Carlos Boozer Out

The Chicago Bulls will have to wait a little longer than expected for help to arrive in the post. Newly acquired free agent Carlos Boozer is expected to miss the first 15 games of the season with a broken hand (requiring surgery), after falling over his gym bag while trying to answer the front door of his house. His possible return is tentatively scheduled for early December, depending on how fast the injury heals.

"It's tough. Obviously, I'm disappointed. I feel bad about it, but we got guys who can play, man. Guys will be able to step up and play. We've been practicing hard, getting ready for the preseason right now. I'm going to be there supporting them. I'll be their biggest cheerleader and sideline coach, snd I'll be busting my butt trying to get back and healthy and attacking my rehab trying to get right," said Boozer, as he spoke to reporters about his injury.

The signing of the two time all-star power forward over the summer to a 5 year, 80 million dollar contract came as a big relief for a Bulls team that needed more presence in the post to complement emerging star Joakim Noah after getting nailed in the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This won't be the first time that Boozer will miss significant time throughout the course of the season.  The power forward's injury problems have plagued him over the course of his career, as Boozer has sat out 145 regular season games (23 percent) throughout his career with multiple kinds of injuries.

So what does this mean for the Bulls? They will have to change their game plan at the start of the season because the success of this squad featuring many new faces relies on the presence that Carlos Boozer offers near the basket. Boozer has earned a career average of 17.2 points per game, as well as 10.2 rebounds per game throughout his 8 year tenure in the NBA. With the offensive arsenal that Boozer has, he requires a double team while having the ball in the post, which would give players like Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer many open shots in the perimeter.

With Boozer being unavailable until December, Derrick Rose must carry the team on his shoulders, much like he did last year. However, Rose is coming into the season fresh off of winning the FIBA World Championship with the team over the summer.  Rose started at point guard for team USA and gained a lot of confidence in a leadership role, which he hopes to bring back with him to the Bulls.

As many fans already know, the Bulls are notoriously slow starters. Through the past 5 years, Chicago has always been a team that seems to get red hot after New Years and make a spectacular run into the playoffs. If the Bulls want to be major players in the Eastern Conference this year and finish top 4 within the conference, the start of the season is crucial. If the Bulls can survive their annual "west coast circus trip" and play their way into December with an above .500 record, they will be in pretty good shape, as the tides of the Central Division have turned with a new Cavalier team sans Lebron James. With Lebron taking his talents to South Beach, the Bulls have been chosen as the heavy favorite to win the Central Division.

Boozer's possible replacement, Taj Gibson, will look to fill a pair of very big shoes. Gibson is coming off a rookie season in which he started 70 games, averaging 9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

"It was kind of hard," Gibson said to reporters about the injury, "because I came in, I was expecting to just go against him again in practice, just get better, because the whole [experience] was a positive, just learning from him, getting better. Then to come in, see him hurt, hopefully he gets back [as] soon as possible because I know our team's going to need him."