The Chicago Bulls are in a tailspin. The Bulls are just 7-14 since the All-Star break and are routinely getting crushed by the NBA's best teams. In just the last week, they lost to the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics in succession by a total of 62 points.
It has been a rapid fall for one of the best stories of the first half of the season. Chicago was one of the most fun teams to watch earlier in 2021-22 and was tied for first heading into the break. Unfortunately, injuries and roster flaws have come to the forefront against a tough schedule, resulting in this slump that has the Bulls limping into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.
While this squad has turned from a potential dark-horse contender to a likely easy first-round out, some perspective is needed. Before the season, even the most optimistic expectations had the Bulls finishing in the mid-to-high-40s in wins, with around 50 as a top range. Chicago has 45 wins left with two games to play after holding the worst record in the NBA over the past four seasons.
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On the latest episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations podcast, CHGO's Will Gottlieb discussed how this Bulls season is still a success:
“I think the perspective piece that you mentioned is an important one. I went back to listen our preseason predictions … and I think I said like 45 wins and the sixth seed, which is exactly where they'll end up. If you were to ask me at that point whether that would be a successful season, I would say, ‘Hell yeah.' They went from high-20s, low-30s for the last five years to mid-40s on a team that a lot of people thought that they would not be this good. Obviously, it didn't really happen the way you might have hoped. … They started running, and then they stumbled, and then they fell flat on their face. Maybe they can get back up and at least go for a little stroll here in the playoffs, but I do think this is a really positive step of a season.”
Now, it's fair to have questions about the future of this Bulls roster. The construction of the team is flawed given the top three players are all weak on the defensive end and there aren't enough two-way players. There are also injury concerns with Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine, among others. So, Chicago's front office has work to do for this franchise to take the next step.
But it's true that a big step was already taken this season just to get the Bulls back to relevance after years of garbage basketball. Even if Chicago goes out in flames as it seems will happen, this season will still have been a success. They just can't rest on it.
Listen to the full podcast episode here:
Cash Considerations: A Chicago Bulls Podcast is part of the Blue Wire Podcast Network. The pod can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts.
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