Tip-off: Wednesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -4, Total: 187.5

The Knicks open up their season on Wednesday with a home game against the revamped Bulls.

Chicago addressed some of its weaknesses this offseason by bringing in some serious offensive firepower. Not only is PG Derrick Rose back from a torn meniscus, but the Bulls also signed PF Pau Gasol and drafted SF Doug McDermott, one of the best college scorers in recent memory. The Knicks also made some changes of their own, bringing in Derek Fisher as the franchise’s new head coach. Fisher will emphasize ball movement and pressure defense, two concepts that Mike Woodson was seemingly unfamiliar with during his time as the head coach. New York shipped out Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton and brought in PG Jose Calderon. They are trying to change their culture and rid themselves of players with bad attitudes. Over the past three seasons, the Bulls are 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS when facing the Knicks. The teams have, however, split wins SU and ATS when playing in New York. The Knicks are 3-13 ATS in home games in the first half of the season over the past two years. Chicago, meanwhile, is 19-40 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points over the past three seasons. PF Andrea Bargnani (hamstring) will miss at least the first three games for the Knicks.

Which team will start its season off with a crucial victory? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Zach posted a 54% ATS mark (65-56-4) in NBA Best Bets last season, while StatFox Forecaster had a 53.4% ATS (207-181-12) in featured games last season.

Basketball is back and the people in Chicago are buzzing with optimism for the Bulls. PG Derrick Rose looked healthy playing with Team USA this summer and he averaged 28.5 PPG and 4.0 APG over the final two preseason games. He did that while playing in just 28.0 MPG. Rose is eager to prove that he is still an elite player in this league and his defense has improved since the last time he played in a regular season game. C Joakim Noah is back to anchor this defense after a season in which he was in the top five in MVP voting. He’ll now play alongside a PF Pau Gasol, who the Bulls intensely coveted after the big man was freed from Los Angeles. Gasol averaged 17.4 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.5 BPG with the Lakers last season. He is a good scorer in the post and can also knock down jumpers. Between Gasol and Noah, the Bulls will have the best interior passing in the NBA. Where the Bulls really separate themselves, however, is on the defensive end. Last season, Chicago allowed just 91.8 PPG (1st in NBA) on 43.0% FG (2nd in NBA). They play hard every night and never take any plays off. If Rose can stay healthy, this team is a serious championship contender.

The Knicks brought in Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher to change the culture of this franchise in the offseason. The first moves Jackson made involved shipping out some of the less disciplined players from last season's team and bringing in a smart point guard like PG Jose Calderon, who is an ideal fit for the triangle offense. He will likely be playing this game with an injured calf though. SF Carmelo Anthony signed a huge deal with the Knicks this offseason. He’ll be the face of the franchise for the Phil Jackson era. Anthony was excellent playing in the triangle offense this preseason, averaging 20.8 PPG on 46.1% FG in just 27.0 MPG over the past five contests. C Samuel Dalembert will be an extremely important piece of this Knicks team, at least for this season. He is Tyson Chandler’s replacement, and will be relied upon to anchor the defense. Dalembert averaged 6.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.2 BPG in just 20.2 MPG last season. He should be in for a big increase in minutes, as the Knicks don’t have many players who can replace his production off the bench. PF Jason Smith, who the Knicks signed to their mini mid-level exception this summer, will be their starter at power forward. Smith is a good mid-range jump shooter and is a tough guy to play against on both sides of the floor. This team is clearly trying to prove that it cares more about defense this season. They’re looking to improve on a season in which they allowed their opponents to shoot 45.8% from the field (19th in NBA).