No, it’s not a 1,000th rerun of the Wizard of Oz on TBS. It’s the Chicago Bulls’ annual circus road trip, which sends the club on an extended cross-country adventure while the circus takes over the United Center each November.
Historically, the Bulls have struggled on this early-season road test. Through 1999 to last season, Chicago is a horrendous 9-56 straight up during this trip while going 27-37-1 ATS. Last season, the Bulls finished 3-4 (4-3 ATS) on the circus swing.
"I don't know. We did well on it last year," coach Vinny Del Negro told ESPN. "So I don't look really at the past, other than to learn."
Chicago started this year’s voyage on the right foot, picking up a 101-87 win over the hobbled Sacramento Kings as 2.5-point road favorites Tuesday. However, the road gets tougher starting with the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers Thursday.
"It's a hard trip," Del Negro said. "You're playing the top teams. It's early in the season. You're trying to get your team together. You go to the Lakers, to Sacramento, to Portland, Utah, [Denver]. You're playing some of the top teams in the whole league, so it's not easy."
Pick: Los Angeles
Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Hornets
A lot of bad things have happened in New Orleans in just the first few weeks of the season - the Hornets’ terrible start, the firing of head coach Byron Scott and the ankle injury to star guard Chris Paul.
But under all that, one other tragedy when relatively unnoticed. All-Star Forward David West was playing his worst basketball in some time, scoring just 15 points per game including a couple of eight and 10 efforts to add the Hornets’ woes.
However, West stepped up when his team needed him most, scoring 24 points in a must-win game against the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday, giving GM and new head coach Jeff Bower his first win on the sidelines.
With West back to his old self, New Orleans is looking for some payback against the Suns Thursday. Just a week ago, Phoenix smashed the Hornets 124-104 as a 7-point home favorite – a game that would cost Scott his job.
“I would say the overriding emotion is Phoenix coming here on Thursday,” Bower told reporters. “Obviously we all remember the last, and it’s going to be a little test for us to come back, and it will be a chance for us to measure ourselves and see if we’ve improved.”
pick n roll 11/19
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