The Chicago Bulls learned a tough lesson in their 120-119 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the United Center on Saturday night. The team needed to keep their focus on the Mavs instead of riding the high of their miraculous comeback over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Chicago’s loss to Dallas was costly for their playoff hopes. The Bulls had an opponent to pull within 1.5 games of the Orlando Magic for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference. Instead, Chicago is tied with the Miami Heat for the No. 9 spot in the East.
The difference between the No. 7 seed and No. 10 seed in the Play-In Tournament is huge.
The No. 7 seed has a home game and needs only one win to advance to the playoffs. The No. 10 seed needs to win two games on the road to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.
Matas Buzelis: Chicago’s Bulls taking this one game at a time
Following the loss on Saturday night, rookie Matas Buzelis told reporters the Bulls aren’t worried about where they will ultimately be seeded for the Play-In Tournament. The team is focused on one game at a time.
“We’re just (taking it) one step at a time,” Buzelis said via Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. “We’ve got OKC next, so that’s what we’re focused on. We were focused on Dallas before the game. We’re not looking into the future. We’re in the moment.”
On Monday night, the Bulls will play on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder own the association’s best record at 62-12. Following that contest, Chicago has seven regular season games in April to complete, only the Cleveland Cavaliers have a record above .500.
The Bulls have a good chance to win six of their eight games remaining and earn a No. 7-8 seed for the Play-In Tournament. To do so, Chicago needs to put Saturday’s humbling loss to a shorthanded Mavs team behind them.
Billy Donovan: Bills cannot get too emotional
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said the team can’t get too emotional after wins or losses as they finish the regular season.
“I would think that from Atlanta to ourselves to Orlando to Miami, every single game you’re jockeying there. We’re all kind of bunched up together,” Donovan said. “Miami was a game behind us. We were maybe a game behind Atlanta. Everybody’s bunched up and all of these games are like that.
“We’ve tried to treat it like that. There’s emotions that go either way. And if you win a game or lose a game, you’ve got to be able to pick yourself back up.”
This is where veteran center Nikola Vucevic needs to be a leader in the locker room.
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