It's hard to imagine anyone disliking clowns the way I do. (My apologies to any loyal clown readers out there, but you guys freak me out.) If anyone does, though, I'm guessing it's Kirk Hinrich.

And Ben Gordon. And Luol Deng. And Andres Nocioni, Chris Duhon and anyone else who's suited up for the Bulls over the past seven seasons.

Why? Because clowns mean the circus, the circus means clearing out of the United Center, clearing out the United Center means the circus trip and the circus trip means two brutal weeks on the road.

This year, the seven-game slate is especially daunting, with games against the Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, Lakers and Nuggets – all of whom figure to be in the Western Conference playoff mix – followed by a post-Thanksgiving, two-game East Coast swing against the 76ers and Knicks.

Today, the Tribune's K.C. Johnson has documented the miseries of this annual road trip, which has netted the Bulls four wins in 45 tries (thanks to three wins a year ago) over the past seven seasons. Ouch.

To complicate matters further, the 3-3 Bulls trek west as manic as ever, alternately blowing out opponents and getting blown out in this young season. Only two games – an 89-88 loss to Sacramento and an 89-80 win over Indiana – have been decided by fewer than 10 points.

And now, just as the Bulls head to the Lone Star State to meet the slow-starting, but nevertheless dangerous Dallas Mavericks (7:30 p.m. | Comcast SportsNet | WCKG 105.9 FM) to kick-start the circus trip, the poster child for Chicago's early-season inconsistency, Ben Gordon, is evidently headed to the bench.

Although I don't think Gordon's struggles are full-on panic-worthy, I understand the concern here. Gordon is an undeniably streaky scorer, and the mounting pressure that comes with 2-of-18 shooting over the past two games hasn't helped the situation any.

This is nothing new for Gordon. Over the past two seasons, his sometimes uneven performances have provided plenty of fodder for a local media contingent only too happy to eat it up. And that was when Gordon was a young kid playing on a young team with modest expectations.

Those days are gone.

The Bulls are touted in many circles, including this one, as Eastern Conference contenders. Gordon may still be a young player, but with solid veterans around him, two seasons under his belt and entering his contract season, the hope was Gordon would find a more consistent rhythm. Six games in, that hasn't been the case.

Again, I'm not in a panic here. It's still early, and really, Gordon's not the only Bull struggling with his touch. Problem is, Gordon has known the highest highs (37 points, 9 assists) and lowest lows (2 points on 1-of-10 shooting) over the span of just a few days. Gordon's well-documented peak-and-valley play has made it impossible to mask his early season struggles.

Coming off the bench might do the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year some good. He figures to log some more minutes with Thabo Sefolosha, with whom Gordon seems to have a good on-the-court relationship. Furthermore, to date, Gordon has generally dealt well with criticism from the media, his coach and fans, often responding to any adversity with a monster performance.

And this time, Gordon seems to have Skiles more squarely in his corner – a circumstance not often present in seasons past.

"It's possible that all the new faces and some different things we're doing have thrown [Ben] off a bit," said Skiles. "You can see right away when things are coming easy to him. You can see the ball coming off his hand and it looks good. You see other nights when it doesn't look so good.

"We all have a responsibility to help him get to that stage where he can play like that because he's such a good player."

Once upon a time, Skiles wasn't much for sympathy, not with Gordon anyway. More times than not, he would call out Gordon publicly for his poor play. Gordon, for his part, didn't let it affect his play.

Nevertheless, on a small scale, this appears to be a positive development. Skiles seems to be looking for reasons to get Gordon back into the starting five, not how to keep him pine-bound. Considering Gordon is the most gifted pure scorer on the roster, that's a good thing.

For now, though, it looks like Chris Duhon will be replacing Gordon in the starting lineup. Duhon is a nice player, and, early on, he's shooting 50% from the field. But Duhon's a point guard by trade, meaning Hinrich might have to scoot over to shooting guard. And frankly, as a starter, Duhon doesn't exactly make the opposition go running for the hills. Gordon, when he's on, can do just that.

If not Duhon, Adrian Griffin would seem a logical replacement. Griffin played a similar role in Dallas last season, where he oftentimes started for a talented Mavericks squad in order to provide, in principal, stability and leadership.

Another starting lineup swap could involve P.J. Brown and Andres Nocioni. After a slow start, Brown has settled in nicely, but at 37, minutes are an issue. Nocioni doesn't have Brown's height, but his intensity on both ends generally makes up for his 6-foot-7 frame. Following last season's remarkable playoff series against the Heat, Nocioni seems poised for bigger things.

Skiles said in the preseason that he likes Nocioni's scoring punch off the bench, but with Gordon likely filling the primary bench-scoring role, Nocioni could slide into the starting lineup in the very near future.

So stay tuned, folks...should be an interesting trip.