When “Progress” Is Depressing and Other Bulls Bullets

Dear Diary,

Day 47 approaches. Morale is low. Precious little has changed since the painful sting of the Hornet on the eve of October the 23rd. The swelling refuses to subside, and the excruciating Heat of last night served only to strengthen the pain. Despite intermittent moments of relief, I fear I can sense the cold hand of death knock-knock-knocking at my door. My body can’t stand much more. The No. 7 overall pick is coming. I can feel it.

Sincerely,

Me.

Ps: Bullets time!

  • Last night, the Chicago Bulls found a new way to hurt us. The team put up a competitive performance on the road against a Miami Heat team that hasn’t lost at home yet this season. But while the game had some fun back-and-forth moments, we all knew that – when push came to shove – the Bulls wound find their place beneath them on the scoreboard. Indeed, the Bulls let Tyler Herro sink a wide-open 3-pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation, scoring 14 of the team’s last 16 points. Anyway, if you’re a masochist, feel free to relive the loss in last night’s postgame post.
  • In other, more frustrating news, this:
  • The Athletic’s sources share a pretty big difference in respect for Jim Boylen between John Paxson and the Bulls locker room. I’d definitely recommend giving that post a quick read to catch up on the internal drama. The more this team losses, the more it feels like we’re on the verge of an epic organizational collapse. (Michael: … Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking).
  • NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson went on the Mully and Haugh show this morning to talk Bulls and you can listen to the conversation here. As you can imagine, Johnson didn’t share many encouraging comments, but the three did discuss Lauri Markkanen coming out of his slump and the continued growth of Wendell Carter Jr. Also, in the wake of all this horrid play, Kris Dunn has truly been a diamond in the rough. Johnson gives him the proper praise during this interview, and I know he had one big screw up last night by dropping off Herro, but he’s truly been one of the league’s best defenders so far this season. I respect the guy for finding a way to succeed in his new role.
  • This is some of the most depressing “progress” I’ve ever seen.
  • I fully expect Boylen and the front office to sell these numbers as an improvement. I can already hear Paxson talking about this team’s new offensive approach and how it takes time to adjust when he FINALLY decides to speak out. He’ll also certainly throw out something along the lines of “we lost Otto Porter and that really set us back.” Yes, the Porter injury hurts. No, it’s not an excuse for 8-16.
  • Noh is totally right here.
  • I have never for a second believed this guy doesn’t understand the game of basketball … he just hasn’t shown he understands how to coach it. We can all compliment Boylen for being able to call out an opposing team’s play. We can compliment an assistant coach for doing the same thing.
  • Could you imagine? I would have vomited.
  • The Finnisher is back. Now we just need 30+ tonight for the Bulls to beat the Raptors!
  • At least the losses are hurting less.
  • (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

    written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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