Derrick Rose and the beat up Bulls are about to embark on a brutal 9 game road trip that will define their season.
The Bulls annual circus trip was always the unofficial end of any hope during the early 2000′s. It was easy to have blind faith in those young Bulls teams like the ’02-’03 squad with Jamal Crawford, Jay Williams, Eddy Curry & Tyson Chandler. You wanted to believe that they could compete against NBA competition in hostile environments, but once the trip began, the real circus was wearing white, black & red.
Since D Rose has arrived on the scene, the trip has gotten far less daunting, but this compressed asinine schedule that the owners had to make happen has presented the Bulls with another grinding trip. After they beat up on the Bucks at the U.C. Friday night, they will play their next 9 games on the road. It all starts with an eastern conference finals rematch with Miami on Sunday. Then, it’s Washington, the 76ers, the Knicks, the Bucks, the irrelevant Nets, the soon to be contracted Hornets, MJ’s lottery squad (Bobcats), & the Celtics.
When you look at those teams, it doesn’t strike fear like the old Texas triangle used to in the 90′s. There’s at minimum 5 wins there, and possibly more. Personally, I can’t wait for the Sixers game…Love that squad. However, this is a beat up Bulls team that’s been playing without it’s 2nd best player. I applaud Luol Deng for attempting to play vs the Heat, but a wrist that needs surgery will not be close to 100% all season. And with how active Deng is defensively, it’s conceivable that he could tweak it and cause further damage. If that happens, then you know this will be the trip that defined this team’s season. It will also be time to start thinking about the NFL draft and next football season. Yes, I didn’t mention Chicago’s baseball teams on purpose.
There are 6 off days on this trip, so it won’t completely kill D Rose’s injured toe….At least, I hope. That being said, it would still be wise if he was resting the toe he can’t bend at this point in the season. The Bulls say it’s Rose’s call, and that’s as smart as putting Joakim Noah back in the game with 3 minutes left of a blowout. Thibs can’t help himself, and will go to the limit on this trip to ensure the Bulls remain in contention for the #1 seed in the east.
Look, I love Tom Thibodeau as a coach. Watching as much NBA ball as I do, I realize just how lucky the Bulls are to have him instead of…I don’t know…Vinny Del Negro. But no coach is perfect, and Thibs and the Bulls need to be smart about the minutes he puts on Rose, Deng, Noah & Rip Hamilton on this trip.
It’s a fine line to balance because it is imperative that Bulls get the #1 seed if they want any shot to beat the Heat 4 out of 7 times. The Heat knows they don’t need the top seed come April. That’s the beauty of having more than one star on your team. Thibs knows he has one, and needs every advantage to topple the big 3. A lot can happen over the next two weeks, how this team comes out of this trip health wise will determine how deep this team goes into the post season. I’d like to think Thibs knows he has to watch his player’s minutes, but I’d also like a hot brunette who has a sick body and doesn’t ask an infinite amount of questions.
@Louie_Ruffolo8
