Stunning loss bares Bulls' short-handed reality

Just when it looked like the Bulls were getting healthy and starting to play well, the worst loss of the season Saturday at Detroit brought all optimism crashing to the ground like a shattered backboard.

The Bulls led the Pistons by 19 points with seven minutes left in the third quarter, then trailed by 20 with a minute left in the fourth. That was a 52-13 run, by a Pistons team that had lost 11 of its previous 12 games.

"No excuses," Joakim Noah said after the game, according to bulls.com. "We felt this was a game we should have had. We let an important one slip away. The ups and downs have been pretty crazy all year. We're disappointed, but we've got to fight back. We (stunk) down the stretch."

This was a game the Bulls should have won, without question. But it also illustrated their reality while playing short-handed.

Nikola Mirotic can be a go-to scorer. Tony Snell can do many of the same things as Jimmy Butler. Aaron Brooks can have big scoring nights. Mike Dunleavy can get hot from long range. But none of those things are going to happen on a regular basis.

So there have been nights like these all season. The last time the Bulls played Monday's opponent, the Charlotte Hornets, they built an early 19-point lead and lost by 10.

The good news is after playing Charlotte, this is "Get Healthy" week for the Bulls. The next three games are Wednesday at Toronto, Saturday against New York and next Wednesday in Milwaukee - that's three game days and five off days.

Butler should return soon from a left elbow sprain, perhaps as soon as Monday. The other injury update to watch is whether Derrick Rose returns to full practice this week. He's not going to make a four-week return - which would mean playing Saturday - but those three days off before playing Milwaukee could give Rose a chance to get some work in.

Taj Gibson returned Friday against Toronto after missing 10 games with a sprained ankle. He played well in short minutes over the weekend, but still seemed hobbled at times.

"We're heading down the stretch; we have to have our stuff in order," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after Saturday's loss.

The Bulls have gone 6-8 since Rose last played. That record shows the Bulls aren't strong enough right now to put together a meaningful winning streak.

With 11 games left in the regular season, the playoff chase appears to be a straight three-team race for the No. 3, 4 and 5 seeds between the Bulls, Toronto and Washington. Catching Cleveland for No. 2 is unlikely/

Obviously, No. 5 is the one to avoid, because that team won't have home-court advantage in the first round. The No. 3 seed could end up playing a sub-.500 team in the first round, but No. 4 would be looking at a likely second-round matchup against Atlanta, rather than LeBron James and the Cavaliers, which might be beneficial.

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