I’ll admit, the All-Star break was pretty nice. Getting an extended stretch away from Bulls basketball wasn’t the worst thing in the world. The last four games heading into All-Star Weekend were brutal. We saw four straight losses with the closest defeat coming by 19 points and the worst coming by 40.
Now that we’ve had a few days away from the team, it’s helped me personally prepare mentally for the home stretch. It’s going to be ugly, at least the final scores likely will be. Even though this season I’ve been all about rebuilding and developing for the future, there was still a part of me that hoped this team could go on a little run and maybe finish with a top Play-In seed and get a playoff series. But with the Bulls where they are now, getting this mental reset and seeing what we saw heading into the break, I’m fully at the point where I’ve accepted rooting for growth and development.
Let’s see Matas Buzelis mature on both ends of the floor. Hopefully, Josh Giddey’s jump shot can show some signs of growth. Maybe Coby White can stop being such a roller coaster with massive highs and lows and raise his floor. Whether White is more valuable to this team as a legitimate roster piece or a trade chip is yet to be seen, but consistency will be huge down the stretch either way.
There are going to be quite a few losses along the way here with several matchups with Playoff and Play-In teams ahead. Let’s see some young players take positive steps, and let’s see this team get themselves closer to a top-five pick. It sucks that’s what things have come to as Bulls fans, but it’s kind of just the reality of the situation.
© Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesMeet the Bulls’ Opponents
2/20 at Knicks: No matter how bad things get, I always love watching the Bulls at The Garden. 2/22 vs Suns: At least Arturas Karnisovas didn’t take on Bradley Beal’s bad contract!Bulls Projected Lineup
Lonzo Ball Coby White Josh Giddey Matas Buzelis Nikola Vucevic © Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesOpponent Projected Lineup
New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson OG Anunoby Mikal Bridges Josh Hart Karl-Anthony TownsPhoenix Suns
Tyus Jones Devin Booker Ryan Dunn Kevin Durant Nick RichardsUnavailable/Injured (at the start of the week)
Bulls: Patrick Williams QUESTIONABLE (knee), Adama Sanogo QUESTIONABLE (knee), Lonzo Ball PROBABLE (illness) Knicks: Kevin McCullar Jr OUT (knee), Miles McBride QUESTIONABLE (rib), Tyler Kolek QUESTIONABLE (ankle), OG Anunoby QUESTIONABLE (foot), Pacome Dadiet QUESTIONABLE (toe), Mitchell Robison QUESTIONABLE (ankle) Suns: Grayson Allen QUESTIONABLE (knee), Devin Booker QUESTIONABLE (back), Bradley Beal QUESTIONABLE (toe), Cody Martin QUESTIONABLE (sports hernia) The Bulls Took the Training Wheels Off Matas Buzelis, And He’s Off to the RacesWhat to Watch For
Bulls: Buckle up, Bulls fans! Get ready for a rough ride for the rest of the season. Eight of Chicago’s next 12 games are against current Playoff or Play-In teams. The end of the month of March includes a six-game Western Conference road trip including matchups at Houston, LA, and Denver just to name a few. It might not be fun to watch, but the tough home stretch should be good for Chicago’s lottery odds at the very least. As Eli’s post above mentions, the training wheels have been coming off for Matas Buzelis. Let’s keep throwing him into the deep end and see how he handles himself. There will be ups and downs, but it should be worth it in the long run for his development. Knicks: As the Knicks round into form, we’re going to find ourselves asking the same question that’s always applicable to Tom Thibodeau’s teams. Will they be able to withstand the massive minutes or will they run out of gas? Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are first and second in the league in minutes played. Jalen Brunson is sixth. OG Anunoby is 18th. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 35 minutes per night. This team is incredibly talented and has a starting lineup that can hang with anyone, but as Bulls fans know all too well and as we’ve seen many times over the years, Thibs’ teams always seem to flame out eventually. When will that happen? Suns: I’m fascinated to see how the Suns finish out this season. Kevin Durant is obviously still great, but after the team flirted with moving him at the deadline, it appears the two sides are headed for a breakup this offseason. As it stands now, Phoenix has fallen out of the Play-In Tournament in the West having lost six of their last seven games heading into the All-Star break. Their schedule the rest of the way won’t do them any favors. After so much change was flirted with prior to the deadline but nothing major actually happened, can this team get back on track or are they just running out the clock? (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) Read More Details
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