Nuggets' Hot Shooting Dooms Bulls

Like it's not enough the Bulls can't shoot 3-pointers?  They have to die on certain nights by that method posed by their opponent too?  That was the case in Tuesday's 125-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

The contest was even throughout the first half and the Bulls even led by three at the break.  It remained close until the final three minutes of the third quarter when the Nuggets closed the frame on a 13-4 run.  Things got exponentially worse in the fourth, which saw the Nuggets hit six 3-pointers and the Bulls apply very little defensive pressure.  By the end, the United Center faithful was showering the home team with some boos.

All five Denver starters scored in double figures, but none did more damage than Nikola Jokic, who achieved both his third triple-double of the year and the third triple-double against the Bulls this season:  19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.  Danilo Gallinari was the game's leading scorer with 22 points, followed closely by DePaul product Wilson Chandler's 20.  Gary Harris, one of the two picks the Bulls traded for the now-departed Doug McDermott during the 2014 draft, tied with Will Barton for 15.  Jamal Murray scored 14 and Jameer Nelson added 12.

Dwyane Wade was the Bulls' most productive player with team highs of 19 points and six assists.  Rajon Rondo also scored 19 and generally provided one of the few bright spots on the team, a rare feat for him.  New regular starter Bobby Portis had 12 and Robin Lopez finished just behind him with 10.  Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler was nowhere to be found, scoring just eight on 3 of 13 shooting.

Granted, there's not much the Bulls can do when the team they're facing is shooting 56.3 percent, but it exposes them as a team that doesn't match up well when an offensive explosion takes place on the other end.  It shows how poorly Gar Forman constructed this team before the season and so far, didn't do much better by acquiring Cameron Payne (2 for 10 from the field Tuesday).  Games like this expose holes in the team which could have been avoided with better planning.  If you're consistently coming up short on offense and can't prevent anything on defense, you deserve every boo that comes down upon you from your fans.

It doesn't get any easier with Thursday's nationally-televised tilt with the Golden State Warriors.  Maybe it gets a bit easier with Kevin Durant's injury on Tuesday, but the Splash Brothers are alive and well.  That TNT streak faces its biggest threat yet.  And my sister is going to the game, so a lot of nerve-wracking and unusual activity will be taking place on the West Side.

Deadline Trade Indictment of Bulls' Talent Development

I have to admit I didn't feel as upset about Thursday's trade as others.  That's not to say I was happy about it at all, though I tried to look at it from a basketball business perspective.  Taj Gibson's expiring contract meant avoiding the situation from last year in which Pau Gasol walked in free agency after the Bulls didn't deal him at the deadline.  As much as it pained John Paxson to tell arguably the most beloved Bull he was headed elsewhere, it was completely understandable as to why he and Gar Forman made the decision.

The biggest issue for me was not that the Bulls acquired three players in the middle of poor shooting seasons.  It's not that Doug McDermott ultimately cost five draft picks that turned into the haul they got yesterday.  It's not even that the trade made them no better for now or the future.  It comes down to the Bulls being unable to do anything with the talent they acquire.

Think about it.  Since the Bulls drafted Jimmy Butler in 2011, absolutely zero of first-round draft picks have made an impact and the first three members of that group are now elsewhere.  Marquis Teague is now playing in Russia at just 23, Tony Snell was dealt at the start of the year for Michael Carter-Williams and we now know where McDermott is.  Dealing Gibson means more minutes for the most recent draft picks:  Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine and Paul Zipser.  We'll cut Valentine a little slack because of injuries in his rookie season, but just like the players before him, the former two have done little to inspire confidence they can turn into playmakers.

And that's what makes this whole situation disappointing.  For whatever reason, the Bulls cannot develop any young player who puts on their uniform these days.  I put a lot of faith in McDermott from the moment the Bulls acquired him and in less than three years, they've admitted yet again that a draft-day acquisition has not worked out under their watch.  Maybe I sound like less of a fan here, but I hope the Thunder turn McDermott into the player I thought he would as proof that the Bulls are the wrong destination for youngsters with raw skills.

The more I think about it, the more I believe the Bulls might have ruined Nikola Mirotic.  He's taken a significant step back this year and playing for an organization with such a poor track record of late surely hasn't helped.  It's difficult to believe he'll be serviceable anywhere when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer.  Had he broken into the NBA with a team like San Antonio, maybe we're talking about a different player.

Given all this, how are we to believe any young players who would come to the Bulls as part of a potential Jimmy Butler deal would thrive?  Paxson said in Thursday's press conference that the team would build with Butler and not around him.  Does that mean talks with Boston, a team connected to the Bulls during deadline rumors that holds Brooklyn's first-round draft pick, would part with that in order to get Butler this summer?  Even if that's the case, it's difficult to believe that player won't resemble Anthony Bennett more than Anthony Davis when all is said and done.

More presently, they say Cameron Payne has the biggest potential to grow, but will he really?  Like with any new Bulls acquisition, I'll hold my breath to a certain degree and say he just might do something significant in the years to come.  But how does a player whose shooting has taken a step back this year live up to his billing as a lottery pick with this team?  There's no clear answer right now and that's scary.

The biggest question to consider is how does Michael Reinsdorf feel about all this?  Reports earlier this week indicate he's more businessman than basketball mind.  The difference between him and late Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz is he actually cares about the United Center seats filling up.  As long as people are buying tickets, and there are plenty of people willing to do that, he won't see a need to make significant changes.  And no real urgency to win a championship is what makes the Wirtz comparison legit as painful as it might be.

As much as we diehard Bulls fans don't like to see people drop off until the team becomes competitive again, we'll understand if you choose to just keep track of the Cubs and Hawks for the time being.  They've figured out the correct mold on how to build winning cultures.  The Bulls have either forgotten the blueprint for that or just don't care much.  Whatever the case, it's going to be a long wait before that all changes, even at the expense of what could have been promising careers.

Gibson, McDermott Traded to Thunder

I have to go to work soon, so I'll keep this brief.  The Bulls made a deal at the trade deadline that sent Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.  In return, they received Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow.

Trading Gibson and his expiring contract is no surprise.  McDermott probably needed a change of scenery after underachieving from the time he was drafted in 2014.  I'll miss the longest tenured Bull and a player I thought could have done so much more in Chicago.

As for the haul the Bulls got, none will really change the fortunes of the team, at least not in the short term.  Payne becomes the latest in a bunch of point guards auditioning for the long-term starting job.  If Nikola Mirotic or Bobby Portis don't get the regular start at power forward, figure Lauvergne will have a chance to earn some minutes.  Morrow, 31, gives Rajon Rondo a fellow veteran presence off the bench.

Payne has the most promise of the three given his age and the Bulls' need for a point guard, but the other two deserve a chance to shine as well.  At this point, every player who puts on a Bulls uniform is auditioning to be part of the next core to make a run at a championship, especially if they're young.  While that can be true of any new player at any time, the Bulls are at a crossroads right now.  They need to see who's worth their money both now and in the long run.

The question going forward for this season is will this knock the Bulls out of the playoff picture?  It might have been easier to say yes if the Eastern Conference wasn't as putrid as it's been this century.  But it's tough to succeed without a post player with the caliber of Gibson.  Then again, a time when you're trying to develop the future of your franchise should be more about just that and not necessarily the playoffs, extra revenue be damned (though that's something the Reinsdorfs probably don't want to hear).

Year of Frustration Keeps Going for Bulls: Midseason Report

People have become fed up with the Bulls.  A season filled with turmoil, inconsistency and no willingness to change is causing fans to tune out.  A Crain's Chicago Business report says TV ratings for games on Comcast SportsNet are down 28 percent compared to the final season average and the team is on pace for its lowest average viewership on the network in nearly a decade.  But everything is fine in Jerry Reinsdorf's world as long as he has Gar Forman and John Paxson back next year, which he will, even when players are calling each other out.

What was hyped to be the season of the 3 Alphas has turned into what many feared would when Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade were signed as sidekicks to Jimmy Butler.  Mediocrity is the name of the game and in January, the younger players felt the wrath of Butler and Wade, who were bashed by Rondo on Instagram in return.  For the second straight season, Fred Hoiberg has a roster that simply isn't built for his system.  And with Sacramento trading DeMarcus Cousins right after Sunday's All-Star Game, the Bulls will likely have to settle for the Kings' second-round pick in the next draft instead of their first-rounder.

Despite so many things going wrong, the Bulls find themselves in the seventh playoff spot in the East at 28-29, one game behind Indiana and one ahead of Detroit.  Amazing is that the East's ninth-place team, Milwaukee, is a half-game better than Denver, the eighth seed in the West.  So unless the Bulls decide to trade Jimmy Butler before Thursday's trade deadline, it would take a monumental amount of losing for them to miss the playoffs.

That's not what many people want to hear.  They see this as a team with no direction stuck in basketball hell and the only option is to tear it down and start over.  If GarPax goes that route, it's hard to imagine they'll consider it until the end of the season at the earliest.  As long as the team is connected to Jahlil Okafor trade rumors, it's wise to assume they won't be burning anything to the ground soon.

That's good news if you want to keep watching Butler in Chicago.  Once again, he's improved from a year ago, posting career highs in almost every relevant category.  The new All-Star voting system allowed him to make his first start in three selections.  He's proven he belongs among the NBA's elite and he won't slow down until he's stretched his ceiling as high as it can go, which is scary for opponents since it appears the sky's the limit for him.

While his string of 12 consecutive All-Star selections ended this year, the 35-year-old Wade has shown he has plenty left to contribute.  When he's not sitting out games to conserve whatever gas is left in his tank, he's creating his own plays and acting clutch in situations where Butler is unavailable.  Fortunately, he's been out there enough to wow fans and create memories befitting of a future Hall of Famer near the end of the years in which he can make a real difference.  As long as the team doesn't have to go through him all the time, his value will be maximized and the Bulls will gain from that.

The same can't be said for Rondo, who hasn't started since my girlfriend and I saw him begin a 5 1/2-game benching on Dec. 30 in Indiana.  His scoring average is at its lowest since his rookie year and he's well on his way to a career-low field goal percentage.  Although he still gets his assists each game, that average hasn't been so low since his second season.  The one good thing he's done is give the bench a veteran presence it didn't have before, which is beneficial to any team.

For the first time in his career, Taj Gibson has started every game he's played, missing only two all year.  His scoring and free-throw percentage are up significantly from last year and he still plays with the same intensity he has since coming in the league.  Hard work and not a lot of flash won't get you the accolades of your more talented colleagues, but it gives you respect and admiration from everybody.  Gibson has earned all of it and with his contract about to expire, it's sad to know this player who embodies what a Chicago Bull is might soon be out the door.

Robin Lopez, who took over Joakim Noah's starting spot at center, is the only Bull to play and start every game this season.  While he's had a bit of a down year, it's been easier to take thanks to lower expectations in the paint without Noah or Pau Gasol.  He's another example of doing all the right things with the game he has and there isn't as much pressure on him to create.  He won't ever achieve the results of his twin brother Brook, but he's a respectable NBA player the Bulls were lucky to acquire as the centerpiece of their haul in the Derrick Rose trade.

Since Rondo's benching, starting point guard duties have been split between Michael Carter-Williams and Jerian Grant.  Carter-Williams might be productive enough to be considered a viable NBA player in the long run, though the Bulls are his third team in four seasons.  Plus, he's averaging just 2.7 assists a game this year, by far the fewest in his career.  A restricted free agent after the season, he could stand to improve if he wants his next paycheck to be a good one.

Grant, in his second NBA season, has shown flashes of a player belonging in the rotation, particularly by shooting 34.8 percent from 3-point range, but he isn't proving himself enough in other areas.  If he wants to stick around the league, he needs to create more plays for himself and others.  He has room to grow at 24 though, so look for more out of him.

If you wanna talk disappointments, look no further than Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic.  While McDermott has gotten more playing time, increased his scoring and is the best 3-point shooter on the team, he hasn't lived up to the expectations of the lottery pick the Bulls drafted two first-round picks to get.  He's not the go-to player they expected, but he has one year left on his contract to figure it out, which can't be said for Mirotic, who's becoming a restricted free agent after a season in which he's regressed across the board.  He should be fortunate to collect an NBA paycheck right now because at this rate, he's going to find trouble landing elsewhere next season.


As for the rest of the team, Cristiano Felicio does enough with his minutes that he can get it done on both ends during that allotted time.  Bobby Portis is still finding his footing, though slowly making strides.  Paul Zipser has improved his post play by doing the little things, allowing him to get more minutes than fellow rookie Denzel Valentine, who needs to prove his production matches his basketball smarts at the NBA level and not just with the Windy City Bulls.  Isaiah Canaan barely sees action these days, which should tell you all Hoiberg thinks about his potential to thrive here.

Hoiberg could thrive with a roster suited to his demands, but he hasn't gotten one yet.  If he did, we might be talking about a more successful Bulls.  He's not blameless however.  Though he deserves a longer leash than GarPax, nothing about these Bulls indicates he can get the most out of his players like Tom Thibodeau did.

There's talent on this roster, but it's not enough to be considered a consistent winner.  The question GarPax has to consider so close to the deadline and beyond is whether the core players can be built around without triggering a total teardown, which Reinsdorf undoubtedly wants to avoid completely.  The chairman is 80 and might not have be happy if he knows he must wait for another championship for too long.  Then again, he wants to do it his way with GarPax, so he needs to pick a lane and choose it for the greater good of the franchise.

The second half begins Friday with a home meeting against the Phoenix Suns.  After the Bulls laid an egg against them on the Disney on Ice trip, one would think the universe would balance itself out.  Then again, that's another young and athletic team, the type the Bulls said they would be, but didn't and have ironically struggled against.  Funny how saying one thing and doing another works against you.

Gibson Reflects on Trade Rumors, Still Gives Heart to Bulls

Taj Gibson knows what's going on.  The longest-tenured Bull doesn't earn that title without knowledge on how the NBA works.  With the trade deadline one week away and his contract expiring, he knows he might be on the hot seat.  Not helping to calm any rumors about him is the inconsistency of his team.

But that doesn't mean Gibson doesn't still care about the Bulls.  Read this story from CSNChicago.com and you'll find in the middle that he's been pouring his heart out to the team.  That's the sign of a good player being a good teammate.  It's a big reason Gibson has stuck around Chicago for so long.

At the same time, it really gets you thinking about his future here.  Ever since he was drafted, Gibson has been a great ambassador for the team who knows how to play the game right.  He waited for years to get a regular starting job on the Bulls even though he could have gotten one a lot sooner for a different team.  Regardless of where he is in the rotation at any given time though, his contributions have been level one way or another.

It's not his fault his team has no sense of direction.  It's not his fault his front office brought in the wrong types of players to be his teammates.  And it's certainly not his fault he plays for a coach whose system just can't translate into success.  Yet the business of basketball means his time in Chicago might end soon.

Whenever Gibson leaves, you can almost guarantee he'll keep following the Bulls as closely as he possibly can.  He owes everything to an organization that has financially set him for life.  It's not like he's done anything to irritate the people in charge of it.  That's more than we can say about the so-called leaders on the roster.

The younger players need to look to Gibson on how to be a respectful NBA player.  Even if you don't have the talent of LeBron James or Kevin Durant, you can still be the best teammate and have the right attitude to boot.  That's what being a professional basketball player is all about.  You can gain everything even without winning a championship.

Appreciate whatever time Gibson has left in Chicago.  Thursday's nationally-televised game against the Boston Celtics presents another opportunity.  It's also the last time we'll see the Bulls before the trade deadline and the All-Star break.  If this is also Gibson's final time putting on the red and white, at least he'll do so with the entire country watching and hopefully, those doing so realize it's quite possible they're seeing the end of an admirable era.

Timberwolves Take Full Advantage of Shorthanded Bulls

It's never a good sign when you go to a Bulls game knowing your team's chances are pretty much shot.  Even before my first trip to the Target Center, my spirits were dampened by the news that Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade would miss Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a bruised right heel and swollen right wrist respectively.  Nikola Mirotic had back spasms and Paul Zipser was dealing with both food poisoning and a sore ankle.  It should come as no surprise that the Bulls lost, 117-89.

Except for the first few possessions, the Bulls had no chance against a young, athletic team without their two playmakers.  The defense constantly broke down, especially in the paint, and the offense gave itself no chance with poor decision-making and inability to take care of the ball.  Tom Thibodeau had no sympathy for his former team.  His team played well from start to finish per his trademark style to sweep the season series.

Andrew Wiggins led all scorers with 27 points, driving on every opportunity he had and finishing more often than not.  Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 and Gorgui Dieng had a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, as did Ricky Rubio with 17 points and 11 assists.  Just for good measure, Nemanja Bjelica chipped in 16 points and Shabazz Muhammad added 12.

Bobby Portis and Doug McDermott tied for the Bulls lead with 16 points, and everything about that statement should depress you.  Michael Carter-Williams wasn't far behind with 12.  Robin Lopez and Rajon Rondo chipped in 10 apiece.  Obviously, there was nothing too exciting to come of that.

All you need to know about this game is the Bulls had a 4-on-1 break and completely screwed it up with a bad pass.  Only these Bulls could find a way to mess up such an easy opportunity.  Never mind that they were missing key personnel.  The fact that two points could be thrown away just like that is absolutely mind-boggling.

This game really exposed the Bulls as to how thin they are.  Take Butler and Wade out and you're left with a bunch of role players that have no clear direction.  Granted, they don't do well against young, athletic teams anyway, but when nobody's playing well enough to hide your collective flaws, everyone can see you for what you truly are.  It's further evidence on why a new direction not only needs to be considered, but is overdue.

Having finished the Disney on Ice trip at 2-4, the Bulls will return to the United Center on Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors.  They've won 10 straight in the series, though the Raptors dropping to the fourth seed in the East makes it a little less surprising.  Still, any series with a streak that long suggests the team on the losing end has a mental block that grows larger for each passing game.  Anything to get this team back on track would be much appreciated, even if it has to come at the expense of an opponent you've beat up on recently.

Protest Calling for GarPax Firing Planned

Let me make clear off the bat that I'm not advocating, nor discouraging anyone from taking part in what's been planned.  This is merely to inform you that someone from the nether regions of the internet has decided enough is enough with the Bulls.  That person and the followers in support of the following idea want change, even if that means they have to make their voices heard.

On Thursday, a Reddit user with the handle graythematter proposed a mass protest calling for Jerry Reinsdorf to dismiss Gar Forman and John Paxson.  Chants of "Fire GarPax" would take place during the March 4 game against the Los Angeles Clippers set to be televised on ABC.  People responded and before long, more details and the above t-shirt design were unveiled.  As reported on the updates to this plan, a few websites have picked up on this.

On one hand, buying game tickets feeds into business, so Reinsdorf would probably just see as adding to the number of sellouts the Bulls have already had this season.  Heck, he might take this as a one-night thing that won't affect business for the rest of the season.  The flip side is a public relations nightmare for the organization on national TV if enough fans take part in this protest and they're loud enough.  The Bulls are not far removed from the 3 Alphas going to war with each other, so maybe another instance of the team making headlines for the wrong reasons will be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

It's doubtful anything meaningful comes of this and some are even raising concerns about whether security will let in people wearing these shirts.  But if nobody's bringing anything already banned inside the United Center, they really shouldn't be able to tell these people they can't come in.  It would be censoring free speech.  If the President of the United States can take to Twitter to bash anybody who rubs him the wrong way, fans should be allowed to protest how their team is run.

Every Bulls fan should be rightfully disgruntled at how things have gone.  Until moves in the name of progress are made, those feelings will continue.  Maybe a large gathering during a game at least gets Reinsdorf to think about what's going on.  White Sox fans are already happy about his other team picking a direction, so there's no reason to think Bulls fans won't react well if he just makes it known that changes will be made to ensure a winner will come sooner rather than later.

Fans are done with personal loyalties.  They're done with hanging onto the past in hopes of that carrying over into the present.  Whether or not you think this protest is the right way to being vocal, know that you have the power to make a difference.  Not buying tickets, turning the United Center into a frenzy or whatever, the fans make up the soul of the team and if it's dirty, the brains behind it have to cleanse it.

Forman, Paxson Have Safe Jobs and That's Not Good

If a Tuesday night report is to be believed, Gar Forman and John Paxson will remain as Bulls general manager and executive vice president respectively, even if the team misses the playoffs this year.  Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf trust the two in how they build the roster. The brass reportedly believes this is the first year to reopen a championship window without Derrick Rose and also that the strategy of rebuilding while competing is working.

They can spin this all they want, but the fact remains that this is the latest example of a longstanding tradition of Reinsdorf loyalty to its front office regardless of team performance.  While it's fine to be on good terms with your employees, it isn't worth anything if your product is mediocre.  People don't go to the store to buy mediocre groceries.  They want high quality at a reasonable price and the Bulls expect fans to pay one of the most expensive tickets in the NBA for inconsistency.

While regular sellouts and the United Center's large capacity allows the Bulls to lead the league in home attendance, the eye test at these games indicates people aren't showing up, and that's embarrassing.  The fans have never been as loud as say, Warriors and Thunder fans, but with fewer people wanting to see a shoddy product, folks being fed up gets harder to ignore.  At least it should for fans watching on TV.

But as long as the bottom line is good enough, the Reinsdorfs will see no reason to make drastic changes.  Never mind that every draft pick since Jimmy Butler in 2011 has failed to live up to expectations.  Forget about going back on the vow to get younger and more athletic by signing Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade.  GarPax can do no wrong, even with the third head coach since the duo came together, so it's here to stay.

How is anyone supposed to believe in a future for this team?  Players and coaches keep changing and yet, those in charge of basketball operations never suffer the consequences of their failure to produce winning results.  Just getting to the playoffs isn't enough.  You have to contend for championships to keep fans interested and yet, the organization has no interest in trying a different path.

Perhaps most annoying of all is that we still haven't reached the All-Star break on this season, meaning there's still two months before the playoffs.  That's at least 14 months before we can even consider the possibility that one or both of these guys will be replaced.  Tell me how we're supposed to expect the Bulls to blow people away when most of their fans are ranging from pissed to apathetic.  Without changes to enter the next winning era of Bulls basketball, it ain't happening.

They say you should value people over anything else, but pro sports is a business with millions of outside followers, something no other industry can boast to the extent it does.  That's why when the majority of those people are calling for you to do something, loyalties have to put aside.  Paxson in particular has contributed a lot to the Bulls for over 30 years, but eventually, patience and chances have to run out.  And besides one great year, Forman has not earned the benefit of the doubt because he and his scouts and failed to properly identify quality talent to build with.

You don't have to follow the Bulls to see how the opinions of one or two can affect the entire operation.  We're seeing that with America itself as we speak and how upset people are.  Maybe it's a stretch to draw that parallel, but how poorly people can take certain actions or inaction is on full display.  Reinsdorf is running a professional sports organization as opposed to the most powerful country in the free world, so when put that way, making changes should be a lot easier.

Until anything happens, we as the fans have to deal with an organization stuck in its ways until it indicates otherwise.  While we may not like it, we just have to endure it because we can't call ourselves true fans without putting up with the crap that comes with following one team your whole life.  Someday, we'll look back on this and laugh.  Maybe.

Bulls Dealing With Injuries to Butler, Felicio

Having split the first two games of their Disney on Ice trip, the Bulls head into Monday's game against the Sacramento Kings with questions about Jimmy Butler's availability.  After missing Friday's 121-117 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets with a right heel contusion, Butler underwent an MRI the next day, which didn't show any significant damage.  But that didn't stop him from missing practice on Sunday.

Adding to these difficulties was Cristiano Felicio's departure during Friday's game.  He suffered a lower right leg strain and will be out a week.  While his absence doesn't hurt as badly as Butler's, it lessens what little frontcourt depth the Bulls have.  He's shown plenty of promise this season, but needs to prove he's not just an overachiever who happens to have a solid game here and there.

Losing any depth, especially the type that Butler provides, is a problem no team can afford, but especially not the Bulls, who let a potential victory slip away late in regulation on Friday before going down in the extra period.  As a .500 team, anything to cripple your chances of making the playoffs must not be taken lightly.  That's a time when the remaining players, particularly those in the rotation, really have to dig deep.  It might not be enough to make up what your missing teammates contribute, but it's better than feeling sorry for yourself and going through the motions.

Amazingly, the Bulls have somehow bumped up to the seventh seed in the East at 25-26.  That would be crazy enough by itself being in the inferior conference except the 22-28 Denver Nuggets hold the last seed in the West.  It's like the universe is demanding the Bulls be one of the 16 teams left standing in April.  While the playoffs are still no guarantee, you can't let up when you've given yourself no room for error.

This won't be easy because the Bulls aren't built to have any sustained success this year unless you count mediocrity as success.  But if they do just enough over the final two months of the season, they'll be in, though likely as fodder for whoever they draw.  Then again, just getting there is what management wants, right?  Everyone gets what they want.