From Flickr via Matthew Britt

To (heavily) paraphrase a line from Rust Cohle, the NBA season is a flat circle. This season saw Chicago Bulls fans cycle from hope and excitement (Derrick Rose’s return), to disappointment and despair (his injury), to grief (the Luol Deng trade). But as the season progressed our sorrow slowly morphed back into optimism with stellar play from the team and, now that the playoffs are here, are back to feeling hope and excitement about what this team could accomplish.

This year’s hope stems from the ideal playoff seeding. With an end-of-the-season loss, the Brooklyn Nets fell from the 5th seed to the 6th seed, keeping Chicago out of what would have likely been a very grueling and exhausting physical series. Instead, the Bulls have drawn the Wizards in the first round for what should be an easier series physically. Should Chicago advance they’re likely to face a struggling Indiana Pacers team that is far from a lock to make the Eastern Conference Finals.

But before we get ahead of ourselves we need to remember that though the Wizards will be less of a physical drain, they’re still a young and dangerous team that could present quite the challenge for the Bulls.

Season Series:

The Wizards beat the Bulls in two of the three games they played during the regular season. As tempting as it sometimes is to look at the regular season records as a measuring stick for success, it’s important to realize that the two wins the Wizards have came against a very different Bulls team. At the time Chicago was struggling having to deal with injuries, losing Luol Deng, and learning a new way to play without the veteran swingman. But since January 17th Joakim Noah played his way into MVP ballots, Taj Gibson emerged as a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, and DJ Augustin has enjoyed a career resurgence that has more than dropped jaws, it’s broken them. All of this has led Chicago to the best second-half of the season record in the Eastern Conference. Thus if there’s any game we can use as a means to predict what to expect in this series it’d be the third game played earlier this month (that Chicago won). Unfortunately one game doesn’t tell nearly enough to make any sort of prediction about a series.

Roster advantages:

Front Court: Chicago Bulls– Let’s not act very surprised. The tandem of Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson is arguably one of the best, if not THE best, front court in the league. The rare days that Carlos Boozer shows up makes the front court even better with improved offensive production. Nene and Marcin Gortat will provide a challenge for the duo, but it should be business as usual given the intensity these two play.

Wing: Chicago Bulls– I think Trevor Ariza and Martell Webster are solid role players, but they Wizards wings don’t really worry me that much. Meanwhile the Bulls have two very solid wings in Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Jimmy Butler. The former stretches the floor for Chicago and plays solid defense while the latter will not let you score and is still playing fairly well offensively despite dealing with turf toe all season.

Back Court: Washington Wizards– Augustin has been phenomenal this season and closes the gap between Chicago and Washington’s back courts, but this advantage goes to the Wizards by a mile. John Wall and Bradley Beal have been great this season and, given their speed and scoring proficiency, should prove to be a challenge for Kirk Hinrich and Augustin. Chicago should find it challenging to stay in front of both of these guys and it’ll take a team effort to limit the damage that these two can do.

Coaching: Chicago Bulls- If there is one coach in the NBA that can devise a system to stop Beal and Wall from exploiting Augustin’s below average defense and Hinrich’s slowed-with-age defense it’s Thibodeau. The man remains one of the best coaches in the league and should figure out a system to shut Beal and Wall down. Hats off to Wizards coach Randy Wittman because he’s done a great job with his team this year. But at the end of the day there is only one, maybe two, coaches you would pick ahead of Thibodeau.

X-Factor:

Chicago’s offense is still one of the ugliest in the league. It’s a pure dumpster fire. But things have improved a little bit since Augustin has emerged as a legitimate scoring option for the team. The only issue is that Augustin, for as good as he’s been, remains a streaky player who could either do well or end up hurting the team with inefficiency. Jason Patt of Blog-A-Bull said it best when he compared Augustin to Nate Robinson. If the good Augustin shows up then Chicago should win their games with a combination of his scoring ability and Noah’s excellent high-post work. If Augustin doesn’t perform then each game could be a battle.

Projected Starting Lineup:

 Schedule:

Game 1: Sunday, April 20 at Chicago, 6 p.m., TNT and CSN

Game 2: Tuesday, April 22 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m., TNT and CSN

Game 3: Friday, April 25 at Washington, 7 p.m., ESPN and CSN

Game 4: Sunday, April 27 at Washington, 12 p.m., ABC

Game 5*: Tuesday, April 29 at Chicago, TBD

Game 6*: Thursday, May 1 at Washington, TBD

Game 7*: Saturday, May 3 at Chicago, TBD, TNT and CSN

* if necessary

Prediction:

Chicago Bulls in 6 games

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The rumors floating around appear to be true as the Chicago Bull open up their season on the road against the Miami Heat. The game is notable for several reasons

1. The game acts as a season opener for the league
2. The Miami Heat will receive their 2012-2013 championship rings
3. The game should mark the return of Derrick Rose

While an intense matchup against the Heat may not be an ideal return for Derrick Rose, who is likely to be rusty, the idea of the Heat receiving their championship rings in front of Chicago intrigues me. Given the mindset of the team, I’m fairly confident that the Bulls watching their rivals accept the rings they so badly want will provide extra motivation throughout the season and playoffs.

The Bulls will play the Heat three more times in the season: one more time on the road February 23rd, and twice at home on December 5th and March 9th.

Just two days after their season opener against the Miami Heat, the Bulls will play their first home game against the New York Knicks on October 31st. Given Chicago’s overall history with the Knicks and the recent intensity between the two teams, we should be in for an intriguing home opener.

The Bulls will once again be playing on Christmas Day with a game against the Brooklyn Nets. The matchup will be the first between the two teams since Chicago eliminated the Nets from the playoffs and since the Nets traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The game should be intense especially given the bad blood between Joakim Noah and Kevin Garnett.

The Bulls will wrap up their season against the Charlotte Bobcats on April 16th.

Throughout the course of the season, the Bulls have a fairly intriguing schedule. The team is scheduled to play 15 sets of back-to-back games and go on two six game road trips. The Bulls will host a season long 6 games in a row at home in the middle of March. This home stand could be telling of Chicago’s chances in the playoffs as five of the six games come against title contenders (the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder).

Perhaps most intriguing is the fact that the Bulls will play 33 games on national television (including NBA TV games). That number ties them with the Knicks for the most nationally broadcasted games. Looks as though people are looking forward to “The Return” and Andrea Bargnani on the Knicks.

As a whole I believe Chicago’s schedule is fairly balanced throughout the season as the Bulls have a good mix of games against playoff and lottery teams in both halves of the season. The second half of the season does see some of the games against playoff teams clustered together though.

Regardless, the Bulls will likely improve their record from last year with the return of Derrick Rose, improved outside shooting, and improved bench. It looks like it’s going to be another fun season for the Chicago Bulls.

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The Chicago Bulls will tip off the 2012-13 season at the United Center on Oct. 31 versus the Sacramento Kings. Tip-off time for the season opener is 7:00 p.m. (CT).

Chicago’s home schedule is also highlighted by visits from the Western Conference Champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 8, and the NBA Champion Miami Heat on Feb. 21 and March 27. The Boston Celtics will come to town on Nov. 12 and Dec. 18, while the Los Angeles Lakers will make their lone United Center appearance of the season on Jan. 21. The Bulls will also host the New York Knicks on Dec. 8 and April 11.

For the first time since the 1997-98 campaign, Chicago will play at home on Christmas Day. This year, the Bulls will host the Houston Rockets in one of five Christmas Day games in the NBA. The Bulls and Rockets will tip off from the United Center at 7:00 p.m. (CT) and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Those are the highlights. And you can go here for a printable schedule.

Now here’s my annual month-by-month breakdown of the team’s schedule:

November (plus one October game):
The Bulls play 14 games — eight at home and six on the road — with two sets of back-to-back games. They face five playoff teams (Magic, Thunder, Celtics, at L.A. Clippers, Mavericks) plus two games against a division rival (the Milwaukee Bucks). Of course, it’s hard telling whether Dwight Howard will still be playing for Orlando, so who knows what that games going to be like.

The Bulls play six of their first seven games in the United Center, and they have both a five-game home stand (Hornets, Magic, Thunder, Timberwolves, Celtics) and a five-game road trip (Phoenix, L.A. Clippers, Portland, Houston, Milwaukee). Speaking of which, they’ll get their first up close look at Omer Asik in Rockets uniform on November 21.

December:
The Bulls play nine of 16 games at home with but have five sets of back-to-back games. As if all those back-to-backs weren’t enough, the Bulls have 10 games against playoff teams (Philadelphia twice, Indiana twice, New York twice, L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Boston, Atlanta), although the Hawks have been somewhat dismantled (even if they did add former Bull Kyle Korver). They’ll also face the much-improved Nets on December 15.

And, of course, there’s that Christmas Day game at home against the Rockets.

January:
This busy months — 16 games (nine at home and seven roadies) — is highlighted by Chicago’s first game against the Heat (January 4) and three sets of back-to-back games (Knicks/Suns, Celtics/Grizzlies, Warriors/Wizards).

There are seven games against playoff teams: at Orlando, at Miami, at New York, versus the Hawks, at Boston, versus the Grizzlies, and versus the Lakers. There are also four games against division rivals (Bucks twice, Pistons, and Cleveland).

February:
The challenge: 12 games, eight on the road, only four at home. And three of the four home games are against the Spurs, Heat, and 76ers (the fourth is against the Cavaliers).

Chicago’s second game against the Heat is on February 21 with two more to follow in the next two months. Maybe the league office was hoping Derrick Rose in time for the final three games against the champs.

Anyway, the road games are at Brooklyn, Atlanta, Denver, Utah, Boston, New Orleans, Charlotte, Oklahoma City. Oh, and there are three sets of back-to-back games: News/Hawks (both road games), Nuggets/Jazz (both road games), and Heat/Bobcats (home and away).

Tough month.

March:
The Bulls play 14 games this month — seven each on the road and at home — with seven games against playoff teams (Pacers twice, Spurs, Lakers, Nuggets, Heat, Mavericks) and a game against the Nets (who should end up being a playoff team).

There are three sets of back-to-back games — Nets/Pacers, Pacers/Timberwolves, Mavs/Pistons.

April:
The final stretch leading to (one hopes) the playoffs: 10 games, four at home (Magic, Raptors, Knicks, Wizards) and six on the road (Washington, Brooklyn, Detroit, Toronto, Miami, Orlando), with three sets of back-to-back games (Nets/Magic, Knicks/Raptors, Heat/Magic).

Four playoff teams (Magic twice, Heat, Knicks) and the Nets of course.

The post The 2012-13 Chicago Bulls schedule is here appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

From ESPNChicago:

The Chicago Bulls open their preseason on Oct. 9 against the Memphis Grizzlies, part of a seven-game schedule that includes games in Champaign and South Bend.

The Bulls, who released their preseason schedule on Tuesday, will play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 12 at Assembly Hall in Champaign and close their exhibition slate at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 26.

The Bulls also have home games against the Milwaukee Bucks (Oct. 16), Minnesota Timberwolves (Oct. 19) and Oklahoma City Thunder (Oct. 23). Aside from the two neutral site games, the Bulls have one road game at Minnesota on Oct. 13.

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He’ll need to be.

The Bulls updated schedule for the abbreviated 2011-12 season has been released. And it’s challenging. In fact, early on, it’s downright brutal.

The schedule opens with a four-game road trip that begins on Christmas Day against the Lakers in L.A. and runs through Golden State, Sacramento, and back through L.A. for a match-up with the Clippers.

Eight of the team’s first 11 games are on the road, and 11 of their first 17 overall. That 17-game stretch has five sets of back-to-back games.

On January 9-11, the Bulls play three games in three nights, at home against the Pistons, versus the Timberwolves in Minnesota, and back home against the Wizards.

On January 29, the team will embark nine-game road oddessy against the Heat in Miami followed by stops in Washington, Philly, New York, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Charlotte and Boston.

By the end of that trip, the Bulls will be 30 games into the season, with 20 of those games being roadies.

Things even out a bit over the next month, thanks largely to a couple of six-game home stands. But still. All those early road games could really wreak havoc on Chicago’s record. Especially considering the season’s late start and the fact that it’s going to take extra time for teams to really gel.

Obviously, it’s easier to gel at home than on the road. But it is what it is.

By the end of the season, the Bulls will have played 33 games in the United Center and 33 games outside of the Windy City,with 17 sets of back-to-back games and the one stretch of three games in three nights.

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. As rough as the first 30 games will be, the degree of difficulty should taper off during the second half of the season thanks to the higher number of home games. And ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh tweeted that the Bulls actually have one of the easiest schedules in terms of opponents’ win-loss percentage.

So there’s that.

Friedell has more details about the schedule and ChicagoNow’s Doug Thonus points out that the Clippers, Lakers and Thunder will not visit Chicago this season…therefore no Blake Griffin, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant.

Sorry, Bulls season ticket holders.

All that said…finally! A season! Free agency begins in two days…

The post The new 2011-12 Bulls schedule appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

“The Bulls are scheduled to open [the preseason] against the Michael Jordan-owned Charlotte Bobcats on Oct. 10 at the United Center. Other home games are Oct. 14 against the Timberwolves, Oct. 21 against the Pacers and Oct. 27 against Scott Skiles and the Bucks. The Bulls’ road schedule calls for them to travel to an undetermined location to play the Pacers on Oct. 13, Sioux Falls, S.D., to play the Timberwolves on Oct. 19 and Oct. 25 to conclude their schedule in Charlotte against the Bobcats.”

You know, when I was seven years old, my mom planned a family trip to Chicago. The big event was to see a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, mom made my sister — who was 11 years old — the primary navigator.

Handing an 11-year-old a giant map of Chicago and telling her to “get us to Wrigley” went about as well as you’d expect. We got horrifically lost and never made it to the game. On the bright side, we ate at the Ground Round in Elmhurst, and they had a very cool magician going from table to table doing the disappearing sponge ball trick. It was some solace.

Anyway, for years and years, my mom kept the Cubs tickets from the game we never made it to in the family photo album. It was kind of a sad relic of what might have been. That’s already how I feel about this preseason schedule. Maybe I’m being overly pessimistic, but I don’t think there will be a preseason. I’m not very hopeful for a regular season. So take this list of potential games for what it’s worth.

A grain of salt.

The post The preseason (that won’t happen) schedule has been released appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Oh, and if you’re not lucky enough to live in or near Chicago, you should still be able to get your Bulls fix. According to NBA.com: “The Bulls are currently scheduled to appear on national television a total of 29 times. This year the Bulls will air on ABC five times, TNT nine times, ESPN nine times and NBA TV six times.”

November:
As always, the Bulls open the season with a rough first month: 15 games, 10 on the road, eight back-to-back games, and eight games against playoff teams (Mavericks, Hornets, Hawks, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Pacers, Spurs). The season opens with back-to-back road games in Dallas and New Orleans and finishes at home against the San Antonio immediately following the eight-game circus road trip. By the way, that trip features three sets of back-to-back games.

Brutal, right? The only “soft” spot on the November schedule is a four-game home stand against the Hawks, Clippers, Thunder and Kings.

December:
The holiday season will be slightly more charitable: 12 games, six on the road, six back-to-back games, and only four games against playoff teams (Mavericks, Hawks, Spurs, Lakers). The Bulls will face some (presumably) bad teams both at home and away (Wizards, at Detroit, Cavaliers, at Golden State, at Sacramento), and they have a Christmas day matchup with the Lakers in L.A. Man, I hate Christmas day road games.

January:
On paper, this could be Chicago’s best month of the season: 16 games, 11 at home, only five on the road, and a mere four back-to-backers. But…the Bulls have nine games against playoff teams (Grizzlies, Pacers, at Orlando, at Atlanta, Sixers, at Memphis, at Miami, Trail Blazers, at Miami) plus games against teams that always play them tough (Bobcats, Nets and Bucks).

I like all the home games. But this month won’t be a gimmie.

February:
This month actually starts on January 29 in Miami, which is the first stop of a seven-game road trip that also moves through Philly, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Minnesota and Boston. That means six of the 12 games the Bulls play in February take place on the road. The second half of the month features a five-game home stand (against the Raptors, Celtics, Nets, Magic and Hornets) and closes out with a road game in Washington. In case you weren’t keeping count, that means the Bullies face six playoff teams. They also have four back-to-back games.

March:
The skinny: 16 games, 10 at home, six on the road, six back-to-back. The Bulls will face eight playoff teams (at Indiana, Lakers, Knicks, Heat, at Orlando, Pacers, Nuggets, at Atlanta) and some (presumably) chump squads (Cavs twice, Pistons twice, Raptors twice). This could still be a tough month because I predict Carlos Boozer will be dealing with his standard late-season arm/leg/hand/foot/finger/toe/head injury.

April:
Ah, April, the month of playoff positioning. Well, for the teams making the playoffs, anyway. The Bulls will play 11 games, six on the road (Oklahoma City, Toronto, New York, Philly, Detroit, New Jersey) and five at home (Bobcats, Celtics, Knicks, Heat, Timberwolves). That’s six playoff teams. They also have three sets of back-to-backs.

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Overall record in back-to-backs:
10-13

Home record:
4-3

Road record:
6-10

Record versus playoff teams:
3-7

Record versus non-playoff teams:
7-6

Double-digit losses:
8

Double-digit wins:
4

Wins:
vs. MIN 110-96
vs. WAS 121-119 (2OT)
@ HOU 104-97
vs. MIA 95-91
@ NYK 115-109
vs. PHI 122-90
@ PHI 98-84
@ DET 110-103
vs. CHA 96-88
@ CHA 98-89

Losses:
@ BOS 118-90
@ TOR 99-89
vs. TOR 110-98
@ATL 118-83
vs. BOS 106-80
@ NYK 88-81
@ CHA 113-108
@ PHI 106-103 (OT)
vs. ORL 107-87
@ IND 100-90
@ MIA 108-95
@ DAL 113-106
@ NJN 127-116 (2OT)

Here’s a list of the second night of back-to-backs the Bulls will play in 2010-11:

@ BOS
@ SAS
@ PHO
@ SAC
vs. HOU
vs. MIN
@ WAS
@ DET
vs. CLE
@ NJN
vs. BOS
vs. MIA
vs. CHA
vs. IND
vs. MIA
vs. NOH
vs. UTH
@ IND
@ ATL
@ MIL
vs. TOR
@ CLE
vs. NJN

Next season, the Bulls have 11 road games and 12 home games on the second night of back-to-backs, while facing 12 playoff teams and 11 non-playoff teams (although they play the Cavaliers twice, and I doubt they will be a playoff team this season).

Considering they almost went .500 in the second of B2Bs last season, it will be interesting to see how a much-improved Bulls team does.

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As usual.

The Bulls must once again — and again and again and yet again — contend with their infamous November “circus trip” and a schedule loaded with back-to-back games. As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune pointed out: “The Bulls are tied with the Bucks for the league lead with a whopping 23 sets of back-to-back games.”

Expectations must be high, because the Bulls will be on national television 27 times, including a Christmas day game against the Knicks in New York.

Here’s the month-by-month breakdown:

October:
The Bulls open their season in Oklahoma City against a Thunder team starring a potential MVP candidate (Kevin Durant). Last season, the Thunder won 50 games in a tough Western Conference and gave the Lakers their second toughest fight en route to a second consecutive championship.

A few days later, the Bulls have their home opener against a Pistons squad featuring former Bull Ben Gordon and maybe-coulda-been-a-Bull Tracy McGrady. That one should be a shot selection masterpiece.

November:
Things get ugly right off the bat: In 13 games, the Bulls face eight playoff teams and a Houston squad that should return to the playoffs if Yao Ming can stay healthy for a change. After a tough opening stretch in which they face the Trail Blazers (home), Celtics (road) and Nuggets (home), the Bulls close out the month with a brutal seven-game road trip that features two sets of back-to-backs and consecutive games against the Rockets, Spurs, Mavericks, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets.

As always, it’s going to be a struggle to escape November on the sunny side of .500.

December:
The schedule doesn’t get better right away. The Bulls return home for one game to face the Orlando Magic before heading to Boston for a play date with the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Then it’s back home for games against the Rockets, Thunder and NBA champion Lakers (broken up by a road game against the LeBron-less Cavaliers).

This could be the point of the season where people start openly questioning how good this team really is, which seems like an annual rite of passage for the Bulls. Sweaty hands could be hovering over the Panic Button.

Fortunately, after the Lakers leave Chicago, the strength of schedule eases up. The Bulls get a stretch of nine out of 10 games against non-playoff teams: Timberwolves, Pacers, Raptors, Clippers, 76ers, Wizards, Knicks, Pistons, Bucks and Nets. Only four of those 10 games are on the road, and the only playoff team during that run (Milwaukee) has to come to the United Center.

Of course, the Knicks game is a Christmas day roadie…which, historically speaking, has gone pretty badly for the away team. Fortunately, the Knicks recently re-hired Isiah Thomas as a consultant. Still, let’s hope Santa doesn’t give Amar’e Stoudemire a post game.

January:
This could be the month for a big push: Out of 16 games, the Bulls have only four road contests (at New Jersey, Charlotte, Indiana and Memphis). Technically speaking, the Bulls have nine games versus playoff teams, but two of those are against the Cavaliers. So…yeah. The others will be tough — Celtics, Heat, Bobcats (twice), Mavs, Bucks and Magic — but the rest of the schedule is littered with teams of questionable credibility: Raptors, Nets, Sixers, Pistons, Pacers (twice) and Grizzlies.

If the Bulls are going to be a top four seed in the East this season, they’re going to have to take advantage of having 12 out of 16 games at home in January. They should also floss between meals. It’s just a good habit to get into.

February:
Things get ugly again in February: Eight of 11 games are on the road. In fact, the month opens with a five-game Western Conference road trip at Los Angeles (versus the Clippers), Golden State, Portland, Utah and New Orleans. The Bulls then play three out of four at home (Bobcats, Spurs, at Toronto, Heat) before closing out the month with road games at Milwaukee and Washington.

Even though “only” five of the 11 games are against playoff teams, the Hornets could definitely return to playoff contention this season. Have I mentioned I’m looking forward to seeing Derrick Rose square off with Chris Paul? Well, I am.

March:
Unfortunately, the Bulls won’t earn much of a break for escaping February. Half of their 16 games are on the road. And check out their first seven games: at Atlanta, at Orlando, at Miami, Hornets, at Charlotte, Hawks, Jazz. The Bulls then get a softer four-game stretch (Wizards, at New Jersey, at Indiana, Kings) before an on-again, off-again stretch to close out the month (at Atlanta, Grizzlies, at Milwaukee, Sixers, at Minnesota).

April:
This is when I assume (or just really, really hope) the Bulls will be pushing for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Fingerscrossed, people. Only three out of eight games are on the road, and only three games should be tough (Suns, Celtics, at Orlando). The rest of the teams the Bulls face will probably be prepping for their summer vacation (Pistons, Raptors, Cavaliers, Knicks and Nets).

Analysis:
On paper, this should be the best Bulls team since Michael Jordan retired the second time. But the schedule makers were not kind. The early season is front-loaded with road games, and the Bulls face more back-to-backs than anybody other than the Bucks. I really believe the Bulls could win 50-ish games, but they’re going to need to play really well in the early going to avoid falling into their annual sub-.500 hole.

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