As the 2014-15 season kicks off with the Bulls hosting the Washington Wizards in their first of eight preseason games. Here are three things to watch for at the United Center tonight.

Rotation

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding how Tom Thibodeau will utilize the Bulls new found depth in 2014-15. Tonight should provide a quick glimpse towards answering some of the more lingering questions facing this new and exciting Bulls team.

Should Taj Gibson start instead of Pau Gasol? Is Gibson unhappy about not starting and will the role of “closer” be enough to keep him happy, and if so is that even the plan? We will see how that works tonight.

How many minutes will Derrick Rose play a night?

How much time will the Bulls highly touted rookies in Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic see and what should we expect from them?

If McDermott goes off with a “monster” preseason is it possible he might play his way into a starting role over Mike Dunleavy? Many think he doesn’t deserve it, but his play is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Tom Thibodeau has alluded to the idea of staying away from the “jumbo” lineup of Joakim Noah, Gasol, Gibson/Mirotic, but will he at least give it a shot with this new set of players?

It was recently reported that Tony Snell is falling out of favor with Thibs despite a fabulous summer league campaign. Will the preseason be Snellycat’s final shot at proving he deserves a shot at the rotation and if so how will he respond?

Thibodeau may be leaning towards giving recent addition E’Twaun Moore the majority of the playing time behind Jimmy Butler. Butler already plays a thousand minutes a night so there isn’t much playing time to go around behind him. We might get an idea who fills that role tonight.

Pace

Derrick Rose recently said he feels the new look Bulls are a dangerous team, mainly due to the increase of pace and speed they’ve seen in practice.

It will be interesting to see if we get an NBA version of the Running of the Bulls tonight and how it affects Chicago’s game plan.

When referring to the Bulls new fast-paced offense Rose mentioned Jimmy Butler cutting and slashing to the hoop and the Bull’s bigs’ ability to run the floor and pass the ball well.

It’s worth noting because of his injuries the past two seasons this is the first year Rose will play with Jimmy Butler for extended periods on a nightly basis. The combination of these two on the floor together is sure to help create ample space providing running lanes to the hoop for both Rose and Butler.

Another interesting development to watch will be the aforementioned “BIGS” working together in the low post. Noah and Gasol are both known as great passing big men with Gasol being the more adept offensive player. Considering their ability to distribute will Thibodeau plan for the offense to flow more through them using an inside out style? Or will Rose control the tempo? The former would be easier on Rose’s body earlier in the season.

Rose’s Rust

The most obvious thing Bulls fans will be watching is the offensive game of Derrick Rose and whether or not he has found his stroke after a terrible shooting display at the FIBA World Cup where he averaged just 25.4 percent from the field.

Rose had this to say in regards to any pressure to perform after a two year absence and his less than stellar offensive numbers in Barcelona, Spain–

“I’m not that anxious, ” Rose said after Monday’s shootaround. “I think playing in the USA games calmed my nerves a little bit. So I’m just ready to play. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time, and y’all should be able to see it.”

The most promising takeaway from his FIBA World Cup run was his ability to stay healthy and the flashes of the classic Derrick Rose explosiveness of old. Any basketball player will attest that after such a long absence it’s one thing to shoot around in a gym and another to perform at game speed. After his participation with Team USA and a week of practice with his Chicago Bulls squad the world should see a marked improvement.

Although only time will tell. Tip off is in a little over an hour, so we won’t have to wait long.