Chicago Bulls: First Big Test of Their Schedule Coming Up

Since losing to Golden State back in December, the Chicago Bulls have put together a five-game win streak.

While sustaining a winning streak is daunting, the fact that the Bulls have five games over the next six days (with three of those games being on the road) all but guarantees that their current string of victories may be interrupted.

Starting Friday, the Bulls face their first big test of this faced-paced, condensed NBA season. Their schedule breaks down as follows:

Friday, January 6 @ Orlando Magic

Saturday, January 7 @ Atlanta Hawks

Monday, January 9 vs. Detroit Pistons

Tuesday, January 10 @ Minnesota Timberwolves

Wednesday, January 11 vs. Washington Wizards

Just based on matchups and style of play, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that the Bulls could win all of these games; however, when considerations of travel time, lack of proper rest and playing in less-than-friendly environments are thrown in, one can see how this stretch of the schedule will be very trying.

The most challenging of these games will probably be the Orlando Magic.

At 5-2, Orlando has put together some early wins behind quite a few monster double-doubles from Dwight Howard and some nifty shooting from Hedo Turkoglu.

When Chicago comes to town, the Magic will have only played one game over the previous three days, leaving them a little more rested than Chicago, who will only have a day’s long break after playing at home against Atlanta and at Detroit on back-to-back nights.

The high level of play being shown by Dwight Howard will pose problems for Chicago’s front court, requiring Coach Thibodeau to get very creative with his defensive strategy. And so far, the Magic are third in the league in points allowed, so a win here will require some offensive prowess as well.

The rigor of the schedules for most of the remaining opponents levels the parity of those games.

The Atlanta Hawks will be on the back end of a back-to-back-to-back stretch that involves the Miami Heat and Charlotte Bobcats before Chicago comes rolling in.

For the rematch against the Pistons, Chicago will be at home against a Detroit team that will have had a day’s rest after playing the now struggling New York Knicks.

Chicago will then have to travel to Minnesota, where the Timberwolves will be wrapping up their own three-game stint that includes a trip to Toronto.

The Bulls will finish their five-game stretch back at home against the Wizards, who will be arriving in Chicago fresh off a home stand against the Toronto Raptors.

This week-long whirlwind is bound to have an effect on Chicago’s play. The Chicago Bulls are a talented team with a more-than-modest injury history. How they manage this stretch will be a good indicator of how well the Bulls can grind through this lockout schedule.

Tom Thibodeau has a lot to consider when it comes to managing game minutes and figuring out how to use the very little downtime he has for rest and preparation.

All things considered, Chicago’s worst case scenario is coming out of this 3-2. Orlando and Atlanta pose the biggest threats; however, the Hawks may be a bit too fatigued to take advantage of being at home.

Although Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio have been bright spots in Minnesota, no one else has really stood out to show that the T’wolves will have enough to hang in with Chicago, and Detroit and Washington still seem to be still finding their way.

Every NBA team is going to have to go through this at least two or three times over the course of this season. The rapid pace of gameplay and significant decrease in time off means that every win will most certainly be earned.

Despite the criticism it’s received, this schedule seems to be the great equalizer among the top-tier teams.