Bulls need a quick turnaround to stay in the playoff chase
Sure, this is a valid argument: Any team that loses badly on back-to-back nights to the New York Knicks has no business making the NBA playoffs.
The Bulls (36-35) certainly didn't look like a playoff team the past two nights. In reality, though, they're not out of it.
With 11 games left to play, the Bulls trail eighth-place Detroit by 1½ games and seventh-place Indiana by 2 games. The Bulls play both teams once more and would clinch the tiebreaker against the Pacers with a win. Beating the Pistons would tie the season series 2-2.
They're not officially out of it, but they need to turn things around immediately. Saturday in Orlando would be the ideal place to start. The Magic are playing the second leg of back-to-back games and will likely be missing Bulls-killing center Nikola Vucevic due to a groin injury. So even though the Magic have a similar record as New York, this should be a winnable game. Pau Gasol is listed as questionable after sitting out Thursday to rest a sore right knee.
The Bulls have so many issues, though. Jimmy Butler and Gasol are working their way back from knee injuries and neither is playing at peak level. The young bench players are still inconsistent and the Bulls haven't mustered much of a defensive effort in two months.
For the record, the Bulls have allowed 100 points in 24 of the last 26 games.
"We are playing against teams not playing for anything and we are just laying down," Taj Gibson said after Thursday's loss in New York, according to bulls.com. "It feels like now we are a target. It feels like teams are not taking us serious; teams are eager to play us.
"It was vice-versa. They knew we were coming in to punch people in the face and keep playing. It's hard, man. It really eats me up inside. It's really hard to sleep at night knowing that it's coming down to the wire and our effort isn't there. It's really frustrating."
Butler talked about how strange it feels to be battling for a playoff spot this late in the season. The Bulls were in this spot as recently as the 2009-10 season, but during the past five years under coach Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls were always in solid position and finished in the top four in the East four of the five years.
"The majority of us haven't been in this position since we've been in the league," Butler said. "We've always been at the top of the Eastern Conference. Right now it's a fight. But when it's a fight, I think everybody has to man up. We have to stay in this thing together.
"I don't think anybody has a bad intention. Maybe it's, 'I have to make this team win.' I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Yeah, we have to play as a team. I think maybe at times people think, 'Hey, I can be the one to do this.'"
The Bulls don't have much time to figure things out, with no real practice days available through the rest of the season. After Orlando, the schedule gets serious for the Bulls. They host Atlanta on Monday, then visit Indiana on Tuesday to start a stretch of playing five out of six on the road. After Indiana, the Bulls travel to Houston, Milwaukee, Miami and Memphis, with the home game against Detroit in between.
The Bulls don't have far to go to reach eighth place, but they could drop out of contention in a hurry with that schedule.
Detroit has a challenging stretch coming up, with four home games against good opponents, beginning Friday against Charlotte, followed by a three-game trip to Chicago, Miami and Orlando. Indiana faces just three teams with winning records (the Bulls, Cleveland and Toronto) in their final 11 games.
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Bulls scouting report
Bulls vs. Orlando Magic at the Amway Center, 6 p.m. Saturday
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: ESPN 1000-AM
Outlook: Coach Scott Skiles' team has lost five in a row, heading into Friday's game at Miami, to fall well out of playoff contention. The Magic had a 20-17 record on Jan. 8, about the same time the Bulls went in the tank, and have gone 9-25 since. Orlando has held just one opponent below 100 points in the last 19 games. That was the Bulls, who lost 102-89 at the Amway Center on Mar. 2. C Nikola Vucevic usually dominates the Bulls, but he's missed 11 games with a groin injury and it's not clear when he'll play again. That leaves shooting guards Victor Oladipo (16.0 ppg) and Evan Fournier (14.7) as the top scorers. PG Elfrid Payton (10.7 ppg) came off the bench for three games after returning from an elbow injury, but was expected to start Friday in Miami. Dunk contest star Aaron Gordon averaged 14 points and 9.5 rebounds in the Magic's previous two games.
Next: Atlanta Hawks at the United Center on Monday, 7 p.m.
- Mike McGraw