BullsEye Blog

* These two teams have alternated wins and losses over their last 10 meetings.

* Despite having a winning record, the Bulls have scored more than 94 points just once all season long.

* Joakim Noah has pulled down at least 11 rebounds in each of his last eight games.

* John Salmons has hit at least one 3-pointer in 29 consecutive games - the longest active streak in the NBA.

* Los Angeles has won four in a row over Chicago overall. The Lakers have won six of seven and 10 of the last 12 games between the teams in Los Angeles.

* The Bulls scored 100 points for the first time all season in their win Tuesday over Sacramento. The 14-point win (101-87) was their largest margin of victory of the season.

* The Lakers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 106-93 over Detroit on Tuesday. On the season, the Lakers are 7-0 when scoring 100+ points and 1-3 when scoring under 100.

* Los Angeles has won 19 consecutive games when reaching triple digits in points, the longest active winning streak in the league with 100+ points.

* Joakim Noah, who was averaging 6.6 rebounds per game in his career entering this season, leads the NBA with 12.4 rebounds per game.

* Kobe Bryant scored 40 points on Tuesday against the Pistons, the 100^th game of his career in which he scored at least 40 points. In NBA history, only Wilt Chamberlain (271) and Michael Jordan (173) have more career 40-point games.

The Bulls play the first game of their annual "Circus Trip" tonight on Channel 9 from Arco Arena in Sacramento.  The west coast trip for Chicago teams gives you a chance to bond a little bit and get closer as a team. You are out on the road for two weeks, away from your family and your teammates are the only guys you are going to see. You are together almost 24/7. Another great thing about this trip is that it gives you a chance to see cities you don't usually go to.  Hang out in L.A. for a couple of days, go up to Portland and visit the Nike headquarters. This trip is great even if you are struggling.  Even in the Championship seasons it was a tough trip.
That reminds me of Phil Jackson giving every player a book to read.  He always had a book for each player. I remember I was having my first son and Phil gave me a book on parenting by Bill Cosby. I always thought that was funny trying to teach a twenty-five year old kid about parenting. Til this day I still have not read that book.

Watch the Bulls On WGN Sports Tuesday night at 9pm ct! 

The Bulls have notoriously struggled on this early season West Coast road trip, commonly referred to as the "Circus Trip."   This group of Bulls is different.   They are young players who don't look at the teams that have struggled and they don't feel that they are going to have trouble just because of the past.

This trip is different because there are no back-to-back games.   There will be practice time between games, so if the Bulls have a bad game, they have practice time to correct what went wrong.

The Bulls' goal thru the first 20 games - 15 of which are on the road - is to be at the .500 mark.   The Bulls are 5-4 as the trip begins and I think the Bulls are going to play well.

                                                                               -Neil Funk

 

* The Bulls have won three of their last four games against the Kings, after losing 15 of the previous 16 games in the series. Chicago's 109-88 victory in Sacramento last January snapped a nine-game losing streak at ARCO Arena.

* The Bulls scored a season-high 94 points while improving to 5-4 on Saturday. Chicago is the only team to not score 100 points in any game this season.

* After going 1-4 in their first five games this season, the Kings have won their last four. Sacramento hasn't won five in a row since January 31 to February 10, 2007.

* Joakim Noah grabbed 12 rebounds on Saturday, extending his string of 10-rebound games to six. That's the longest such stretch of his career and longest current streak in the league.

* Rookie Tyreke Evans has registered at least 20 points in each of his last four games, during which time he's averaged 23.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest.

* Jason Thompson scored a career-high 27 points last Friday, and has now averaged 20.2 points over his last five games. He began the season by averaging 8.3 points in his first four games of 2009-10.

 

* Chicago has lost four of its last six home games against Philadelphia.

* Opponents are attempting just 19.8 free throws per game against the Bulls, second fewest in the league. Last season, foes got to the free-throw line 25.3 times per game.

* The Bulls' primary shooting guards, John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich, are really struggling from the field, combining to make just 32.3% of their attempts this season (24.6% from behind three-point arc).

* Luol Deng is averaging a career-high 9.3 rpg this season, and has had at least five boards in every game.

* The Raptors have won seven of their last nine games against the Bulls.

* Each of the Bulls' last four games (three wins) has been decided by three or fewer points.

* The Raptors have allowed both of their last two opponents to score at least 129 points and shoot exactly 50 percent from 3-point range.

* The Bulls are the only team that has not scored 100 points in a single game this season. The Raptors, meanwhile, are the Eastern Conference's only team that has not scored less than 100 points in a game this season.

* Last night, Joakim Noah pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds against the Nuggets - the second highest rebound total in the NBA this season (Dwight Howard, 22 vs. Nets on October 30).

* Going back to last season, Chris Bosh has scored at least 20 points in 14 straight games - the second longest active streak (Dwyane Wade 20) in the NBA.

* Denver has lost each of its last three trips to Chicago.

* After opening the season 5-0, the Nuggets have now dropped each of their last two games. Denver is 2-2 on its current six-game road trip.

* The Bulls are looking to open the season 4-0 at home for the first time since the 1997-98 campaign. Chicago has won three straight games overall after dropped each of its previous two.

* Joakim Noah scored a career-high 21 points against the Bobcats on Saturday while grabbing 16 rebounds. Noah has had 10 or more rebounds in five of his six games this season.

* Carmelo Anthony has scored 30 points in each of his last two games and five times in his seven contests overall this season. Anthony is averaging 26.5 points in six career games at Chicago.

* Luol Deng has scored exactly 22 points in three of his last four games against Denver. Deng is averaging 13.3 rebounds in his three home games this season compared to 6.7 in his three road games.