Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 3 Takeaways

Nov 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez (8) dribbles against Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez (8) dribbles against Philadelphia 76ers forward Ersan Ilyasova (7) during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Circus Trip Review

It’s no secret that the Circus Trip doesn’t always bring about the most shining Bulls basketball (this year is only the third time that they’ve gone over .500 on it since the days of Michael Jordan).

But, this year was a very different kind of trip.

The Bulls took down the Blazers, the Jazz, the Lakers, and now the Sixers. While they fell to the Clippers and the Nuggets, both games were close and the Bulls had a good shot at victory. Whether you see that as good or bad is up to you.

There were several good highlights among the six games. Jerian Grant had maybe the best game of his career against the Blazers, and Jimmy Butler put up a casual 40 points against the newly frisky Lakers. While we might be tempted to see the Nuggets loss as a hearkening back to last year’s Bulls, who had a penchant for losing to teams with less talent, I would argue that we’d be talking about that game and four others just like it last year.

Be thankful it’s only the one.

The 4-2 record for the trip means the Bulls are 10-6 on the season, markedly better than many predicted they would be.

Let’s look closer at how they won the game tonight, and a bit at how they’ve won the other nine.