The Chicago Bulls’ season came to an end on Friday night when they were defeated by the Miami Heat in the NBA play-in round. It was only right that the season would conclude in a dismal way because it had been a bad one. The Bulls had a strong start in Miami, going up 11-6 early on with a few three-pointers, but from that point on, it was all Heat. With a 112-91 victory, Miami advanced to the postseason, where they will face the Boston Celtics.
The Bulls led 11–6 at the half, but gave up a big run and lost by 20 points in the second quarter. It was actually quite good work by the Bulls to weather the storm when they fell behind by 20 points.
The Bulls had a 39-43 record at the end of the regular season. In their first play-in tournament game, they did manage to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, but they were once again eliminated from the postseason. Chicago could have advanced to the playoffs with only one more win if they had prevailed at Miami on Friday night, but they were unable to complete the task.
So, the Bulls will play for another season. Things went rather well after they started 5-14, but they are still far from appeasing this demanding fan base. Making it this far was an accomplishment, as nobody really thought this club would make it to the postseason in the early going, but the fan base is demanding more.
During his season-ending press conference, Artūras Karnišovas, vice president of basketball operations for the Bulls, stated that it is evident that things aren’t working in Chicago right now and that adjustments need to be done in the offseason. Bulls supporters have long been waiting for that to happen, and ultimately, Karnišovas and the front office are to blame for yet another poor season.
It’s not shocking that Chicago’s season proceeded nearly exactly like the previous one did. Despite the indignant protests of the fan base that have been echoing around the city for some time, they did nothing to further the cause. Artūras Karnišovas stated that adjustments are necessary, but he ought to have realized this earlier.
Not implementing any significant changes While the team’s lack of action at the trade deadline this year was disappointing to Bulls supporters, the previous offseason was another matter. They had the opportunity to attempt a major deal in order to acquire a player that could aid this club in winning the postseason, but they never followed through. Chicago supporters will just have to watch what Karnišovas claims he will do in the offseason.
The Bulls are in a critical offseason, so it will be intriguing to watch what decisions are made.
