Three key players to a Bulls playoff run

The sample size is small.

No one is crowning the Bulls a playoff team just 15 games into the season. Not after they started off so well last year, before completely unraveling by the time April rolled around.

There's no doubt, however, that this has a different feel to it.

It's a group that likes each other, handles adversity, and more importantly, as was on display throughout most of the first month of the season, can play opposing teams in any style of basketball they choose, and in most cases play it well.

If the Bulls can get by Philadelphia Friday night, they would conclude the annual Circus Trip with a 4-2 record.

Considering veteran Dwyane Wade set the bar at 3-3, and the recent history for this team has seen more stumbles on the West Coast than successes, call it a stellar trip.

• This report was produced in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times. To read the rest of the article, visit chicago.suntimes.com.