Bulls' Circus ER

The Bulls' circus trip exists to allow families to laugh and be amazed by performers.  A pleasant time is guaranteed by all who enter the United Center for this occasion.  This is a yearly custom during the last two weeks of November.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, this year's trip has been anything but funny or amazing.  A 2-3 record through seven games is one thing, but it's quite another to see players dropping like flies due to injuries.  For over a week, Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Kirk Hinrich, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson have all missed games.  The result is the Bulls having that much less of a chance to win before the starting lineups are announced.

A very interesting coincidence is that on a given night, multiple players at the same or similar positions have been unable to go.  We've seen Rose and Hinrich sit out at the same time, forcing Aaron Brooks to carry more than the load he was asked of when he signed here.  In Tuesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, Gibson and Noah were unavailable, which meant seldom-used rookie Cameron Bairstow had to start down low.  This is a deep team, but stretch it too much and you can see why only the Spurs can really get away with sitting their key players here and there during the regular season.

For a coach that has been told to take it easy on his players so they're not fatigued and injured for the playoffs, Tom Thibodeau has only shown slight movement in that direction.  Whether the injuries has something to do with his method is not clear, but you have to worry about some of the players' health.  Jimmy Butler's breakout offensive season has been both a blessing and a curse for him.  He's helping the Bulls, but Thibodeau is riding him as much as Luol Deng before him, so that could be trouble later on.

By a similar token, Rose's inability to finish games or stay healthy might not be doing the Bulls any favors now or later.  There's talk he might not be helpful in the playoffs if this keeps up.  All kinds of solutions have been proposed, including the Tribune's David Haugh suggesting that Rose sit until Christmas.  I personally think that's a little extreme, but I've heard a lot worse from fans on sports talk radio and in social media.

The Bulls will celebrate Thanksgiving in Boston before playing a Friday matinee against the Celtics.  They should be thankful to be in first place and while they say grace, they should pray for a healthier rest of the season.  As for the rest of us, Happy Turkey Day to all!