Winners of 7 straight, there's reason for optimism (or concern?) in the Windy City. Sitting at 10-20, a lot cleaner record than a couple weeks ago (3-20 before recent streak), CHI is at a proverbial crossroads: continue to win games or "sacrifice" Ws for higher lottery odds?
It's a no-brainer for every coach & player: winning is the priority. Not only are their livelihoods at stake, the competitive drive that fuels everyone whose made it to the league* is authentic - no one wants to lose for the sake of losing.
From a fan's + front office perspective, feelings might be a tad...different. Just a couple short weeks ago, it appeared Chicago was the "team to beat" in the race for the #1 pick in the draft. They would fight hard but come up just short, leaving you with an "Oh well, they tried. Just wait til M. Bagley III or L. Doncic is here next season" kind of feeling.
Then, December happened. Nikola Mirotic returned from injury and the team hasn't missed a beat since.
A reserve group of Mirotic-Bobby Portis-David Nwaba & Jerian Grant has found its mojo, with excellent contributions coming from the starters (Kris Dunn, Justin Holiday, Denzel Valentine, Lauri Markkanen & Robin Lopez). Most notably, however, is the continued, impressive play of Kris Dunn - so currently, Fred Hoiberg is succeeded at two primary tasks: developing young talent & staying competitive.
But I digress a bit...is Chicago better off winning? Or tanking? It's tough to say but consider this: maybe the Bulls just aren't that team. It's easy to say this today (since they're riding a 7-game streak) but if you look down the roster, are they really that bad? Worst-record in the league bad?
Not quite. Plus, the idea of continuity is underrated across the league - CHI returned a lot of key players (Mirotic, Portis, Lopez) from a playoff team a year ago + Fred Hoiberg is finally equipped w/ a roster (more) catered to his offensive philosophies - Dunn, Markkanen, Holiday & Zach LaVine were the only additions to the rotation.
Sure, it's not that simple but as younger players progress (Portis, Grant, Valentine, Dunn), the game starts to slow down more, shots start getting easier & easier. The defensive side is where young teams normally struggle but recently, CHI has shown improvement (forced 20 PHI TOs on Monday, ORL shot just 39% last night).
Is it fool's gold or sustainable? Next 3:
In which race will CHI keep pace? - lottery or playoffs? The next few games will reveal important truths.
*in any capacity