When Aaron Gray returning from injury was by far and away the best news of the night, you know things must have gone pretty badly for the Bulls.

Make that four blowouts in the last four games, during which the Bulls have been outscored by a combined 77 points. They are now 1-4 on their annual circus trip…although it feels more like 1-14.

Chicago’s already shaky depth took another blow when Kirk Hinrich joined Tyrus Thomas (left forearm fracture) on the injured list due to a sprained left thumb. The extent of Kirk’s injury is currently unclear, as is how much time he’ll miss because of it.

Of course, Utah coach Jerry Sloan and the rest of the Jazz didn’t want to hear about Chicago’s injury woes. Utah had nine available players and used only eight until human victory cigar Kosta Koufos entered the game late in the fourth quarter. The Jazz were without key role players C.J. Miles, Ronnie Price and Kyle Korver. They had one backup guard. One. And that was rookie Eric Maynor. So, yeah, the Jazz have had problems of their own.

Although, clearly, the Bulls have bigger problems.

Pain in the Paint:
This is one problem the Bulls just can’t seem to solve. They gave up 10 dunks and 13 layups. They were outscored 62-42 in the paint. As always, the opposing frontcourt destroyed Chicago’s big men. Carlos Boozer put on a show by scoring 28 points on nearly perfect 12-for-14 shooting. He also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots and a steal. Mehmet Okur added 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 2-for-2 from downtown. Backup Paul Milsap went 6-for-8 off the bench and finished with a near double-double (12 points, 9 boards).

By contrast, Chicago’s starting frontcourt of Joakim Noah (6 points, 3-for-9, 9 rebounds, 3 turnovers) and Taj Gibson (8 points, 6 boards, 3 turnovers) battled foul trouble all night. Joakim finished with 5 personals and Gibson fouled out. Meanwhile, Brad Miller (no points, 0-for-2, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) looked so painfully old and slow, I half-expected him to announce his retirement after the game. Oh, and Aaron Gray (1 point, 0-for-1, 1 rebound) looked like, well, like Aaron Gray.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Bulls need Tyrus back. Badly.

D-Fense:
What a difference four games can make. After beating the Kings in Sacramento, the Bulls ranked 4th in the league in Defensive Rating. After last night’s defensive no-show — the Jazz hit almost 61 percent of their field goals and scored 105 points in only 89 possessions — Chicago has dropped to 15th in Defensive Ratting (105.9 Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions).

Truly offensive:
The energy the Bulls are saving on defense hasn’t been redirected to their offense. After scoring 86 points on 42 percent shooting in Utah, the Bulls rank 27th in Offensive Rating (98.8 Points Per 100 Possessions). Oh, and here’s some lemon juice for that wound: the Bulls are tied with one other team for the fewest 100-point games (1) this season. The team? The winless New Jersey Nets (0-15).

Small consolations:
The Bulls won the rebounding battle (39-36, 13-9 on the offensive glass) for the first time in four games. They were +3 in points off turnovers and +11 in fast break points. That’s pretty much it.

Player of the Game:
Even though he shot poorly from the field (8-for-20, including 2-for-8 on layup attempts), Luol Deng was the only player who came anywhere close to bringing his best last night. He finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and no turnovers. He was also aggressive enough to earn 11 foul shots. (The rest of the Bulls’ starting lineup earned exactly one foul shot.) Based on how Noah has been manhandled in the last three losses, Deng has offiically become Chicago’s early-season MVP.

Derrick Rose:
Aggressive looking for his shot? Yes. Rose was 9-for-17 for 19 points. Effective in getting his teammates involved? No. Rose finished with 2 assists and 4 turnovers in 38 minutes. That gives him 10 assists (versus 11 turnovers) in his last 113 minutes of playing time. Forget about his difficulty in getting to the hoop the way Bulls fans are accustomed to. His inability to lift his teammates is becoming a grave concern.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

The Bulls moved the ball, just like Vinny Del Negro wanted. They committed only six turnovers, which is crazy low for them. Luol Deng (25 points, 9-for-14) and John Salmons (22 points, 8-for-15) had it going on offense. Jannero Pargo (15 points, 2-for-3 from downtown) provided instant offense off the bench. Why, the team even outshot an opponent from three-point range for the first time in recent memory (6-for-13 versus 6-for-15).

And yet…the Bulls were blown out for the third time in the last three games. They are now 1-4 on their circus road trip.

It isn’t as if the players aren’t trying. They are. But — at least in the case of the Lakers, Nuggets and Trail Blazers – Chicago has been facing better, more talented, more complete teams. And last night in Portland, the Bulls ran into a familiar and seemingly unsolvable problem.

Pain in the Paint:
Let’s get something straight: Chicago does not match up well with Portland. Not even remotely. Especially not up front.

The Bulls lost this game in that painted rectangle around the basket. They were outscored 50-32 there. They were also outrebounded 47-27, including 14-8 on the offensive glass. Portland hit 14 of their 21 layup attempts and dunked the ball three times, so it isn’t surprising the Blazers shot 57.7 percent from the field.

As always seems to be the case, the Bulls were overwhelmed by an opposing frontcourt. Greg Oden matched his career-high by scoring 24 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Oden also earned 12 foul shots (he hit 10) and grabbed 12 rebounds (6 offensive). Said Oden: “I’m not saying my game is where it should be, but when I can get good deep post position and overpower people and get good shots up, I definitely want to use my strength.” And that’s what he did.

Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge — you know, the guy the Bulls traded away for Tyrus Thomas — also scored 24 points (10-for-16) and ripped down a game-high 13 boards. Even Joel Przybilla came in and chipped in with 8 points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting.

Poor Taj Gibson (6 points, 3-for-11, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5 fouls) was abused mercilessly by Aldridge. Noah (7 points, 3-for-6, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 fouls) didn’t do any better against Oden. And Brad Miller (2 points,0-for-2, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls) was little more than a prop during the 15 minutes he played.

I don’t know if Tyrus Thomas could have helped, but I don’t see how he could have possibly hurt. Heck, I was silently wishing Aaron Gray was available to bang bodies with Oden. That’s how badly the Bulls were beaten in the trenches last night.

The Four Factors:
It hardly seems worth summarizing the Four Factors after a 24-point loss, but what the heck. The Bulls won Turnover Percentage (6.8 to 11.3) and were +10 in points off turnovers. That’s the good news. The rest is pretty bad. Obviously, they were killed in Effective Field Goal Percentage (61.6 to 50.0), Offensive Rebounding Percentage (42.4 to 19.5) and Free Throw Rate (54.7 to 24.5). With regards to that last stat, the Blazers had a 40-22 edge in free throw attempts and were +14 in points from foul shots.

Derrick Rose:
With Ben Gordon gone, Rose is now taking the bulk of the criticism when the Bulls don’t play well. Derrick’s numbers are down. It’s possible his ankle is still bothering him. Some say he’s shooting too much, others think he’s taking bad shots. According to ESPN’s David Thorpe, the reigning Rookie of the Year isn’t even among the top 20 sophomore players this season.

It’s basically bad news all around.

Last night, he played okay (14 points, 7-for-14, 5 assists), but he spent most of his time on the perimeter (three layup attempts and one dunk versus 10 jumpers) and was abused by his old buddy Andre Miller (16 points, 10-for-11 from the line).

Management has decided that Rose is the team’s future. It’s critical for him to start playing like a true franchise player. And I’m not talking about numbers. I’m talking about inspiration and leadership. I’m talking about making his teammates better. That’s not happening yet…and it has to. It absolutely has to.

Comeback watch:
I already quoted Deng’s numbers above, but one stat I neglected to mention was that he went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Luol doesn’t attempt many threes – he has taken only nine on the season — but he’s currently by far the team’s best percentage marksman from long range (55.6 percent). And there was a telling sequence near the end of the first quarter when Brandon Roy isolated Deng on the wing. Roy used a couple of jab steps to get Luol on his heels and then drilled a 19-footer in Deng’s face. After the Bulls charged back downcourt, Deng received a pass, took a dribble or two and then nailed a three-pointer. It was a classic “got ya back” moment, which is something Deng has rarely (if ever) taken part of during his career. I was honestly stunned to see him do it, because Luol simply isn’t a personal duel kind of guy.

But I think it speaks of Deng’s quiet pride and determination to come back with a vengeance this season. A lot of fans left Deng for dead after two straight disappointing and injury-plagued situations. It’s not a stretch to say that there hasn’t been a more maligned player on the team in the last year or so, nor a player whom the fans have wanted (even begged) to get rid of any more than Deng. It’s funny. Heading into this season, nobodywas worried about Rose and pretty much everybody was worried about Deng. And yet, here he is, the team’s best or second-best player in the early going. In fact, after the way Joakim Noah has struggled against the Nuggets and Trail Blazers, I have to give Luol a slight edge. He hasn’t been a game-changer like Noah has been, but he’s been a little more consistent.

At any rate, Deng is proving an awful lot of people wrong so far.

What ifs:
One of Chicago’s most glaring needs continues to be a reliable frontcourt scoring threat. So, as a Bulls fan, it’s rather painful to watch Aldridge play so well (15+ PPG on 50+ percent shooting) while Thomas is collecting dust on the injury shelf. And let’s face it, Ty wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire before his injury. Aldridge isn’t a great player by any stretch of the imagination, but having a big man who can score in the post and shoot reliably from the outside would make the Bulls a better team almost immediately. John Paxson gambled on Thomas’ potential back on draft night in 2006, and that gamble looks like a bigger mistake with every game.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

I started worrying about this game the night before it even happened. Not because the Bulls were facing a good team on the road, or because they had played so poorly in Los Angeles against the Lakers, or even because of their ugly history of losing on their annual circus trip.

No, I got nervous after watching the Denver Nuggets — Chicago’s Saturday night opponent — lose a nationally televised game to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Teams like the Nuggets (who entered the game 8-3, have a former Finals MVP in Chauncey Billups, and have a potential MVP candidate in Carmelo Anthony) don’t usually get beaten by teams like the Clippers (who are, after all, the Clippers). To make matters worse, it was Denver’s fourth loss in its last five road games. And you could tell the Nuggets players were none too pleased.

Said Billups: “It’s not like a few years ago, where you play the Clippers or somebody and it’s just another game. We have to somehow realize that we are everybody’s big game. It’s a very tough loss, but we have to forget about this game and focus on tomorrow night.”

Oh great, I thought. Now the Bulls have to face a pissed off team playing at home with something to prove.

Simply put, it wasn’t good news for a squad that’s gone 96-191 on the road over the past seven seasons and 9-56 on their circus trip this decade. So imagine my surprise when the Bulls were leading 27-14 after the first quarter.

It didn’t last.

The Bulls got exploited on defense by explosive players, whether it was Billups (who helped get the Nuggets back in the game by scoring 14 second-quarter points), ‘Melo (30 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists), or J.R. Smith (who scored 12 of his 19 points in the four quarter).

Said Derrick Rose: “”Chauncey went off on us in the second quarter and got them back in the game and then J.R. started hitting shots in the fourth. He’s tough to guard. It’s hard to guard him when he’s shooting from everywhere.”

Chicago kept things close for 36 minutes and even took a 71-70 lead when D-Rose hit a 12-footer with 53 seconds left in the third quarter. But the Nuggets outscored the Bulls 37-22 in the fourth quarter to win going away. So the Chicago’s 14-point lead turned into a 19-point loss. Ugly.

It was the second consecutive time the Bulls were simply outplayed by a superior opponent. Depending on your perspective, that could be good or bad. Good because at least they didn’t lose to a crappy team, bad because they aren’t really ready to play with the big boys yet.

The Four Factors:
Chicago got only two dunks, hit only half of their layup attempts (11-for-22), shot 39 percent on jumpers (22-for-56), and missed nine of their 11 three-point attempts. Not surprisingly, Denver won Effective Field Goal Percentage (52.9 to 45.6). The Nuggets also won Turnover Percentage (12.2 to 16.3), Offensive Rebounding Percentage (26.1 to 21.7), and Free Throw Rate (only 30.2 to 29.6, but still).

When a team gets swept in all four of the Four Factors, that team is probably going to lose.

Pluses and Minues:
The Bulls were -3 in points from free throws, -5 in points from three-pointers, -17 in points from field goals, and -18 in points in the paint. They were +3 in fast break points and +2 in points off turnovers.

Heroes:
Derrick Rose vowed to become more aggressive, and he has been. Against the Nuggets, Rose scored a team-high 28 points (4-for-7 on layups, 7-for-13 on jumpers, 0-for-1 from downtown and 6-for-7 from the line). He also  had 6 rebounds. However, he dished out only 3 assists while committing a game-high 5 turnovers. I’m encouraged that Derrick is creating opportunities for himself on offense. Now he needs to create for his teammates too.

Luol Deng continued his comeback with 22 points (9-for-19), and 4 blocked shots. That last number is even more impressive when you consider the Bulls had only 5 blocks in the game (Taj Gibson). Deng stuffed ‘Melo three times and even swatted Nene once.

Gibson also had a decent game, all things considered. He grabbed a game-high 12 boards (5 offensive) to go with 9 points, 2 steals, an assist and that block.

Goats:
It was another rough night for John Salmons, who went 2-for-11 from the field and finished with only 5 points and not much of anything else. And since misery loves company, Kirk Hinrich joined Salmons in his shooting woes by going 3-for-10 and ending up with the team’s worst plus-minus score (-20).

Pain in the Paint:
The Bulls can probably be forgiven for once again getting exploited by an opposing froncourt player, because Carmelo Anthony has been doing that to everybody this season. But Chicago was outrebounded 47-41 and outscored 52-34 in points in the paint. They also gave up eight dunks and 14 layups.

Three-point Apocalypse:
Don’t worry about that clanging sound you keep hearing. It’s just Chicago’s three-point shooting. Wait. On second thought, worry. The Bulls are currently 26th in Three-Point Percentage (.290). Only the Grizzlies, Bobcats, Nets and Timberwolves are shooting worse from long range. Take note that those four teams have a combined record of 9-43. I’ll go ahead and let you draw your own conclusions.

Oddly enough, despite adding Ben Gordon, the Detroit Pistons are only ranked 25th (.305). In fact, Gordon is shooting 39 percent, which is a career-low. You know, in case you were interested.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

In the NBA, whether a team loses by one point or 30, it still counts as only one loss. And even some blowout losses have lesser meaning, such as when they happen on the second night of back-to-back games, or when the team’s star has an off night, or when the team simply has a group meltdown.

But some blowout losses feel downright bad. I’m talking “kick a cat” bad. (Don’t worry, PETA. I’m only kidding. Don’t give me the Manu Ginobili treatement.) Take last night’s defeat in L.A. The Bulls weren’t awful. Their best player, Derrick Rose, performed reasonably well (20 points, 9-for-20, 6 assists)…although his 2-for-11 shooting in the first half may have gotten the blowout ball rolling. And yet the Lakers swatted the Bulls aside rather casually, seemingly with the kind of effort reserved for a scrimmage. Or a shootaround. Or, geez, maybe even a game of NBA Live.

I mean, the Bulls lost by 17 on a night in which Kobe Bryant was only 7-for-21 from the field.

This fact was not lost on Joakim Noah: “To me, the most amazing thing about it is you’re out there competing hard, and these guys are hardly breaking a sweat because they’re so comfortable running their offense. They look like it’s very easy.”

In the end, this game illustrated the relatively wide gulf between these Bulls and the league’s elite. The 6-4 start to this season was nice, especially considering Chicago’s offensive woes, but the Bulls are still very much a work-in-progress. And considering the fact that half the roster could be playing elsewhere next season, we aren’t going to see the finished product any time soon.

The Four Factors:
Effective Field Goal Percentage was a dead heat (48.9 for the Lakers, 48.2 for the Bulls). Not surprisingly, Chicago had the higher Turnover Percentage (15.3 to 12.2), and L.A. ended up +7 in points off turnovers. The Lakers handily won Offensive Rebounding Percentage (29.1 to 21.2) and were +10 in second chance points. L.A. also won Free Throw Rate (23.9 to 20.2). They also knocked down a better percentage of their freebies (81% to 70%) and finished +6 in points off foul shots. That made the Lakers +23 points in three key categories…which is usually a bad sign.

Pain in the Paint:
The disparity in Offensive Rebounding Percentage was indicative of how badly the Bulls were manhandled inside. But here’s another ugly stat for you: L.A. outscored Chicago 60-40 in the paint. (Make that L.A. +43 in four key categories.) The Lakers, whom Vinny Del Negro described as “really, really long,” also forced the Bulls into 10 misses at the rim (11-for-21 on layups/tip shots).

Said Rose: “It definitely wasn’t the right time [to face the Lakers]. You’ve got two 7-footers out there tipping balls to each other. It’s tough. Doesn’t matter if it’s (Gasol’s) first game or last. He’s a great player.” Speaking of which…

Frontcourt defensive woes:
Pau finished with a game-high 24 points (9-for-15) and 13 rebounds (7 offensive). There’s no shame in getting schooled by Gasol, because he’s a fantastic player. But still…it simply continues the trend of a frontcourt player scorching the Bulls.

Player of the Game:
See below.

Here we “Jo” again:
Here’s a shocker: Noah was once again the Bulls’ best player: 12 points (6-for-12), a game-high 15 rebounds (5 offensive), 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. It was Jo’s 10th double-digit rebounding effort in 11 games this season. He also did a servicable job on Andrew Bynum (11 points, 5-for-12, 8 boards).

It wasn’t all violins and roses, though. Noah was only 2-for-5 at the front of the rim, went 0-for-3 at the charity stripe, and committed a game-high 4 turnovers. However, at times, he looked very, very alone inside against the Lakers’ giants.

Comeback watch:
Luol Deng’s comeback hit a speed bump last night — or, since this was L.A. we’re talking about, maybe it got stuck in traffic — as Deng shot 3-for-11 and finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and no assists. He looked a little too much like the Invisible Lou of the last couple seasons for my comfort, but then again, facing Ron Artest’s pit bull defense will do that to a player.

Not slumping, slumping again:
John Salmons played pretty well in the first half (18 points on 7-for-10 shooting) and then disappeared in the second (zero points on 0-for-3 shooting). Of course, that’s mostly because he spent most of his time riding the pine due to foul trouble.

D-Fense:
L.A.’s 108 points were the second-most (to Boston’s 118) that Chicago has given up this season. The defensive no-show dropped the Bulls from 4th to 7th in Defensive Rating (100.6 Points Per 100 Possessions).

Actually, calling it a “no-show” probably isn’t fair. The Bulls were simply overwhelmed by a much better team. Which, now that I think about it, doesn’t make me feel any better.

In case you were wondering:
The Bulls have “improved” to 26th in the NBA in Three-Point Percentage…at 29.9 percent. They were 5-for-15 (33 percent) last night. They’re 27th in Field Goal Percentage (43.1) and Effective Field Goal Percentage (45.3). They’re also 27th in Offensive Rating (97.8 Points Per 100 Possessions).

Still, Noah remains optimistic that the corpse of the Chicago offense will return to life. “”I think that we got some good shots. We moved the ball pretty good in spurts and played pretty well in spurts but we just need to keep up that intensity and ball movement. I think we’ll be all right.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

At 6-4, the Bulls are off to their best start since the 1997-98 season. You know, the last season that Michael Jordan guy played for them. The fast (for the Bulls) start has been mostly a result of the team defense. Chicago currently ranks 4th in Defensive Rating, as they’re giving up only 99.5 Points Per 100 Possessions.

And yet there’s a general sense of disappointment about this year’s Bulls squad, partly because the offense has been average on the team’s best nights and godawful on its worst. But the biggest disappointment so far has been the play of the Bulls’ franchise player. Statistically, Derrick Rose has slipped across the board…and his Player Efficiency Rating has dropped to a 13.7. According to the PER reference guide, that ranks Rose as “in the rotation.” Yikes.

Of course, some of the fault lies in the ankle injury Rose suffered during the preseason. But Rose says he’s about 90 percent healed, even if he looks more like 60-70 percent. But in a conversation about his rough start, Rose has vowed to get back on track:

“I need to change something. There has to be something I’m doing wrong. I know the (right ankle tendon) injury was something. But it’s taking too long to get back. We’re winning, so I don’t care anything about my game. But if we weren’t winning, I’m playing terrible. I’m not going to the hole like I used to. It seems to me that I’m not that aggressive. But it’s going to change (Thursday night against the Lakers).”

Breaking out against the Lakers in Los Angeles will be a pretty tall order. But I can’t wait to see if Rose does it. That could help a pretty good Bulls team take things to the next level.

The Kings entered last night’s matchup with the Bulls on fire, having won five of their last six games while averaging 111 PPG. Meanwhile, the Bulls hadn’t scored 100 points even once. Their season-high had been 94 points at home against the Philadelphia 76ers last Saturday night.

Yet Chicago currently ranks 6th in Opponents Points Per Game (91.8) and 4th in Defensive Rating (99.5 Point Per 100 Possessions). Sacramento, on the other hand, ranks 25th (104.6) and 24th (109.9 Points Per 100 Possessions), respectively. And history has shown that very good defensive teams tend to beat pretty good offensive teams most of the time, which is exactly what happened last night.

It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it? During training camp and the preseason, Bulls coaches and players talked up the team’s newfound committment to defense. To be honest, I thought it was a lot of lip service. A lot of teams over the years have made the same “defense first” promise only to revert to form as soon as the regular season really gets going. (For further reading, see Suns, Phoenix.) But the Bulls seem to be taking it pretty seriously.

Last night, Chicago held the Sactowners to a season-low 87 points on 43.2 percent shooting. And defense led to offense, as the Bulls scored 28 points by forcing the Kings into 21 turnovers.

Four Factors:
The Bulls won Effective Field Goal Percentage (51.2 to 45.6), Turnover Percentage (15.6 to 21.8) and Free Throw Rate (25.3 to 22.2). They barely lost Offensive Rebounding Rate (30.9 to 30.0), so that was a bit of a wash. In the end, the Bulls were +11 points on field goals, +3 on free throws, and +10 on points off turnovers.

Player of the Game:
Although John Salmons broke out of his season-long slump to score a team-high 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting (including 3-for-5 from downtown), Joakim Noah was the PoG…as I will explain below.

Here we “Jo” again:
The league’s leading rebounder — which apparently isn’t good enough to get you onto the All-Star ballot these days — finished with 15 points (5-for-8 from the field, 5-for-8 from the line), 14 boards, an assist, a steal, 2 blocked shots, 47 chest thumps and countless hustle plays. When Chicago’s sloppy play and poor shooting in the fourth quarter started to let the Kings back into the game, Noah stopped the bleeding by tipping in two misses by Kirk Hinrich and then adding a couple free throws.

And forget the numbers. Noah’s energy and intensity is swinging games. It’s happening. Joakim’s transformation into a very special player began at the tail end of last season and it’s continuing now. The people who put together the All-Star ballot may not have realized it, but the people of Chicago are starting to. Noah has been the Bulls’ MVP so far this season. It may sound crazy, especially considering his limitations and the fact that Derrick Rose is the team’s franchise player, but it’s true.

Comeback watch:
Luol Deng had 16 points (8-for-14) and 10 rebounds. It was his third double-double of the season. He leads the Bulls in scoring (17.4) and is 2nd (to Joakim Noah) in both rebounding (9.3) and Player Efficiency Rating (17.3). I don’t want to make any premature statements, not until Deng stays healthy and productive for an entire season. But his play so far has been very, very encouraging. And his toughness — especially on the boards — is a sign that he may finally shed that “soft” tag that’s been dangling from his toe for the last several years.

The Franchise:
Rose had another so-so game. He dished out 7 assists while committing only 2 turnovers, but scored only 10 points on 2-for-12 shooting  (2-for-7 on layups, 0-for-6 on jumpers). Is the kid still hurting from that preseason ankle injury?

Welcome back:
Jannero Pargo, who hasn’t been playing much lately due to some lingering injuries, went 5-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from downtown to score 12 points off the bench. He provided a real spark off the bench, which is exactly why the Bulls signed him this summer. Let’s hope he’s healthy and ready to do this on a regular basis. The team really needs his shooting.

Former Bull Factor:
Unfortunately, Andres Nocioni missed the game with a hip pointer. Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing Noc play again.

Pain in the Paint:
I hate to throw a wet blanket on the joy of an important road win, but the Bulls were outscored 56-44 in the paint and were once again exploited by an opposing frontcourt player (Sacramento SF Donte Green scored a game-high 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting). Chicago also missed 13 layup attempts (14-for-27). This was a major thorn in the Bulls’ hoof last season, and it has been doing some damage again this season.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Here’s a mind scrambler for you. According to the Chicago Tribune: “The Bulls at 5-4 are actually off to their best start since the 1997-98 season (also 5-4). And, they have done it against the second-toughest schedule in the league to-date. The Bulls have played teams with a .595 winning percentage; only the Wizards have played a tougher schedule (.625).”

So despite an offense that has been something of a phantom menace, the Bulls have actually done reasonably well against a pretty tough schedule. Who knew? I mean, besides the Chicago Tribune.

Things won’t get any easier as the Bulls begin their annual circus road trip: five of the six opponents are above .500, and their combined record is 36-21. The fun starts tonight against the surprising Sacramento Kings (5-4), who have won five of six overall and four straight without their best player (Kevin Martin). Then it’s off to face the Lakers (7-3 , 5-2 at home), Nuggets (7-3, 3-0 at home), Trail Blazers (8-4, 3-2 at home), Jazz (4-6, 2-2 at home) and Bucks (5-3, 4-1 at home). It will take a minor miracle for the Bulls to return to Chicago above .500.

The circus trip has been an annual horror show for the Bulls this decade. From 1999-00 through 2008-09, the Bulls are 9-56 on this trip, including a five-year stretch (1999-09 through 2003-04) in which they went 0-32. Ouch. In the last five seasons, the Bulls have “improved” to 9-24.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Sacramento’s recent hot streak hasn’t exactly come against the league’s top teams. The Lakers have had some injury problems, including Kobe Bryant (groin strain). The Bulls played the Nuggets tough in Chicago and held Carmelo Anthony to a season-low 20 points. The Jazz are struggling and Deron Williams is hurt. And Milwaukee is kind of overachieving right now. The Blazers…well…I’ve got nothing there.

Maybe, just maybe, the Bulls could walk away from this trip with a 3-3 record. I think that’s probably the best case scenario.

Here we “Jo” again:
Joakim Noah, currently the league’s leading rebounder by the way (12.2 RPG), until recently had no idea what the circus trip was all about. Said Noah: “Why do they always call it the circus trip? What’s so circus about it anyway?”

That’s okay, Jo. You just keep concentrating on crashing the boards.

(In case you’re like Noah, the circus trip is so-named because — as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald pointed out — the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus moves into the United Center for two weeks every year, forcing the Bulls and the Blackhawks to hit the road.