Six Straight, Bounced From ESPN (Again), Happy 60th to the GOAT, and Other Bulls Bullets
Six-straight losses.
SIX FREAKIN’ STRAIGHT.
- When Arturas Karnisovas sat in front of reporters after a lifeless trade deadline, he was asked one simple question: “Do you expect to be in the playoffs?” He proceeded to respond with one simple word: “Yes.” I would love to have been a fly on the inside of Karnisovas’ brain at that very moment. Was it an answer rooted in stubbornness and ego or nothing more than a political response? I’m just having a remarkably hard time discerning whether or not Karnisovas believed what he was saying. I mean, this team is in the thick of a six-game losing streak and just a half-game out from the 12th spot in the East. All they’ve done is prove him wrong in an utterly embarrassing fashion!
- The problem, too, is that there isn’t a good answer to this question. If Karnisovas did believe what he was saying, then he has an egg all over his face. If Karnisovas didn’t believe what he was saying, then he was lying to the fanbase and failing to hold his team accountable. While I do at least commend him for implying that this team has a finite amount of time to figure things out, the lack of condemnation feels more and more frustrating with each loss. His job is to see these things coming. Again, if he didn’t, that’s troubling. If he did, he should have given a far less confident response.
- You know what, maybe Karnisovas is secretly a genius and knew that the best way for the Bulls to land Victor Wembanyama was to keep this team perfectly intact. Maybe he ran a bunch of crazy algorithms that told him that making any moves – in the buy or sell category – would actually hurt his chances of landing a top 4 pick! Maybe he’s a genius!
- The All-Star break couldn’t come at a better time. I desperately need a vacation from watching this team, and these mindless events over the next three games should be just what my brain needs. I’m a pretty big sucker for All-Star Weekend – even if the dunk contest has only gotten worse and worse in recent years. The NBA just does such a good job of making these next three days seem like a really freakin’ big deal, and I always enjoy taking it all in.
- Having said that, I might enjoy it a little less this year if DeMar DeRozan can’t suit up. The Chicago Bulls forward has missed the team’s last two games with a thigh strain. Fortunately, there hasn’t been much talk about him missing the festivities, but it will surely be something to monitor over the next 48 hours or so. I’m really hoping we still get to see The Mid-Range King at work!
- Ayo Dosunmu will also be in attendance at All-Star Weekend for his second year in a row! The Bulls sophomore got a last-second invite as an injury replacement in the Rising Stars Game. He’ll play on fellow Illini Legend Deron William’s team, and 670 The Score’s Cody Westerlund got a great video of him first learning of that below:
- Guess who got bounced from a national broadcast again! According to the Sun-Times’ Jeff Agrest, the Bulls matchup with the Nets next week will no longer appear on ESPN and now tip-off at 7:00 p.m. CT (instead of 9pm). Honestly, I’m happy for basketball fans everywhere. Nobody should be forced to watch this team play right now (except me!). This is also now the third Bulls game to be axed from ESPN’s schedule this season (the previous ones were matchups against the Hornets and 76ers).
- By the way, I don’t even want to talk about last night’s game. The final lineup on the floor was Carlik Jones, Dalen Terry, Malcolm Hill, Marko Simonovic, and Tony Bradley … so that basically tells you everything you need to know about how truly competitive that one was. The only silver lining was that Terry played like the well-rounded, energetic player that jumped up draft boards last season, but we can talk more about that later.
- HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY TO THE GOAT.
- I know, I can’t believe he’s 60 either. There is something that will forever feel so young and new about Michael Jordan, so to think that his career came to an end 20+ years ago is a bit mind-boggling. Anyway, in case you missed it, Jordan celebrated his birthday in true GOAT fashion by making the largest donation ever to the Make-A-Wish foundation. You gotta love that.
- Can you blame him?
- Lol I also can’t blame him!
