A Win is a Win, Barkley Calls for the Tank, Missing Taj Gibson, and Other Bulls Bullets

As Dr. Seuss once wrote: A win is a win, no matter how ugly … or something like that.

  • The Chicago Bulls did what they needed to do on Wednesday night. No, it wasn’t the most convincing win of the season, but it did put a stop to another multi-game losing streak. And stopping the bleeding is the first step in a full-blown recovery. Three of the next four games are still scheduled at the United Center, and two of those games will come against a similar-struggling New York Knicks squad. All we can do is hope that this win – no matter how it looked – can provide the momentum shift this team needs to make the most out of this opportunity.
  • https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/1600837602357219329?s=20&t=U1diJGj0OARf7nu7oyP6Og

  • Before Chicago gets to face the Knicks, however, they will have to go through Trae Young and Luka Doncic in a back-to-back set. The good news is that the Hawks have been on a bit of a downward spiral over the past week, suffering two-straight losses and a hefty load of locker-room drama. Meanwhile, as great as Doncic has been to start the year, the Mavs have struggled to the tune of a 3-8 record on the road. Coming off a win where their All-Star trio played easily its best basketball of the year, there is no reason Chicago shouldn’t come out confident against these two teams.
  • If the Bulls want any chance at stringing together some wins, it will start with taking care of the basketball. Last night was one of the team’s most reckless games of the year, turning the ball over 19 times and allowing Washington to score 28 points off those screw-ups. The Bulls were fortunate to walk away victorious after playing this carelessly, but they aren’t going to get this lucky every night.
  • The blow-it-up chants are getting louder. Charles Barkley hopped on ESPN 1000’s ‘Waddle & Silvy’ on Wednesday for a wide-ranging chat. Of course, part of that conversation included a look at this season’s Bulls, and Barkley didn’t hesitate to say what he believes the franchise needs to do: “I hate to break it to you, but it’s time to break up the Bulls … Yes, blow it up. It’s time. You got some good players, you’re not good enough. It’s time to start the rebuild.” You can listen to the full interview here.
  • SBNation’s Ricky O’Donnell also recently wrote up a great article that outlines the concerning spot the Bulls are in. So, if you’re looking for a good old fashion cry, I recommend bookmarking this one:
  • I got to be honest, my basketball brain has gone to a pretty dark place in recent weeks. While I don’t embrace the idea of a full-blown teardown at the moment, I’m not sure how you can when the Bulls’ pick is only top-four protected – an overwhelming sense of hopelessness has entered and exited my body at times. The main reason for that is because of this ownership group. We can talk all we want about making big moves or entering another rebuild, but the effectiveness of whatever decision is made will come down to the aggressiveness of the Reinsdorfs. Over and over, they have proven (whether it be with the Bulls or White Sox) that they aren’t interested in doing what it takes to build a true contender. They aren’t willing to enter the luxury tax, and they haven’t shown that they can pull off a successful tank job. Maybe this new front office really does fix things, but ownership continues to feel like a hurdle that is too high to leap.
  • I also get frustrated with Caruso’s lack of scoring sometimes, but it doesn’t matter that much when he’s making this many winning plays. Whether it be his individual skills or his ability to help lead his teammates, the Bulls would be even worse off without him.
  • I talked a lot more about Caruso’s value to this team in the post below. Some fun stats are in there.
  • Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah will always come to mind first when thinking about the early 2010s, but Taj Gibson isn’t too far behind. He’s another player that just seemed to epitomize what the franchise is about, and I think his ability to still be a serviceable roster piece at 37 years old isn’t talked about enough. Anyway, if you want to get a bit emotional, watch this brief interview CHGO’s Mark Carmen did with him after the game. You can tell how much Chicago still means to Taj.
  • Clarkson was ready to step into the ring lol.
  • I would love that path.
  • How would you feel about seeing them go?
  • 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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