The good news, the Bulls are completely healthy, Derrick Rose and Noah look AWESOME, and everyone of these games is winnable. Unlike the first west coast trip, there is no LAL or Denver Nuggets on this list. The Warriors and Clippers are terrible and the Bulls already handily beat the Warriors once this season. The Bulls lead at the half against the Thunder before only scoring 14 points in the third quarter and never recovering. And Houston really isn't good, they just play hard and smart (which is saying something, but come on!) and a team like the Bulls with way more talent should be able to handle them. So that really only leaves the Hornets, Suns and the Spurs. The Hornets are struggling and only go three players deep. If the Bulls can neutralize West and Okafor they should win that game. Because no matter what Paul does, if those guys aren't putting up big numbers, they aren't beating anyone. As for the Suns, it all depends on how the Bulls D plays. If it comes up big they have a shot, if not they'll most likely get blown out. And lastly, the Spurs. The Spurs are beatable and the Bulls have already beaten them once, but let's be honest, unless the Bulls play one of their best games of the year they aren't beating the Spurs on the road.
So breaking this down it would seem the Bulls should easily go 5-2 with wins over LAC, GS, HOU, NO, and possibly OKC and a possible loss to the Suns and a definite loss to the Spurs. This is of course waaaaay to optimistic. No matter what the talent level the Bulls seem to suck on the road and the coach doesn't seem capable of getting the best out his players away from Chicago. What I am really rooting for is 4-3 but I would settle for 3-4. Anything less than three wins on this road trip is a huge HUGE failure! The Bulls should dominate the Warriors and Clippers. They are better at every position and they actually play defense (top ten defense in the league) unlike the Clips and Warriors. The Suns are playing terrible right now so they should have a fifty-fifty shot at that one. The Rockets really are the biggest surprise of the year. Their team is loaded with role players, which is just amazing, seriously how does that team win? And yet they are 22-18. Nonetheless the Bulls are more talented and every bit as good defensively, so I give them another 50-50 shot in that game. The Bulls will most likely get crushed by the Spurs, so let's move on. The Thunder are just a tick better than the Bulls so that's going to be tough, but the Bulls have already dominated the Hornets once. So that adds up to 4-3 or 3-4. I'll take either one, but 4-3 would be proof that the Bulls are trending up and maybe even made the right decision in not firing VDN. Anything less than 3 wins and it's just more proof that Del Negro never should have been hired and definitely should have been fired in early December.
Other Notes:
MLK day is one of the greatest days of the year. Not just for one of the most influential men ever, but also because the NBA celebrates this day with basketball all day long (including a 4pm eastern Bulls game). It's good fun all day and I love it that the NBA plays a nationally televised game in Memphis. It's good to see the NBA get it right since there is potential to screw these things up.
The Bosh for Bynum Rumor is never going to happen, at least not this season. Bynum is a Base Year Contract player which means his trade value is only half his contract. There is no way Toronto is taking on even more money to trade away their best player. I think it's a good trade for both teams, but it won't happen, at least not until the offseason in a sign and trade.
I'm going to just come out and say it, if the Cavs make it to the Finals, regardless of if they win or lose, LeBron is staying. If the Cavs lose in the second or third round he is going to play in New York, LA, Miami, or the good Lord willing Chicago! By the way, those four cities (the Nets are moving to Brooklyn so they count as New York, it's just a matter of time) plus the players' current team's are the only ones that need apply for the services of LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson and Amar'e. And realistically, none of those guys is going to sign with the Clippers, so you can almost take them off of that list.
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