The Bulls hosted the Hawks on Monday night at the UC; I can’t lie… I was worried. The victory over the Pistons was nice to see; the Bulls finally beat a team they should beat. I guess the Hawks don’t really fall in the same category, since they’re actually ahead of the Bulls in the standings, but still… at home, against a team similar to you, that should be a W. As the game progressed, I kept waiting for the bottom to fall out of the Bulls lead; it wasn’t a complete blowout, but at the end of the day, the Bulls maintained their advantage, and ending up beating the Hawks by 11 points for the 3rd victory in a row. Are the Bulls finally getting it?
Before I start to answer any questions about the Bulls playoff future, I want to see them get back to 500. In my opinion, any team below 500 shouldn’t make the playoffs, period. Yet, here we sit, at 22-24, in the 10th playoff spot; still think that’s BS too. Eight teams was fine; the Hawks now sit in the 8th position at 24-24. In the 9th position? The Bulls opponent on Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers at 23-25. This is the playoff tier where the Bulls sit currently; do they really belong in the same conversation as those 2 other teams? I would think at the least, the Bulls should be in the Knicks, Heat tier, the #7 & 6 teams respectively. Of course, to really make this season interesting, the Bulls will eventually have to beat the top 5 in the conference; Boston, Philly, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, and Cleveland. The Bulls record against the top 5: 7-6 thus far. That’s a lot of #’s I’m throwing out…
The next 3 games for the Bulls are on the road. The Pacers, Hornets, and Magic await the rest of this week; the Bulls SHOULD be favored in each of those matchups, but… I’ll still worry; I’m not convinced the Bulls have gotten over the hump just yet. We’ve seen it too many times this year; we’ve felt good about something, and then BAM, a Bulls stinker. I guess that’s the way of the NBA nowadays; certainly no 72-10 teams hanging around. To go out each and every night, 82 times, with your best lineup, on your A game… that just doesn’t happen. Guys rest. Guys lose focus. Guys get hurt. Guys are inconsistent. The Bulls aren’t unique in any of those ways. It’s frustrating though, especially seeing how good they CAN play against the best in the league.
We’re past the halfway mark of the season; if the Bulls want to climb into that next tier of playoff teams, those stinkers have to be limited. Will they take the next 3 and double their win streak? I’d love to say yes. Let’s just start with 2 out of 3; I’d be happy with that. I would like to beat the Magic, those bastards; the Bulls really owe them an ass whipping. First thing’s first… beat the Pacers on Tuesday night in Indiana. Go Bulls!!!
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