Bulls fans have plenty to like

The Cubs are done, another Blackhawks' championship team has been ripped apart by the salary cap and the Bears appear ready for a rebuild.

Should Chicago sports fans get excited about the Bulls?

Well, sure. There is plenty to like about the local NBA franchise. They're expected to grab another top-four seed in the Eastern Conference. They have maybe the deepest team in the league, with an interesting mix of age groups.

The Bulls' roster includes some older guys who are still effective, such as Pau Gasol and the currently injured Mike Dunleavy. There are veterans who should be in the prime of their career, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, among others. There are rising stars like Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, whose improvement might help the Bulls exceed expectations.

But it's probably safe to say enthusiasm for the Bulls season won't knock over tables or anything. It's been four years since the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference finals with a team on the rise, and that progress hasn't been matched.

The Bulls open the 2015-16 season with new coach Fred Hoiberg on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center.

Las Vegas odds tell a pretty good story about the Bulls. According to mytopsportsbooks.com, the Bulls are 25-1 to win the NBA title, ranking them seventh in the league behind Cleveland, Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, the L.A. Clippers and Houston. Then again, the Bulls are second in the Eastern Conference, which means they could be one significant upset from playing in the Finals for the first time since 1998.

There's another interesting set of odds: Over/under on games played by Derrick Rose is 57.5. Rose's fragile health is the biggest reason expectations for the Bulls are not soaring.

Rose was pretty good last season, his first extended action after nearly two years off with a pair of knee injuries. Then he broke the orbital bone below his left eye in the first practice of training camp. He missed all of preseason until logging 10 minutes while wearing a protective face mask on Friday against Dallas.

That's clearly the problem for the Bulls. Depth is nice, but in the NBA, you win with superstars. In 2010-11, Rose was the MVP. At the moment, the Bulls have no one to challenge LeBron James, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or James Harden among the league's elite teams.

Could they emulate San Antonio, though, with Gasol matching Duncan, Rose as Tony Parker, Butler as Kawhi Leonard and the power forward trio trying to emulate newcomer LaMarcus Aldridge? Looking at it that way, the Bulls might have a chance.

Rose actually looked pretty good during his short stint on the court Friday. He seemed quick, decisive. Like he said before breaking the bone in his face, this was the first summer in a few years he could focus on basketball training, rather than injury rehab.

Preseason didn't prove much. The Bulls would often look great for one quarter, then awful the next as they learn a new system. Here are some thoughts on how the Bulls could develop into a true title contender this season:

• The superstar factor: Rose doesn't need to be MVP or even first-team All-NBA, but he needs to take a step forward from last season and stay relatively healthy.

• Bench strength: If Hoiberg is going to use Noah, Gibson, Aaron Brooks and Doug McDermott as reserves, the Bulls should never lose the bench points.

• Living large: As the NBA trends toward smaller lineups, the Bulls will plan on playing big. Between Gasol, Mirotic, Noah, Gibson and rookie Bobby Portis, they'll likely have two bigs on the floor at all times. They should never, ever lose the rebounding battle or fall behind in second-chance points.

• The long rangers: The Bulls were hot and cold from 3-point range in preseason and that might be their most important statistic this season. The best NBA teams shoot well and often from long range. The Bulls weren't bad from behind the arc last season, 35.3 percent. But they need to increase both their percentage and number of makes.

• Crunch time players: To go far in the playoffs, the Bulls will need Rose, or possibly Butler, to be an effective late-game finisher. Likewise, they need a second player (besides Butler) who can do an effective job of guarding James in what seems like an inevitable playoff series against the Cavs.

Right now, Tony Snell is the top candidate. If he can't do it, the Bulls might need to make a trade to improve their odds of reaching the Finals.

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