Late show in L.A.

I'd say the target number for Bulls wins on the circus road trip is 2. Accomplish that and they would be 7-10 at the end of November after playing the league's toughest opening schedule.

The thing is, their two most difficult games might come right off the bat, because the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland have so much size inside. The Bulls' lack of strength, experience and talent among their big men was unmistakable in the 106-99 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night. Keep in mind, the 7-point final margin was the closest the game had been since the opening minute of the third quarter. The Bulls spent most of the second half trailing by anywhere from 10-20 points.

There were plenty of problems with Tuesday's performance. Joakim Noah had another rough night. Larry Hughes shot poorly. Luol Deng and Drew Gooden were quiet. The Lakers are a well-constructed team and their length definitely played a role in the Bulls committing 22 turnovers and getting 11 shots blocked.

From one perspective, it might be encouraging that the Bulls have been competitive so far with only two players (Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon) doing consistently well. Aaron Gray has been pretty good and Andres Nocioni is helpful when his 3-point shot is falling.

In contrast, Deng is averaging 14.4 points and still shooting less than 40 percent. Gooden was planning to maximize his potential this year, but so far is averaging 10.3 points and 8.4 boards. He did better than that in Cleveland. Tyrus Thomas is shooting 29.8 percent. Noah has been a no-show on most nights. Hughes has been hurt and Kirk Hinrich is out for three months.

The lack of strong performances probably just illustrates the impact Rose has made. He delivered 25 points, 9 assists and had the crowd gasping several times in his L.A. debut. Many of the players on the disappointing list could step forward as Rose gains experience and the Bulls' ball movement improves. Deng is definitely not getting as many touches as he should.

Newcomer Lindsey Hunter played significant minutes for the first time against the Lakers. He started the fourth quarter, completed a 3-point play on a drive to the basket and came about 5 feet short on a 20-foot jumper. Hunter also made a nice steal, only to have his fast-break layup attempt swatted away by Jordan Farmar. There are clearly some limitations to a player who will turn 38 in a couple weeks.

If anyone cares about Tuesday's celebrity count at the Staples Center, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington and Tom Arnold were there. I'm almost certain I saw California first lady Maria Shriver, though no sign of the governor. You're probably thinking, "It goes without saying that Jim Belushi was there. His career is based on showing up to Chicago sporting events." Well, I didn't see him, but that doesn't mean he wasn't in the house.