Chicago Bulls: Nearing the Bitter End of the 2018 Season

Last night, the Chicago Bulls ‘clinched’ a critical loss to the Brooklyn Nets, giving themselves a one-game lead over Cleveland for the seventh slot in the NBA lottery. Dropping both of these games in the home-and-home series turned out to be critical, given the circumstances surrounding their lottery positioning.

Sure, the Chicago Bulls could be picking closer to the top five had some insane performances from their reserves not propel them to unwanted victories. But the reality is that picking at seventh overall at least gives them a shot to add a future starter. In the end, that’s all that should matter when we talk about the 2017-18 season in retrospect.

Ideally, they could’ve lost recent games against the Washington Wizards or the Charlotte Hornets, but big games from Sean Kilpatrick and company derailed such hopes.

At the very least, dropping last night’s contest to Brooklyn was helpful. While it was a close contest for the majority of the game, Chicago couldn’t quite get ahead (shucks!).

Overcoming Allen Crabbe’s career night or a Nets backcourt that combined for 41 points and 18 dimes would’ve been a challenge to begin with. At least something historical came out of tonight’s loss:

For now, we should talk turkey when it comes to what the offseason should hold in store for us.

Wrapping things up

Let’s face the facts: this season for the Chicago Bulls has gone just about as poorly as we thought it would.

There’s no denying how there were some bright moments like the pleasant surprise that is Lauri Markkanen or Kris Dunn’s and Zach LaVine’s redemption seasons. But make no mistake: there are tons of challenging decisions to await the front office:

More from Chicago Bulls

• Chicago Bulls’ winning ways proves Billy Donovan’s system works
• Chicago Bulls News: Coby White is that dude
• Chicago Bulls’ recent success means big trades make sense
• The Chicago Bulls seem to have a major Zach LaVine problem.
• No Zach, no DeMar, no problem? Chicago Bulls stun the Bucks in OT

“Who does Chicago target in the draft?”

“Who will be apart of next year’s roster?”

“Is Dunn really their guy at point guard moving forward?”

“How much is LaVine really worth? Do we even pay him?”

“Are there any trades we can make to better the rebuild?”

“Should we even bother lifting a finger in free agency?”

“We shouldn’t move on from Fred Hoiberg yet. But when is it time to throw in the towel?”

I could go on and on and on and on…

What will Season Two of “The Rebuild” hold in store?

Regardless of how the season finale with the Detriot Pistons goes, everyone’s focus will undoubtedly be on the draft lottery drawing. This so happens to be taking place in Chicago (!) on May 15th.

Next: Chicago Bears: Minkah Fitzpatrick or Derwin James?

I would be shocked if the Chicago Bulls find themselves leapfrogging everyone else into the top three (or first overall), but it’s not like they haven’t done that before. The odds to be picking at number one that year was almost inconceivable.

But you know there’s a chance!

Here’s hoping lightning strikes twice.