The Bulls missed a chance to get to 500 last night, losing in overtime to the T-Wolves. Sprewell hit a tough 3-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation (after Rose missed a free throw that would have iced it). Spree also made a tough jumper to put the T-Wolves in the lead for good in overtime. The loss dropped the Bulls to 4-6. The loss also featured a nasty fall by Jamal Crawford, who fell over Fred Hoiberg and landed squarely on his head. Man, that karma thing is a bitch!
Now this has been a strange start to the season for the Bulls. They are 1-5 at home after going 27-14 at home last year. They are 3-1 on the road after going 3-38 on the road last year. Anyway, there were high hopes for this team which makes the 4-6 start disappointing. But in reality this is still a vast improvement over prior years. In 1999, 2000, and 2001, the Bulls started the year 1-9. Last year they did start 4-6 before dropping 9 in a row to fall to 4-15.
Also, the Bulls have played half their games without Tyson Chandler and Marcus Fizer, arguably their best starter and best bench player. Both are scheduled to be back for Saturday's game. So even though the Bulls are off to a slow start, I’m still optimistic they’ll make the playoffs.
But the upcoming road trip will be key. The Bulls play Seattle at home before taking a 5 game Western Conference Road Trip. The Bulls are 0-27 over the past five years taking their early season road trip out West. This year they play the Suns, Lakers, Kings, Mavs & Spurs. Now that’s brutal! The Bulls will be the underdog in each game. But if the Bulls can somehow win 2-3, I think they’ll be in a good position to make some noise in the East.