The Portland Trail Blazers have the golden opportunity to get their road trip started on the right foot when they take on the Chicago Bulls, who might be the coldest team in the league at the moment.
The Bulls have not won a game since the beginning of the month, and they have seen 10 games in a row on the losing end. This all coincides with the trade deadline where the Bulls opted to break up over half of their roster in trades with the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
This means the Blazers have a great chance of getting back on track and winning the first game of their road trip.
Blazers Can Get Easy Win vs. Bulls
Portland Trail Blazers center Yang Hansen handles the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Jalen Smith. | Soobum Im-Imagn Images
At the trade deadline, the Bulls acquired former top five pick Jaden Ivey from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for three-point specialist Kevin Huerter. The next day, the team acquired Colin Sexton from the Charlotte Hornets for Coby White. Then the Bulls sent Ayo Dosunmu to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Julian Phillips for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and four second-round picks.
In addition, the Bulls also sent starting center Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons, who was dealt by the Blazers to Beantown back in the offseason for Jrue Holiday. Simons had a chance to face off against his former team, but a broken wrist will keep him out of the game.
The Bulls are a team in disarray, with way too many guards to count and zero chemistry to show for it. That’s the biggest reason why they haven’t won a game since the trade deadline, and they find themselves in a very tough predicament.
It’s clear the Bulls are tanking to try and improve their positioning for the 2026 NBA draft. This year’s rookie class consists of some of the brightest young players to come out of college basketball in the last several years, including Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward A.J. Dybantsa and Duke big man Cameron Boozer.
This means the Blazers will face an unmotivated and scattered Bulls team, and this should give Portland the chance to come out of the gate strong, get some of their kinks ironed, and put a tally in the win column.
Tip-off between the Blazers and Bulls is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT inside the United Center. Fans can watch the game on Rip City Sports Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.