Chicago Bulls: Time to give them credit for playing to win

As the Chicago Bulls begin wrapping up their season, it’s time to applaud how well they’ve played lately, as opposed to deliberately tanking.

The Chicago Bulls know they still have a long way to go before they become a serious playoff contender again. The front office, led by Gar Forman and John Paxon, have been preaching patience in this rebuilding process since the moment they traded away Jimmy Butler nearly two summers ago.

There have been plenty of bumps and bruises along the way since the Bulls organization pegged Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, and Kris Dunn to be the new faces of the franchise. Growing pains for nearly two full seasons now have been evident, although all three players have shown flashes of star potential. LaVine and Markkanen in particular, have really stepped up their game this season.

As for the rest of the Bulls roster, it’s pretty much a juggling act at this point in terms of who else on the roster can be a mainstay in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Even with a young roster that has plenty of holes opposing teams can exploit, it’s time to acknowledge that the Bulls have been playing with a great sense of pride and passion since the all-star break concluded. Case in point: prior to the break, the Bulls had a 14-44 record, (.241) winning percentage. Following the break: 7-8 record, (.466) winning percentage.

While fans of the Bulls would rather see their beloved team lose as many games possible down the stretch to improve their chance at landing Zion Williamson in June, that’s not how head coach Jim Boylen operates. While his old-school coaching style has garnered plenty of flack from spectators at times, he appears to now be more comfortable in his position, which was hardly the case when he took over following Fred Hoiberg‘s departure in early December.

The Bulls are now playing with fight and energy that wasn’t there consistently prior to the second half of the season. The addition of Otto Porter has certainly helped the Bulls on both ends of the court. Lately, though, the Bulls have been employing a “next-man” up approach, given that players such as LaVine and Porter have missed time recently due to injury.

No one is going to mistaken this Bulls’ roster as being a playoff contender any time soon, given that they currently have the fourth worst record in the league. But, given the way the team has played following the all-star break, it’s becoming more evident that this team is much better than their current record indicates.

Talent alone doesn’t win you games. If that were the case, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers would be in the playoffs as opposed to gearing up for next season. It takes focus and determination to go out and play hard every game no matter who your opponent is. And that’s exactly what Boylen has gotten across to his players over time. There’s always something to play for.

While the Bulls record won’t produce any smiles this season, developing and maintaining good habits is essential for this team moving forward, as the organization hopes to soon break out of their rebuilding phase.

Boylen, prior to his time with the Bulls organization, spent a few seasons as the San Antonio Spurs’ assistant head coach under Gregg Popovich. There, Boylen learned from one of the greatest basketball coaches of all-time, how to get the most out of a team each season, despite not being the most talented on the court.

The Spurs to this day are much like the New England Patriots. On paper, they’re never the most talented of the bunch, yet more times than not they’ll find a way to win a game, no matter what the circumstances are.

That is the philosophy that Boylen is instilling onto his young team. Don’t worry about the outside noise, the chatter from fans, writers, and media outlets who universally agree that the Bulls are better off losing down the stretch as opposed to winning.

Because in the end, the Bulls don’t control their draft position. Why worry about what you can’t control?

As fans, let’s be proud of the Bulls’ play down the stretch and hope that their effort continues producing wins as the season concludes. Winning now sets up the foundation for success next season, while building players’ confidence. End the season on a high note, as opposed to a low one, with no guarantee that anything good will come from deliberately losing.