The Chicago Bulls ushered in a new era of basketball this year when they hired former Florida Gators and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, as well as bringing in general manager Marc Eversley and president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas.
Chicago still has a young roster that has flashed potential, led by All-Star candidate Zach LaVine, a player who the team could look to build around. They also have pieces in Coby White, Wendell Carter, Lauri Markkanen and Patrick Williams. While we don’t know what the future holds in terms of potential trades and who will be on the roster in the coming years, the team has seen it’s fair share of ups and downs this season.
Even though the Bulls are right on the middle of their Division, their odds are faded below the main favorite, The Bucks (-1430) and Pacers (+600) leaving them with almost no chance to advance after the regular season. As it stands now, the team is 10-15 but sitting one game out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago had a very favorable February schedule with a lot of winneable games but they have struggled over the past few games, losing to the Knicks and Magic recently. Instead of splitting those series, Chicago really needed to sweep them and climb the standings.
The good news is that there is still time for the franchise to turn things around this season but they are going to need consistent play.
LaVine has by far been their best player this season, averaging 28.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists so far. While LaVine has been fantastic, others have struggled in their own ways. White has been inconsistent and both Markkanen and Carter have struggled with injuries, missing time already this season. The rookie Williams has flashed signs of being a solid player but needs to develop as the season goes on to show some promise.
The next few months will be big ones for this franchise in terms of the future. And they have to start making these games count.