Where there's no Luol, there's no way

11 words no Bulls fan -- let alone one attending his first game of the season -- wants to hear to open pre-game introductions:

At forward, from Wake Forest, 6-9, number 16, James Johnson.*

And that is how, not negative-3 minutes into the 116-92 loss to the Hawks on Monday night, Bulls public address announcer Tommy Edwards dashed the hopes of an entire stadium (semi-)full of people. I have never been in a place where the atmosphere went from hopeful for an upset to foregone conclusion in an instant like that.* Everyone in the United Center over the age of 6 knew it was over, and Brad Miller hadn't even "jumped" yet.

* This isn't meant as a knock on Johnson, who I actually thought had a good showing. But with Joakim Noah already out, not having Deng was devastating against Atlanta's long, athletic front line.

And 6-foot-9? Really, Bulls? Since he was listed at 6-7 on draft day, he must be hitting his 22-year-old growth spurt,; I'm guessing by the beginning of next season, Johnson will be 7-foot-3.

The game began amid a decidedly funereal haze, and my friend whose tickets they were kept feeling obligated to apologize, as if it were his fault that we had to watch the Bulls JV (when it was clearly Edwards'). Although I have to say I appreciate that he was worried I'd come away thinking, Matt, that dick. He asks me if I want to go to a Bulls game, and then I show up and two of their three best players aren't even playing. What an asshole.

You'd think the Hawks would've felt right at home playing in front of a wholly disheartened and disinterested crowd, but instead they were clearly bored, and might have even felt a little sorry for the Bulls. The game itself reminded me of when I race my nephews: I keep it close because I'm a good guy, but there's no way I'm letting them win. The Hawks toyed with the Bulls for three-plus quarters, and once they decided to put them away, they did it without breaking a sweat.

The good news is, because any expectations I had on the walk to the UC were immediately quashed by Deng's absence, I didn't find much to get riled up about during the game. Sure, given the personnel situation -- Derrick Rose also basically missed a full quarter after some more hot knee-on-knee action -- I would've liked to have seen Acie Law and/or Joe Alexander before garbage time, but that's trifling, really.

Plus I actually enjoyed watching the Bulls not completely cave until the very end. While it's true Atlanta basically allowed them to hang around, the Bulls fought hard enough to pull within six (85-79) of the snoozing Hawks in the fourth quarter. But then Atlanta was like, Wait, this game actually counts?, quickly reeled off nine unanswered points, and outscored the Bulls 31-13 the rest of the way.

Still, I was able to take a few things away from the experience:

1. James Johnson's play was very encouraging.

While he's got a bit of an unusual-for-the-NBA body -- he reminds me a lot of the way Jason Caffey used to look in his uniform -- Johnson showed enough flashes that I think he could become a decent backup to Deng. I especially liked the defense he played on Joe Johnson during a sequence when Atlanta went to their three-guard lineup. Joe Johnson clearly thought he'd have a quickness advantage, but despite repeated attempts couldn't shake the rookie, and eventually had to settle for a contested, badly-missed 20-footer.

While James Johnson also showed a decent shooting touch and plenty of athleticism, I'm hoping that his defensive focus will be why Del Negro ultimately trusts him to play the 12-or-so minutes a game available when a healthy Deng comes to the bench.

2. The Bulls are woefully thin at small forward.

In fact, I've finally realized that they're now woefully thin at pretty much every position. How did I not notice this before?

While the Bulls haven't missed John Salmons recalcitrant gunning, the place where his departure has really been felt is in the small-forward rotation. (And Tyrus' absence is felt there too, as he would occasionally slide over to the 3). Since the Bulls (and the Bucks, for that matter) have apparently decided that Joe Alexander's not an NBA player, they are left with just two viable small forwards, one that's injured, and one that's a rookie. So with Deng out, it's hard for me to get on Vinny Del Negro for opting to go extensively with his preferred 3-guard alignments.

But I will anyway.

Predictably, the Bulls got absolutely destroyed on the boards, 63-37, with Atlanta pulling down 22 offensive rebounds to the Bulls' 29 defensive, for a .431 offensive rebound percentage. Had the Bulls limited Atlanta to their season-average .258 OR% allowed, the Hawks would've had nine fewer second-chance opportunities; when you're already down two of your top three, those extra possessions/shots are not something you can afford to yield.

Because of that, I would've liked to have seen Del Negro get a little creative with his lineups. While the lack of small forward depth is yet-another failure of the front office, Vinny could do a much better job of playing the cards he's been dealt. When you're getting killed on the boards -- and given that both of Atlanta's forwards are basically 3-and-a-half's -- why not try giving Warrick some minutes at the 3? Or get Alexander in there. This was a game they had no chance to win -- if Vinny didn't realize that, he's somehow even more oblivious than I thought -- so what's the harm in trying out some new things? Hell, one of them might actually work.

3. Derrick Rose has a little Scottie Pippen in him.

Not in his game, but his penchant for over-dramatizing his "injuries" when they occur. If I hadn't gotten used to it by now, every time Rose went down I'd think he was out for the season, based on his reaction.

Speaking of Pippen, I was thinking last night how the most sneaky-effective part of his game was that pull-up, top-of-the-key 3 he used to launch in transition. He was absolutely deadly with it, and I can't recall any other player hitting that shot with any sort of consistency, and I rarely see it even attempted. Although I'm pretty sure I've seen Chauncey Billups and/or Steve Nash do it a few times, neither of them make a living off of it the way Scottie did.

4. Three quick strikes

A. From a distance, Joe Alexander looks like a mutant Kirk Hinrich

B. I didn't know they had added the Madhouse on Madison signs, and even though the place doesn't quite live up to the name the way the Stadium did, I thought they were a cool touch.

C. It's time to remove Tyrus' (and the other traded players') life-size cutouts from the concourse. Are you trying to bring tears to my eyes, Bulls front office personnel?

Judging from the team that was trotted out there on Monday, I'd have to say yes.