NBA Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose and Chicago Bulls Face Early Test With Circus Trip

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By @AndrewPappas24

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The Ringling Bros. are taking over the United Center, and for the Chicago Bulls this means a long road trip. For decades, the circus trip has been an annual tradition in Chicago. During the immediate post-Jordan Bulls, this trip was dreadful. Last season got back to that misery. The Bulls went 1-5 on the road trip, and in the second game against the Portland Trail Blazers, they lost Derrick Rose for the season.

Most games of the road trip are played against Western Conference teams notorious for run-and-gun styles of play; the Bulls have never been that kind of team. The 2014-15 Bulls, however, have some run-and-gun in them.

Outside of the Rose circus (not the cotton candy, fun type — the injury ridden, heavily scrutinized type), the Bulls have gotten off to a great start. They sit atop the Central with a 7-3 record and have been a well-balanced team through the first 10 games. This two-week road trip will be a great early test for Rose and the Bulls.

Right off the bat, they get a huge challenge with the Los Angeles Clippers. Rose is listed as day-to-day with his most recent injury (hamstring) and will likely miss a few games on this road trip — this might be one of them. His status is unknown, even by head coach Tom Thibodeau, until game time most nights. Clippers guard Chris Paul has six double-doubles in his last seven games, including one triple-double. He and the Clippers dominated the Bulls in both meetings last year by a combined 56 points, both without Rose who has averaged 31.7 points and 11.7 assists in his last three games against the Clippers. Even if Rose doesn’t play, the game won’t get as ugly as last year; but if he does play and contains Paul, the Bulls could get a solid win to start the circus trip.

The Bulls then travel north where they will face the Sacramento Kings a few days later. The Kings are led by veteran swingman Rudy Gay and mercurial big man DeMarcus Cousins, both averaging over 22 PPG this season. The Bulls tend to play down to their competition, and though they sit at 6-4, the Kings are far inferior to Chicago. If the Bulls get down early, it could be a problem, but they should be heading to Portland celebrating a win.

This is when the miserable flashbacks will come for Bulls fans, and I fully expect Rose to play because of some weird, nonsensical idea of retribution he will have. It will be one of the tougher games of the trip. Portland sits at 7-3 and they are loaded offensively.

From there, the schedule gets much easier as the final four opponents (Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets) have a combined record of 13-24. The only game I could see them losing is the fifth game of the trip and the second of a back-to-back against the Nuggets. It’s also in the thin-aired city of Denver. It will probably be tough for Chicago to muster up the energy to match guys like Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried.

The trip shifts to the east coast for the final two games where the Bulls will play the Celtics and Nets. The Bulls lost 106-101 at home against the C’s earlier in the season despite Aaron Brooks’ 26 points off the bench. This is the kind of game that the resentful Bulls usually win. Guys like Joakim Noah and Thibodeau don’t take kindly to a young team beating them at home, so I expect a blowout win on Black Friday.

The Nets will be the final opponent on Nov. 30. There’s always some added intensity when these two teams meet. I’m not sure whether its Noah’s dislike of Kevin Garnett, some residual animosity from their playoff series a few years back, or what, but the Bulls will be fully motivated as circus trip comes to an end. Unfortunately, the Rose circus will last all season long.

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