The Chicago Bulls are having an excellent 2021/22 NBA season, showing that they are ready to contend instead of rebuilding. They added interesting pieces in the offseason that have played very good like DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso.
This team is showing pretty interesting stuff on the court, but this week has been really bad for Billy Donovan’s squad. The Bulls have lost their last three games, including two against two potential playoffs rivals. Even though they remain atop the Eastern Conference standings, Chicago has struggled to find their touch in recent outings, setting the alarms at United Center.
Following two blowout losses against the Brooklyn Nets (138-112) and Golden State Warriors (138-96), people in Chicago are worried about the team, wondering what’s going on. They played solid basketball before those two showdowns, but the Nets and Warriors demonstrated they are on a different level, at least right now.
These bad results drew a lot of reactions around the league and ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith made a bold claim about this team, putting them on a blast, saying they aren’t on the Nets or Warriors’ level yet.
“We have seen over the last two games, a team like the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors say, y’all are good, we give y’all your respect. KD said Chicago is back…But there’s levels to this and they’re just not on it yet,” Smith said on NBA on ESPN following the Bulls’ defeat to the Warriors on Friday night.
Chicago lost those two games by a combined 68 points, which is a lot considering their position on the leaderboard. One would assume they would bounce back against the wandering Boston Celtics on Saturday night, but the Greens worsened their situation, beating Chicago 114-112 at TD Garden.
This mini-crisis is already raising eyebrows around the league. The Bulls still keep the top position in the East, but the Nets and Heat are patiently waiting to overtake the Bulls. They return to action tomorrow, clashing with the Memphis Grizzlies, the 3rd seed in the West. The picture doesn’t look that promising for the Bulls, but if they want to make a statement, beating Ja Morant and co. will do the job.
