you can’t put him in the top 20 of worst contracts out there, and sometimes that’s the best compliment you can give a team: “At least they don’t have to keep paying this guy.”

See the New York Knicks or the Cleveland Cavaliers where weirdness is the norm.

I grew up in Bridgeport in Chicago, so I saw that game too. Yes, that game. 

The  Rutgers vs South Florida matchup.

Actually,  we all got a good look at Jay Cutler's impersonation of Jeff George on the national stage. For some reason, he is at his worst when more people are watching and it's night time. 

I don't get it. 

But then again, I kind of do. See, I didn't expect the Bears to be that good this year (I had them at 9-7) but we finally had a quarterback. Period. Next position. I still think Cutler is the goods, he's definitely the answer, but these kind of performances amp up the critics and make the Broncos look smarter every day. 

So here's what mainstream media like the Chicago Tribune misses and fantasy football fans overlook. The receivers are really mediocre. People look at a stat sheat and see that they rack up decent yards and ocassionally catch a touch down but they rarely get open, so Cutler has to thread a needle on more plays than not. 

They also give up on plays and are not very creative when improvising, they're small and not physical at all. Just fast and sort of nimble. 

The offensive line is awful and they were bad on Thursday night as Cutler had to dance a lot. Did anyone see that play in the first quarter when Chris Williams was literally launched backwards when he attempted to pick up the blitz?

You don't see that in the NFL. You don't see pro offensive line man go straight backward and fall. For what's it worth, I'm calling Williams one of the biggest busts of Jerry Angelo's regime because he came from one of the deepest most talented offensive line man draft classes in two decades that already gave us potential hall of famers Ryan Clady and Jake Long. 

Jeff Otah of Carolina is an absolute road-grader and Branden Albert of Kansas City is a potential pro bowler. Gosder Cherilus of Detroit is above competent, Sam Baker (along with Matt Ryan) is one of the reasons why Atlanta has turned their franchise around so quickly and even Duane Brown on Houston has proved he'll be a starter for a long time. 

On top of all this, Williams had back issues which Angelo was aware of prior to the draft. He's not strong, not physical and not very good at pass blocking either. 

Angelo managed to pick the one lemon out of the group. Tough to do.  He was directly responsible for a sack, partially responsible for the jump-throw interception as Williams guy was already touching Cutler and fully dumb for his personal foul for diving at a defensive player well after the play was over.

Not a stitch of progress, not a lick of hope, not even a wow-did-you-see-that play that shows some upside. Just a guy that would have probably been benched a while ago had he not had first-round royalty painted all over him.  

At the same time Orlando Pace was probably benched in favor of Kevin Shaffer who probably wasn't any better than older, slower guy.  Meanwhile Olin Kreutz can't snap a football out of the shotgun, and considering the years of fumbled snaps from three different quarterbacks, there seems to be a pattern.

Ladies and gentleman, your 2009 Chicago Bears. 

So, back to Thursday night and the Cutler mess. 

He was awful. He threw two picks in the red zone and the final one he may have had a shot to run himself, but he's a quarterback and he's supposed to throw the ball and he did and they lost. 

His timing is off, he rarely is able to complete a pass to the second read and he's obviously unsure if his receivers are truly open (whisper: they aren't). He throws a perfect 20-yard dart to Devin Hester and he slips and the interception gets taken back for 51 yards. 

Add to the fact that his offensive line can't pick up a 3 and 1 or make a goaline push with Matt Forte, this offense rests entirely on him to make great plays all the time. 

And last night, he completely lost it. Accuracy, timing, vision--they're all off.

Even when plays were executed, like when he hung in the pocket despite a free blitzer approaching his throwing side and zipped the ball to Earl Bennett who trampled down field for a gain of 55 yards in the fourth quarter,  the play was called back for illegal man down field on Roberto Garza.

This team is dumb and bad, and it's the culmination of terrible drafting in the last three to four drafts. 

There's also the cliche that Angelo is good with mid- and late-round draft choices but that hasn't been true for three years. Look at the roster of third-rounders in recent years: Garrett Wolfe (he's smaller than my mother), Dusty Dvoracek (big reason why people worry about inflating cost of nationalized healthcare) , Michael Okwo (insurance salesman), Macus Harrison (decent), Earl Bennett (guy), Jarron Gilbert (for my next trick, I'll play football) and Juaquin Iglesias (I'm Earl Bennett 2.0).

And that's just the third round.Remember Dan Bazuin in the second round, which they traded away Thomas Jones for? Sure you don't. And Gaines Adams needs to eat something.

This is a mass failure of scouting and gross over-confidence in their ability to develop projects, un-do injuries and basic ineptness. The trade down of speed for size thing works when guys are actually fast.

You look at the bears and no one in the secondary is a speedster except for Danieal Manning and the defensive line is simply too weak to push anyone off the ball.

So you get the idea that Cutler is probably thinking he has to do everything and he has the ability to do it.

Ron Turner's calls were solid on Thursday, but people won't look at that. They'll have to blame someone, and they'll go at Cutler and the offensive coordinator and the coach.

But the man above it all is Angelo and just think he starts with a third-round pick in 2010.

Someone tell me when the Bulls are supposed to turn into a jump shooting team.

Part of what made the Bulls so awkward and unpleasant to watch last year is that they scored with considerable ease but arguably had one of the worst defenses in the league. 

Flip that around in 2009. 

The Bulls fell to the Raptors 99-88, netting only 28 points in the second half in an awful shooting display. These last two games give me an uneasy feeling about the season: The Bulls are dead last in three-point shooting and have difficulty getting to the foul line. 

Points don't come easy to this team. 

And it's become clear, as many of has suspected, John Salmons is not a good fit for this offense. He holds the ball, jab steps, jab steps again and tries to beat his man off the dribble. 

The problem is defenders are playing him more aggressively and they realize that he does not have a quick release that is better suited for Derrick-Rose's-centered offense. 

We can't be completely surprised by this. Raise your hand if you knew who 29-year-old John Salmons was prior to the trade that netted him here. Even my basketball brain couldn't describe much about Salmons, who was having a good year with the lowly Sacramento Kings. 

He's a decent player, but he can't be your second option on a decent or even good team. The Bulls probably know this too but they had to keep the cap space open for 2010 instead of resigning Ben Gordon who is one of the most prolific shooters in the NBA. 

I think we'll see Salmons play better ball in the coming months, but you get the sense that he is not comfortable in his role right now. 

It's also apparent that the Bulls are going to labor a bit without Tyrus Thomas. Vinny DelNegro seems too comfortable with a shortened rotation and he obviously doesn't much like rookie James Johnson. 

At this point, we know little about Johnson other than he has no real role on this team. 

Writers were raving about him in Summer League and pre-season, noting that his game will easily translate to the NBA (why do we always see those endorsements back-fire, where the guys most easily adaptable to the big league, struggles?). 

And Jannero Pargo has been a mess. I know the guy can shoot, we've seen it before but they've got to get more out of him. 

I hate to write it, but this team needs Thomas back. It's possible that guys are pressing and are becoming tired. Even Joakim Noah, who has been fabulous thus far, raised his hand in Tuesday's game against the Nuggets because he was too tired to run down the court. 

And this is where a young coach (or bad) is most noticeable.  The rotations are not ideal and he is afraid of using James Johnson instead of letting him make mistakes (sounds like Thomas). 

The Bulls are .500 team now, something they'll probably be at the end of the year. But, if Derrick Rose doesn't get better, Salmons and Pargo shoot better or Thomas doesn't return as expected it could be a lot worse. 

You know what? I was certain that Brad Miller got that shot off in time.

So was he. 

But the refs weren't and they probably got the call right. This would have given the Bulls another victory against a quality opponent before they go on that circus thing they do every year. 

For some reason this team looks better in every facet of the defensive side of the game. They are aggressively closing on opponents, defensive rebounding and even closing off the lane better. 

Usually these offseason makeovers don't work. Remember Rod Marinelli was supposed to transform the defensive line into a wall. We're still waiting on that one. 

But the Bulls look like they can play defense as they managed to keep the high-scoring Nuggets nearly 20 points below their season average. Luol Deng held Melo to 20 points and beginning to think that Deng may make a bid for one of those all defensive teams if this keeps up. 

He's kept LeBron James, Gerald Wallace and Carmelo Anthony in check. The Nuggets came out isolating Melo on the wing with Deng guarding him. Instead of attacking him, Melo settled for jump shots. 

• The Bulls will point to the departure of Ben Gordon as the reason for their improved defense but the answer is even more simple: Joakim Noah got better, Taj Gibson has a brain (insert picture of Tyrus Thomas thinking) and Luol Deng is back and healthy. 

• That's a lot of length and decent athleticism. 

• Plug in John Salmons to play the two on bigger guards, a sore spot for the Bulls since Gordon arrived, and Derrick Rose back at the point who looks like he's getting healthy and you've got a pretty good defense. 

So the Bulls can expect to be in most games. 

Though they have this dumb habit of falling behind quickly and making a rally in the third quarter. They didn't do that Tuesday night. Instead, they came out scoring. 

Then they let the Nuggets back into the game. 

It's also becoming clear that Joakim Noah is going to make a bona fide run at the league's most-improved player. While his backup, Brad Miller, is being put on the All Star ballot, Noah is emerging as one of the more promising young centers in the league. 

Sam Smith of Bulls.com already is wondering if he's a better player than Greg Oden, the former No.1 overall pick. I still can't believe I'm reading or writing anything that involves Noah and basketball that equates to success. 

When he was suspended by his own team and then showed up out of shape to start the previous season, I was certain he would be out of the league in a few years, merely sticking around as a journeyman because of his height. 

Then, in Cedric-Beson-like fashion he may have realized that his draft status means little when the money runs out and your career is threatened. I heard rumors that Noah was really working out in the offseason, like actually lifting weights, actually practicing some offensive moves and maybe even attempting to learn the game. 

On Tuesday he hauled in 21 rebounds and scored 12.

He had some trouble guarding Nene in the first half, but came on late. He helps on defense better than ever before and it's apparent that Vinny is relying on Noah to rack up a llot of minutes with Thomas out for weeks with an injury. 

It's become clear that Vinny is not high on James Johnson who is still trying to find his place on the court. He looks uncomfortable and I still don't see an NBA move in his arsenal. 

The Bulls will face off with the Raptors at 6 p.m. Wednesday and we'll see if their defense can hold off the shooters on this odd team. We'll also know if Noah can guard better players like Chris Bosh. 

Let's see how healthy Derrick Rose is Tuesday night as he'll take on Chauncey Billups--maybe the only point guard stronger than him in the NBA.

 While Billups is already in his 30s, he has hardly lost his physicality at his position. He also has three elements of his game that Rose needs to develop: three-point shooting, a post game and defense. 

Of course, the storyline will feature Carmello Anthony against Luol Deng, who has played solid defense this year. He even managed to hold LeBron James in check a few days ago. 

What we're seeing early on is that Deng is apparently healthy--much healthier than the guy we've seen last season. His shot is falling, he's taking better angles on defense and has been an active and aggressive rebounder. 

Actually I forgot what Luol Deng really looked like, and it couldn't come at a better time for this team as they continue to look for points with a departed Ben Gordon and an ailing Rose. 

The difference this time, of course, is that the Bulls and maybe the fans realize this may be as good as he'll ever be, but they'll take it since they've committed $72 million to him. He can be a pretty good NBA player, maybe better.

The Bulls have also developed Joakim Noah nicely, who has found his niche in the NBA. He's even demanding the ball ocassionally in the post and has taken a few open jumpers this season. 

He'll face off with something they call Nene on Denver. 

For now, the Bulls have to string together as many victories as they can before they head out on the circus trip--an annual pitfall for this team since Jordan left a decade ago. 

Joakim Noah doesn't look like the guy this time in 2008.

Last year, Vinny DelNegro couldn't opt for the guy because he wasn't in shape. He couldn't depend on him because he's too lazy, too out-of-focus. 

On Thursday, he was seen holding off a 380-pound balloon they formerly called Shaq. While he didn't shut down the hall-of-fame center, Noah was effective in holding his ground, rebounding, getting his hands in the passing lanes as the Bulls beat the Cavs 86-85. 

That's what smart players do: They' exploit mismatches--whatever it is. 

Instead of trying to outmuscle that thing, he used his length and athleticism. 

Noah also helped out when LeBron James tried attacking in the lane. 

In the big picture of things, it looks like Vinny had this team prepared as they crashed on Shaq and made a priority to rebound not trying to give this team calls. 

Even in the closing play, as LeBron drove the lane with Luol Deng covering him Noah came and helped out. The refs made the right call by letting the play go as LeBron did lose the ball, hoping to get the bailout from Noah. 

Didn't happen. Game over.

I'm not suprised that the Bulls played well against the Cavs; they usually play up to their competition. At the same time, it wouldn't suprise me if they rolled over against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday--a team they should put away in the second quarter. 

They won't. The Bulls are not built for that. 

Even as Derrick Rose tries to come back from injury, points are not coming from all directions. While Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both had solid showings, John Salmons continues to struggle. 

And he simply does not fit this offense well as he tends to hold the ball instead of shooting when open. Salmons does make tough shots, certainly, but they often don't have to be. 

Players like that don't often have the ability to pull the trigger when wide open. It's a mental thing and they're so accustomed to having to work for their shot, that standing at the arc with no one them can cause them to be hesitant. 

There was a lot of good Thursday. While I'm not as excited as everyone else with Taj Gibson, he did show his value against a team that is slow to rotate and doesn't want to stand near the perimeter. 

He has a true stroke in his jumper. It's not a forced big-man's shot because he's open and it will be of huge value as the season develops because teams are going to continue to crash on Rose and Hinrich in pick and roll. 

My favorite play of the game: Rose weaving through two defenders, shielding his strong side and going to his left for what looked like an acrobatic left-handed lay-up. 

This is the night for stars: LeBron James and Vinny DelNegro.

Of course, it's only a matter of time that the two would collide early in the season, pitting ungodly atheleticism versus red ties and inexplicable time outs. 

More seriously, the Chicago Bulls finally take the national stage with an injured Derrick Rose who looks more pedestrian than ever in his early career versus the Anderson Varejao-led Cavs.

The Bulls did not fare well in national games last season, and they'll need to shoot well early if they want to stay in this game. Frankly, I can see Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson getting into foul trouble early with Shaq and company down low. 

LeBron will likely put it into overdrive in the second half. 

That's the way superstars tend to do it. That's what bothers me at times with Rose. Points don't look like they come easy to him. Of course, it's not fair to compare the two, but LeBron can have a quiet 28 points. 

Rose's regular-season career high is 27 points. He rarely racks up double-digit assists and doesn't attack offensive rebounds the way he should (see Rajon Rondo). 

It's easy to blame the coach at this point - which I've been zealous to do because he looks like a doofus - but great players can excel in spite of their team. 

Secondary stars tend to languish (see Pau Gasol's Memphis Grizzlies' career). 

Of course, this is also supposed to be Luol Deng's coming out party after a career night with 24 points and 20 rebounds on Tuesday against the Bucks. But that was the Bucks, and he'll have a heftier chore guarding the guy who is built like an SUV but moves like a Testarossa.

I don't suspect the Bulls will win, but they do tend to keep these games close when playing against good teams. Believe or not, Tyrus Thomas would help this team tonight, but it's still moot. 

He's at home with the flu (insert sick pun, go for it, use it....nah, too predictable). 

Hopefully he watches the game, learns a thing or two because it's obvious that he never listens to his coach. But then again, LeBron rarely pays attention to Cavs Coach Mike Brown and for good reason. 

Let's only hope Derrick can learn the same lesson tonight. 

Let’s hope this is an injury that is making Derrick Rose look like Matt Forte.

A sophomore slump happens, but despite a decent box score, Rose does not look special at this point four games into the season as the Chicago Bulls came back to beat a pedestrian Milwaukee Bucks team 83-81, lead by soon-to-be-star Brandon Jennings who looks like a hybrid between Allen Iverson and Tony Parker.

On Tuesday night Jennings looked like the better player, but Rose got the best of him on the final player as they tried to isolate the rookie guard on the perimeter who eventually was blocked by the taller player.

Thankfully Rose didn’t bite.

Nevertheless, there are so many elements of Rose’s game that looks out of sync: dribbling, passing and, while he was never really good at it last year, his defense is really suffering. Rose is not very aggressive on defense and tends to under screens instead of fight through them.

He did this last year but he looks especially passive this time around.

I can only hope this is a conditioning-injury-rust issue for Rose.  

We can look around the league and see that he is clearly not the only point guard with unique abilities and scoring talents. And if anything, as we’ve seen with Jennings, youth is not an excuse at this point. The team made is run in the 3rd quarter without him.

For now, let’s hope this is rust because we can’t blame his development on the offensive line.

Luol Deng had another nice outing with 24 points and 20 rebounds , clearly showing that he does help out on team defense and should be commended for his effort—something that the Bulls cannot always count on since he tends to get frustrated and space out at times.

And, on a brighter note, it may be that Deng has improved in an area of his game.

It also shows that Tyrus Thomas won’t be missed when the Bulls let him walk af the end of this season. He was “sick” on Tuesday, sent home after showing up with fever symptoms.

This, after Vinny DelNegro sat him in the 4th quarter Sunday against the Miami Heat and then called him individually for not rotating on defense.

One can only imagine what this conversation sounded like:

“You need to get over when Luol’s man get’s beat,” says Vinny.

“I did,” Tyrus looks confidently.

(Vinny looking with eyebrows arched upward…pauses).

“Sit down.”

Then, Tyrus shows up Tuesday for the team’s shoot around in sandals and a hoodie with a cough drop in his mouth,  sniffling.

“I’m sick, Coach.”

(Vinny looking with eyebrows pointed down).

“Should I call your mother to come pick you up?”

While the season is young, the Bulls do look like they’re going to struggle offensively without an improved and aggressive Rose. They cannot shoot—and for a jump-shooting team this will cause problems.

John Salmons appears to be pressing and relies too heavily on his jab steps and pump fakes instead of taking the open jumper.  For this offense to get moving, Salmons will have to learn how to catch and shoot.

The same may need to be said for Brad Miller who has this belief that he’s a two-guard as well. Sure we hear  announcers like Stacey King admire Miller for being “savvy, “ but the shot is so slow and awkward that defensive players can actually rotate in time and set their feet to draw the travel.

We’ll find out how “sick” Thomas was on Wednesday and Thursday, and whether he’ll be needed for rebounding help against Shaq and LeBron because it’s clear that Joakim Noah won’t be able to body up Cheesecake O’Neal.

My favorite play of the game: Kirk Hinrich running the open floor and passing to Luol Deng before he even reached the 3pt line. He caught him in stride and it’s something that many players overlook.