After beginning the season on the road, the Chicago Bulls returned home and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 104-64 on Sunday, Jan. 1.

It was a good way to kick off the New Year after a four-game California road trip.

The Bulls got on the board after two shots from the line by Luol Deng. The game remained tight for a few minutes but the Bulls took a lead and finished the first quarter with a 25-12 advantage.

In the second quarter, Carlos Boozer stepped up. In a 13-3 run around the six-minute mark, Boozer contributed 11 of the points and helped the Bulls take a 48-27 lead.

The Bulls entered halftime with a 54-28 advantage.

After the break, Derrick Rose showed up and got the quarter started with a jumper. Success at the line helped the Bulls extend their lead and with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, they were ahead by 40 points.

The Bench Mob successfully took over and the Bulls ended the third quarter leading 84-44.

In the final quarter, the starters continued resting and John Lucas got hot with three-pointers. Rookie Jimmy Butler got some playing time and an all-team effort led the Bulls to their first home game win of the season.

This is a team that’s on a mission to win. The Bulls dominated Sunday’s game: they outrebound 55-40, outshot 46 percent to 31 percent and outscored on the break, 33-13.

With their 4-1 record, the Bulls are seeing their best start since the 1996-97 season, as they won their first 12 games.

Scoring…Boozer led the team with 17 points in scoring and 11 rebounds. Ronnie Brewer also had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

After initially struggling (missing his first shots, then going 4 for 10), Rose added 16 points for the night.

Rip Hamilton did not play on Sunday due to a groin injury and in the fourth quarter against Memphis, C.J. Watson exited the game with an elbow injury. Both players have been listed as day to day.

Next up? The Bulls will host Atlanta on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

As a lifelong Bulls fan and Chicago resident, the Derrick Rose era has been a good one.

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The Chicago Bulls could do no wrong Sunday in their season debut at the United Center, crushing the Memphis Grizzlies in a lopsided, 104-64 affair to open the New Year with a bang and send a simple message to visitors: This is our house, baby.

While there are plenty of positives from which to choose, the story of the night was the Bulls’ suffocating defense. It was, in a word, brutal: The Grizzlies managed just 12 first quarter points, and shortly before the end of the third quarter, were shooting 23 percent from the field with twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (6). Yikes.

On the other end of the floor, the Bulls were led by Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer.

Boozer played like a man possessed: He double-doubled before halftime and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action. He showed some of the explosiveness he’s recently lacked, and even made some decent defensive plays. He’s now averaging 15.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per 36, which is close to what the Bulls want, need and expect from their $70 million man.

Brewer, however, gets player of the game accolades. Starting for the sidelined Rip Hamilton (sore groin), Ronnie had 17 points (the most he’s ever had with the Bulls) with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Brewer was, well, vintage Brewer: Always around the ball making something good happen.

Overall, the Bulls’ offense was good but never great, which may sound strange for a 40-point win. They overcame a slow start shooting by sharing the ball (24 assists), using the fast break (33 points) and dominating the paint (+20). The Bulls have now averaged 108.7 ppg the past three games, and are averaging 101 ppg on the season, good for sixth best in the league (bet you didn’t expect that).

Not only did the Bulls get the win, they got it while getting a chance to rest their starters. Only two starters – Luol Deng and Brewer – played more than 30 minutes, as the Bench Mob closed out the game.

A win is a win, who cares if the Grizzlies were missing a couple of players, but this was a win at home, and a rather convincing one at that. The Bulls were a league-best 36-5 at home last season, and absolutely must win home games during this short NBA season.

Winning your home opener by 40 is a good way to get started.

Notes: The Bulls are 4-0 in home openers during the Derrick Rose era….. The +/-’s from last night’s game were utterly ridiculous. Brewer was +48, no other starter was less than +35….. Brewer is 4-for-4 on three’s this year; he made just six all of last season on 22 percent shooting….. Deng has held Rudy Gay, a career 18 ppg scorer, to 14 points on 3-of-22 shooting the last two times he played against the Bulls….. The win moved the Bulls to 4-1 for the franchise’s best start since 1996-97, when…well, you know….. The Bulls last played on New Year’s Day in 2005; Eddy Curry had 22 points in a 105-90 win over the Orlando Magic….. The Miami Heat may be 5-0, but the teams they’ve so far played are a combined 4-10.

Sources: Boozer leads Bulls past Grizzlies 104-64, Associated Press/Yahoo! Sports; Memphis Grizzlies at Chicago Bulls recap & box score, ESPN.com; Bulls win 40-point laugher in home opener, Chicago Tribune;

Other Articles By This Contributor:

Chalk One Up for Chicago Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau (December 31)

Bulls, Heat Will Meet in Eastern Conference Finals: Fan Forecast (December 23)

Top 10 Moments of Chicago Bulls’ 2010-11 Season (December 22)

YCN featured sports contributor Steve Merritt is – for better or worse – a lifelong Chicago Bulls, Bears and Cubs fan. He’s followed the Bulls since 1969, when he tuned in after bedtime on a cheap dime store radio tucked under his pillow.

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Reserve center Hamed Haddadi sat amongst the FedExForum crowd Friday night in dress clothes.

Now, he’s ready to suit up for the Grizzlies.

Haddadi, 26, signed a one-year deal with the team today, which marks the start of his fourth NBA season. The 7-foot Iranian averaged 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds, and generated a cult following last season with the Grizzlies. Haddadi received a loud ovation Friday when he appeared on the FedExForum scoreboard during the Grizzlies’ 113-93 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Haddadi finally arrived in Memphis on Friday with a tourism visa. He is expected to obtain a work visa soon and officially practice with the Grizzlies next week. Haddadi won’t be available to play Sunday when the Griz play a road game against the Chicago Bulls.

Memphis’ roster now stands at 15 players.

– Ronald Tillery: (901) 529-2353

While a number of teams attempt to reshape or fill out rosters before the NBA’s condensed regular season begins, the Grizzlies continue to harp on continuity being the best card in the hand they’ve been dealt because of the lockout.

Most of the team’s core is under contract with the exception of center Marc Gasol — a restricted free agent whom the Griz are confident they will re-sign. And most players on the roster have been together this week for informal workouts in FedExForum.

Today marks the official start of training camp, so now the Griz can add coaches and stir.

“We can get through some things quicker because of the continuity,” Griz coach Lionel Hollins said. “Before, we had to drill and drill until they got it. But, for the most part, having all of our guys back will allow us to move forward quicker.”

With the 2011-12 regular season set to begin Christmas Day and Memphis scheduled to start Dec. 26 at San Antonio, here are five story lines to consider as the Griz prepare to maintain the momentum generated from last season’s playoff run:

How will Rudy Gay fit back into the rotation?

The short answer is that Gay should fit like a glove. No one in the organization believes the chatter that the Griz were better without Gay just because he was absent during their run to the Western Conference semifinals.

Gay, with his length and athleticism, is the only player on the roster who can get a quality shot from the paint to the 3-point line. If anything, the coaching staff will continue to ask Gay to affect the game without scoring. That means playing stellar defense, rebounding and making more plays for his teammates.

But this is nothing new.

“I’m going to just go in and play ball,” said Gay, who has fully recovered from left shoulder surgery that ended his 2010-11 season in February.

There also is no concern about Gay co-existing with Zach Randolph, who has said he’s looking forward to Gay taking pressure off him when opponents double team the post.

“Z-Bo is going to get his no matter what,” Gay said. “We’re both competitors. We’ll make each other better.”

And the starting shooting guard will be …

Tony Allen will start the season in the backcourt with point guard Mike Conley. That decision was made by the impact Allen had on the team’s defense last season. But don’t be surprised if, at some point, Sam Young or Xavier Henry is inserted into the starting lineup because of their all-around development and should Allen degenerate into a consistent liability on offense. O.J. Mayo again will come off the bench.

How will the Marc Gasol saga play out?

It is unlikely that Gasol will be in camp today because the Grizzlies haven’t held serious negotiations with the 7-footer. That isn’t a sign that the Griz are ready to part with Gasol. Neither side seems to be in a hurry to set Gasol’s value. He is a restricted free agent, and the Griz have the right to match any offer. Team owner Michael Heisley has said he will do that. Just chalk up what promises to be a slow process to business.

Gasol’s agent, Arn Tellem, isn’t a Heisley fan. Tellem also doesn’t care for the media, which explains why Gasol news is scarce. Meanwhile, Gasol is said to have recently traveled from Memphis to Los Angeles where Tellem and Gasol’s brother, Pau, reside.

Gasol did work out with Conley in FedExForum two straight days last week.

The Griz bench went from being the worst in the NBA to being major contributors last season. Can that continue?

The Griz still want to balance the rotation, meaning Mayo is the guy expected to provide consistent scoring off the bench. The hope is Mayo has worked through the psychological issues that seemed to stifle his play last season following the move to the bench.

However, Mayo is said to be in excellent physical shape and is shooting the ball with the confidence that served him well during his first two NBA seasons.

Last season was also a breakout year for forward Darrell Arthur in terms of his reliable scoring and rebounding. Young emerged, as did point guard Greivis Vasquez. Collectively, that group won games last season.

The wild cards will be Henry and rookie Josh Selby, who already is generating excitement because of his explosive scoring ability.

Hollins said a 66-game schedule favors veteran teams. How does it look for the Griz?

The schedule will be brutal for every team because it’s crammed. Memphis has notoriously gotten off to slow starts, and the first 10 games feature San Antonio, Chicago, Oklahoma City (twice), L.A. Lakers and New York. Starting out with a record that’s .500 or better would be acceptable. A good start would mean a lot this season because they finish with a high degree of difficulty.

They’ll play 10 of 15 games on the road in March. Perhaps the worst stretch will happen April 2-7 when the Griz play a back-to-back-to-back (at Oklahoma City, Golden State and Dallas) take a day off and then play at Miami and host Dallas on a back-to-back.

The schedule promises to test Hollins’ patience and flexibility. He’ll have to rely on younger and inexperienced players more than he likes.

– Ronald Tillery: (901) 529-2353