The United Center was rocking in a way I have not seen in a long time. The atmosphere in the stadium was infectious and the Bulls contracted all that energy and turned it into a Friday night beat down. After a hard fought and well-earned win against the Pistons in what resembled a matchup from the 1990’s, offense was much easier to come by against the Pelicans.

But much like Wednesday night, the Bulls offense was fueled by their defense. They swarmed the Pelicans in the first quarter containing them to 17 points. It seemed like there was a block or a steal on every Pelican possession. The Bulls turned 5 turnovers into 9 points and it really fueled the Chicago crowd and gave the team a true home court advantage. The game was never in doubt and Zach LaVine didn’t even score. Last year, if Zach had a cold shooting stretch the Bulls were losing that game. Things have changed this season as DeRozan scored 10 first quarter points to help their cause.

The Bulls big three all played extremely well and were efficient in doing so. Demar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball had great home debuts after mixed results against the Pistons on opening night. DeRozan poured in 26 points and went to the charity stripe nine times and converted on eight of them. Lonzo Ball messed around and got a triple double with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Zach LaVine had an ultra-efficient night shooting almost 60% from the field, on his way to 32 points on 6 of 9 shooting from deep. LaVine didn’t record his first bucket until halfway through the second quarter. He went scoreless for the first 18 minutes of the game and then erupted for 20 in six minutes.

That’s a dangerous development for the league. The Bulls don’t have to depend on LaVine for everything anymore. He’s saving his energy not feeling like he has to score every single possession. He’s being a distributor and he’s active on the defensive end. A new Zach LaVine has been unlocked this season as he finally has a team that help him carry the load.

We just got a totally different energy with this team, goals that we’re trying to go out there and do it’s a next game mentality. We expect to play this way…this is the most excited I’ve been playing basketball, and I’m having a lot of fun out there and we’re really competitive on both ends of the court and I think it shows.

Zach LaVine

The real unsung hero for the night and who will be the Bulls x-factor all season was Javonte Green. He looked like the Javonte Green we watched in the preseason. Bulls broadcastor Stacey King likes to say there are five Javonte Green’s on the court at times and it defnitely looked that way. The box score only shows 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal but he was super active all night. He added a couple blocks and had some highlight dunks in the first quarter that energized the team and broguht the fans to their feet. He’s a special talent that plays like he’s 6″9″ even though he is listed at 6’5″. He showed flashes last season when he was aquired from Boston, and he showed that he can be an important player in Billy Donovan’s rotation.

Zach LaVine told the city of Chicago in his pre game speech “we have a team you can be proud of”. He ain’t lying. This team has a different feel than teams in the past. The Bulls hadn’t won a season opener in six years until this year. You can see the cohesiveness with this squad and it’s bleeding into the fan base. This is a super athletic team with athletes all over the floor. The Bulls are back! The United Center once again will be a true home court advantage in 2021. You can expect to see this team on SportsCenter’s top 10 regularly. Buckle up Bulls fans, it’s going to be a wild ride this year.