Going Upstairs: Quick Schedule Update

First of all, great road trip for the Bulls. It's been written about several times already, but this team cannot get enough praise for what they did out West. They battled through injuries, tough opponents, and back-to-backs to come out with a winning  4-3 record on the Circus Trip. We saw tremendous resiliency night after night as they got used to falling behind early, but each time fought back. We saw Derrick Rose elevate his status as an elite player by averaging over 30 points a game on the trip. We saw how tough and how deep the Bulls are by coming within two John Lucas free throws from beating Denver without their best player. It's now time for a much deserved break.



Unfortunately, the Bulls won't get one as they host Orlando in their first home game in almost three weeks. Two days later, they will travel to Boston for a rematch against the rival Celtics. After dates against Houston, Oklahoma City, and Cleveland, the Bulls will square off against the Lakers for a second time.

Chicago plays the Lakers on December 10th, but after that, the Bulls will have a cream-puff schedule that gives them a chance to make some serious ground on both Boston and Orlando. Listen to this, the next 14 games after LA are against teams with a .500 record or lower. The combined winning percentage against those opponents are a paltry .333. Yes, you heard me right. Here's the list:

Minnesota
Indiana
@Toronto
LA Clippers
Philadelphia
@Washington
@New York
@Detroit
Milwaukee
New Jersey
Cleveland
Toronto
@New Jersey
@Philadelphia

Oh yeah, don't forget that Carlos Boozer returns to practice Monday and will be inserted into the lineup any day now.

Derrick likes the looks of the upcoming schedule.