We're almost midway through the NBA season and the Bulls have done little-to-nothing to inspire any hope from the Windy City faithful. Sure Derrick Rose has been good, potentially Rookie-of-the-Year good, but watching him shine while everything around him crumbles has been more frustrating than enjoyable. Heck, this team lost to the freaking Oklahoma City Thunder Saturday night at home. For the record, the Thunder are a whopping 2-16 on the road this year, only Memphis has also succumbed to them on their home floor.
And yet, the glass-is-half-full part of me can't help but look at the standings, see them a game out of the eighth playoff spot in the East and think "Hey, they're getting healthy at the right time!"
After all, Kirk Hinrich has missed 31 games to injury this season, Luol Deng and Thabo Sefolosha eleven each. But tonight, all three return to the Bulls line-up. That's good news. (Well, the Hinrich and Deng returns are good news. I guess we could argue a bit about Sefolosha). The bad news is they're going to face a stiff test at the United Center tonight against the Blazers. A November trip to Portland yielded an almost-too-bloody-for-TV 116-74 tailkicking, the Bulls worst loss of the season.
If the Bulls can find a way to get a win tonight, then maybe we'll note this as the night the season turned around. Of course, they could also take another double-digit butt-kicking and perhaps the playoffs are nothing but a mirage. Stay tuned.
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