Deflated Bulls let the err out
Ben Gordon knows the next few days are going to be depressing.
Not only are the Bulls 1 loss or 1 Atlanta victory from being eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in four years, but his locker at the United Center sits between Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden, a couple of former Kansas stars sure to be talking up the Jayhawks' Final Four victory on Saturday.
"Yeah, (Kansas winning) makes it worse," Gordon said with a smile that couldn't mask the frustration of a 99-87 loss to the Washington Wizards.
Coach Jim Boylan has promised the Bulls will play hard for the remainder of the regular season, which ends April 16. But Gordon knows that won't be easy.
"What happens when you've been playing bad for a long period of time, it just deflates guys," he said. "That's been the case. We haven't really been able to muster anything during the season and it definitely seems like it's taken a toll on us collectively."
Since Atlanta beat Philadelphia on Saturday, the best the Bulls (30-46) can do is tie the Hawks for eighth place in the East. In the unlikely event the Bulls capture their last six games and the Hawks lose their final five, the Bulls would win a tiebreaker based on conference record. But the official elimination could come as soon as Tuesday when Atlanta plays at Indiana
"The whole year, I've never lost as many games as we did, never went through a season like we went through," forward Luol Deng said. "All of us will have long careers. I hope it's the last time we go through something like this, but you never know. We just have to learn from this."
For the second time in six weeks, the Bulls were steamrolled by a shorthanded Wizards team. Washington was missing forward Antawn Jamison (shoulder), while Gilbert Arenas took the night off to avoid playing in back-to-back games. Arenas returned from a knee injury Wednesday, playing for the first time since mid-November.
The third quarter was nearly an exact replica of the Feb. 29 debacle when the Bulls led Washington by 18 at halftime and coughed up a 22-1 run.
This time the Bulls led by 7 a few minutes after halftime before being outscored 32-13 during the remainder of the third quarter.
An early stretch of the fourth summed up this performance. With the Bulls down by 12, Thabo Sefolosha missed an open 3-pointer and Joakim Noah bricked 3 of 4 free throws. On the other end, former Bulls guard Roger Mason Jr. scored on a driving layin after the Wizards grabbed 2 offensive rebounds. Then Mason's 3-pointer made it 81-65.
Just like the last time these teams played, the Bulls struggled when Washington paired 7-foot center Brendan Haywood with 6-11 Andray Blatche. The Wizards piled up a 53-28 advantage in rebounds and led 20-4 in second-chance points.
Haywood averages 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds against the rest of the league, but piled up 25 and 10 in the Wizards' victory. The points were a career-high for the seventh-year pro.
"They're bigger, more physical, more experienced," Boylan said. "There's no secret to it. Haywood has always bothered us ... because of his size around the basket. It was tough duty tonight for Joakim (Noah) and Aaron (Gray) out there against him."