Slumping Bulls plan to use limited lineup in finale
Heading into the final game of the regular season, there are still three potential first-round playoff opponents for the Bulls, who could end up facing Milwaukee, Boston or Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, since the Bulls are locked into the No. 6 seed, they're planning to give their main players a night off. Zach LaVine (knee), DeMar DeRozan (rest), Nikola Vucevic (rest) and Alex Caruso (back) are listed as out for Sunday's finale at Minnesota.
Coby White was listed as doubtful with a left toe sprain. Matt Thomas is also out with a right lower leg contusion. The Timberwolves plan to rest center Karl-Anthony Towns, and listed D'Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverly as questionable.
The Bulls were hoping to find a rhythm and build some momentum during their five-game home stand.
Instead, the opposite happened and the Bulls have been reeling. The low point might have arrived Friday when Charlotte hit its first 11 shots of the game on the way to a blowout win.
"We're at a point now, teams are going at us," DeRozan said after the game. "It was the other way around for a long period of the season. We can't be caught off guard when teams do that."
The Bulls will count on having a productive week of practice and somehow turning things around. They'll get at least five days off while the play-in tournament is going on before their first playoff game in five years. LaVine and Caruso will get a chance to rest nagging injuries.
"I think we have a lot of fighters on the team, guys who have heart," said LaVine, who will play in the postseason for the first time. "I know I'm looking forward to the challenge. We've got to buckle down and figure out how to get that swagger back.
"Early on I felt we had a real swagger and confidence. Everyone's upset, man. We've been getting our butts kicked. We've done enough talking. We've got to go out and prove it now."
Another question is whether any team decides to tank in order to draw the slumping Bulls in the first round.
Milwaukee plays at Cleveland on Sunday, Boston is at Memphis and Philadelphia plays at Detroit. Here's a quick rundown of the possibilities:
•If the Bucks win and Celtics win, the Bulls will play Boston.
•If the Bucks lose and Celtics win, the Bulls will face Milwaukee.
•If the Celtics lose and 76ers win, the Bulls will get Philadelphia.
•If the Celtics lose and 76ers lose, it will be Boston.
•If the Bucks lose, Celtics win and 76ers win, creating a 3-way tie, the Bulls would face Milwaukee and Boston would get the No. 2 seed.
Sunday's game will be meaningful to the Cavaliers, because they would likely drop into the 9 vs. 10 play-in game with a loss. The Bucks have listed Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis as doubtful.
Holding the No. 2 seed would give the Bucks homecourt advantage in the second round, which would seem to be valuable. But the No. 2 seed could draw a dangerous Brooklyn squad in the first round and have to deal with Kevin Durant, plus Kyrie Irving with no pandemic restrictions.
Memphis is locked into the No. 2 seed in the West and played most of its regulars Saturday against New Orleans. So the Grizzlies figure to rest some key players.
The Bulls went 0-4 against both Milwaukee and Philadelphia this season, and were 1-2 against Boston. The Celtics rolled past the Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday.
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