Archive for February 10th, 2009
Tough Loss To Mavs Brings Sour End To Bulls 7-Game Road Trip
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 | Chicago Bulls, NBA, Sports | No Comments
If you had told the Bulls before their 7-game road trip that they would win more than they lost during the 2 week stretch, every player, coach and executive would have jumped at that opportunity. After losing to the Mavericks 115-114 in overtime in Dallas on Saturday, preventing the Bulls from winning a 5th game on the road trip, it left you feeling like it was a poor road trip instead of a great one. That being said, with this team, you have to keep a focus on the positives. They lost by a total of 9 points in the 3 losses – 2 of which were 1 point overtime losses that could have gone either way. The Bulls are still 7 games under .500 at 22-29, but they return to the United Center with an important 2-game home stand before the All-Star Break. The Bulls face 2 teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference playoff race – the Detroit Pistons (27-22) on Tuesday night (6 games ahead of the Bulls) and the Miami Heat (27-23) on Thursday night (5.5 games ahead of the Bulls). This is the perfect opportunity for the Bulls to show that they will be a force to reckon with down the stretch playoff run. If the Bulls win both games, it will go a long way for the morale of the players and the coaching staff and demonstrate that the Bulls can realistically compete with all but 3 of the teams in the Eastern Conference. If the Bulls split or lose both games, it will be a good indication that they are a team on the rise with budding super star Derrick Rose, but that they still have a long way to go if they want to consider themselves and elite team in the East.
Time will tell. Ben Gordon leads the team in scoring with a 20.1 average. Derrick Rose leads the team with assists with a 6.4 average. Joakim Noah leads the team in rebounding with a 6.3 average. Noah and Thomas really played consistent, energetic ball throughout the road trip, and will need to step up in this week’s games against the Pistons and Heat. If Luol Deng can remain a focus of the offense in the coming weeks, it will bode well for the Bulls to spread out the scoring over each of the 5 starters. Can’t wait to see how it all plays out – 2 wins this week will surely invigorate the city of Chicago for a possible Bulls return to the 2008-9 NBA playoffs.
