Chicago Bulls: Three reasons not to tank in 2018-2019
Reason 3: Bulls players are confident, letting doubters fuel them
It’s always a good thing to believe in yourself. While some may think that the Bulls are still a couple years away from competing in the Eastern Conference, the guys on the roster don’t feel the same way. LaVine was recently profiled in Slam Magazine and made his thoughts on next season perfectly clear. He had the following message for Bulls fans (Via Slam):
"“Be ready. Chicago is a big-time sports town and you deserve winners, and we’re going to try to get back to the glory days of the 1990s when you guys got spoiled.”"
Zach LaVine is on the rise 📈
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) September 10, 2018
The young guard is back in Chicago and back to full strength. So get your popcorn ready: https://t.co/q372mXiGis pic.twitter.com/ONOhHwTalQ
Forward Bobby Portis also is confident in his team’s chances to make the playoffs. He did an interview with the Locked on Bulls Podcast where he shared his expectations for the team. He seems to think the Bulls can prove a lot of people wrong. He wouldn’t give an exact prediction, but his expectations were pretty clear. (Via Locked on Bulls Podcast):
"We don’t care about people writing us off. It’s all about us sticking together, and trying to be that underdog team. There’s always a surprise team. I feel like last year, the Pacers were the surprise team in the east. Maybe that can be us this year…We’re gonna win as many games as we can, and we’re gonna make the playoffs."
Predictions for the Bulls win/loss record have them barely improving at all. ESPN projected the Bulls to win one more game than they did last season, and finish 13th in the Eastern Conference. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas set the over/under for Bulls wins at just 28.5. If you’re a gambler, it might be wise to bet the over. I’m confident the Bulls will improve to over 30 wins.
Five bold predictions for the Bulls in 2018-2019. dark. Next
It feels as if fans both in Chicago and around the country are underestimating the Bulls going into next year. There are a lot of unknowns, but this young team has potential. It will be up to coach Fred Hoiberg to maximize that potential and develop players. I hope to see a significant improvement from the previous Bulls squad, even if they miss the playoffs. It’s all about progress.