The Chicago Bulls are showing promise over last 11 games

After hitting a low point, things are starting to look much better for the Bulls

Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Less than a month ago, the Chicago Bulls hit one of the lowest points of their turbulent season marked by inconsistency on the court, injuries and even internal incoherence. It was December 19th, 2022 and the Target Center was the scene of a rather embarrassing 150 – 126 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Finger pointing

This debacle started numerous rumors about players blaming each other and even criticizing the front office. 

Can confirm @JCowleyHoops Tweet that players had strong exchange at halftime of Timberwolves loss, which drew coaches’ attention. Sources said multiple teammates directed frustration at Zach LaVine, and the situation intensified.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 20, 2022

After that Wolves game Zach LaVine had an interesting comment that didn’t help calm the waters.

“There’s a certain level of frustration in people trying to figure out what we can do to help right the ship,” LaVine told The Athletic. “I think with the players that we have, we try to put it on each other to right the ship. We have those type of guys, those type of mentalities where each of us have been No. 1 options on a team before, and then we all come together collectively. It’s not going to take one person. It’s going to take all of us as a unit. I think that’s what guys are trying to figure out how to help the group.”

Soon enough, various trade scenarios started floating around and they almost always included either Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan or Nikola Vucevic who are labeled as the team’s “Big Three”. Obviously, if something like this were to happen it would not be a stretch to say that the Bulls are blowing it up and possibly even aiming towards the NBA draft lottery.

Winds of change

In a rather unexpected turn of events, the Bulls actually put together a solid run following the Minnesota game. Specifically, they are 8-3 since then, and it should be noted that the win column includes games against the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks Miami Heat who are all still ahead of Chicago in Eastern Conference standings. Also, 2 of the 3 losses came in close-fought and even heart-breaking duels with the Cleveland Cavaliers, including the one with Donovan Mitchell’s record-breaking 71 point performance and some errors by the referees.

While DeMar DeRozan has been pretty reliable ever since his arrival to the Windy City, Zach LaVine has had some struggles, especially recently. Fortunately for the Bulls, their younger All-Star seems to have broken out of that slump resulting with averages of 26.9 points, 4.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds over the successful stretch of last 11 games.

"I don't know. We have conversations all the time. I just think sometimes you need a little bit of an ass-kicking to get you back in the right place. That's what my dad always told me," LaVine said when asked about if December 19th was a turnaround for the team.

While there are plenty of games left to be played during this season and a lot of things could change, Bulls fans can at least hope that this season could perhaps turn out to be somewhat of an opposite to last year’s campaign. The Bulls started the 21-22 NBA season red hot only to almost fall apart by its end and barely make it to the playoffs as the 6th seed. If the Bulls manage to make the playoffs and continue their strong performances against top Eastern Conference teams, the future might be looking great for them and their fans.