I Don't see why the Bulls can't get the number 2 seed even without Rose for the first couple months

no doubt

I see where you're coming from. The Central is very weak and the Bulls could take it.
The additions of Hinrich, Nate Rob, Belinelli, and Radmonovic are all upgrades from last year's bench... it'll just take time to get chemistry. Not a question of if but when.

The Celtics aren't a question mark to me though. They're going to be a very good team with their new additions.

wait... didn't the bulls lose to the 8th seed phily in the playoffs without derrick rose? their d will probably still be good and i think they could contend for like 6,7,8th seeds. but i personally think they should try to get another lottery pick out of this year because there is no way they beat the Heat with Carlos Boozer as 2nd option no matter how good Derrick Rose will be in his return

I think Indy and Boston take a higher seed than Chicago with or without Rose. New Jersey could as well, but it's impossible to say how their new additions will work out.

Thibs is a great coach but their go-to-guy is now a guy who can't create his own shot in Loul Deng. They added some nice offensive pieces in Nate and Bellineli but the "Bench Mob" is no longer intact. The bench mob put up historic defensive numbers thanks to Gibson and Asik protecting the rim, even with John Lucas and Kyle Korver on the floor. CJ Watson was a good on ball defender, Brewer was more than solid and in 158 minutes, the lineup of Lucas/Korver/Deng/Gibson/Asik had a defensive rating of 77.5. That's historically great. Going further, Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe noted that with Gibson and Asik on the floor together last season, the Bulls allowed a paltry 86 points per 100 possessions. The bench mob is being replaced with some not-so-great defenders in Nate Robinson, Marco Bellinili, Vladimir Radmonovic, and an aging Nazr Mohammed. Thibs got Korver to improve defensively so you never know but the lose of Asik is extremely detrimental to their D.

I think my original prediction that the bulls would finish 7th was too low but I doubt they will finish with a better record than Miami, Indiana, or Boston.

IDK about that.. Half the season without Rose?? Who is the proven scorer there?? Deng is a career 3rd scorer and Boozer did it in Utah but that was 2 years ago with a fantastic PG and Coach. Hamilton is too old and Noah will never score more than 16 points a game for the year.

Also, you expect a team, without their best player, to seed above the:

Knicks - Super deep and now have a year and training camp under their belt.
Nets - Not much chemistry but they have top 10 players at every position and a great bench.
Pacers - Sneeky good team that has played the best with Hill starting. Now that Collison is gone, he has no competition at the PG spot. George is now a year older and Hibbert is coming off an All-Star season.
Miami - Duh...
Boston - Even though they lost Allen, the picked up other valuable pieces like Terry, Darko, Lee, Green, and 2 nice rooks.
76ers - They are going to be crazy good IMO. Holidy and Turner should both be in line for MIP and Bynum, if healty, is a possible darkhorse for MVP..

If they Bulls even come close to winning the East without Rose almost half the season, Thibs should get Coach of the Year without question. The East is going to be tough..

The number #1 seed from the east last year will be a middle of the road team. Derrick Rose tore his ACL and that usually takes a year or more to come back from, unless you're Adrrian Peterson. But thing is he sits on the sidelines when the defense comes in, also he isn't contantly moving, its a completely different game. I know Deng and Noah were both injured too last year, Idk if they gotten surgery or didn't need it.

Indiana and Boston will be better than them this year while they dont have D-Rose. Also, look for Milwaukee to be a surprise team to win the Central.