Chicago Bulls season still successful despite first round exit

Late on Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls’ season officially came to an end when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 116-100. The Chicago Bulls finished the season with a record of 46-36 with just one playoff win to show for it.

Yet, when you take a deeper look into the preseason expectations and how the Bulls performed, this was overall a very successful season for them.

Obviously, the expectation going into any sports team’s season is to win a championship. While the Bulls were not able to form themselves into NBA Finals contenders this season, they took a huge step in the right direction.

Prior to this season, it had been a long time since a Chicago Bulls team went into a season with lofty expectations. After the front office went out and signed marquee free agents like Demar Derozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso, Bulls fans finally had something to get excited for.

Now that the season is over, the preseason expectations from Bulls fans were more than exceeded. The goal was to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and this group was able to get that job done.

Expectations were tempered at times because of the unlikely amount of different hurdles the Bulls had faced throughout the season. With an entire COVID outbreak shutting down the team for nearly two weeks in December and major injuries to Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams, there was a lot to overcome.

COVID and injuries even extended all the way to the final game of the season where it sidelined Zach Lavine and Alex Caruso. It sure did feel as if the world was against them at times.

Let’s not forget about all the good things that came their way as well this season. For one, Demar DeRozan was sensational. The anointed “worst signing of free agency” went out and showed everyone flashes of an MVP-like season.

He also showed how nobody was worthy when the “King of the 4th Quarter” was in his court. Demar DeRozan was a magician in the 4th quarter where he played hero and helped carry the Bulls to a handful of wins through his heroics.

The future is bright for these Chicago Bulls after having a really good year.

The stories continued to pile on throughout the season. Zach LaVine appeared in another all-star game, the Bulls were able to find a diamond in the rough in Ayo Dosunmu, and most of all, the Chicago Bulls are back.

The Chicago Bulls were able to set a standard of winning basketball and reset the culture. Who knows what the front office will do this off-season but it seems as if Demar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and the rest of the Bulls’ core’s best days of winning are in front of them.

The front office will surely have some big decisions to make but trust in Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley to handle this team the right way going forward.

With most of the same group expected back and healthier days ahead, the expectations for the Bulls next year will be sky-high. They were able to show multiple times throughout this season that they can be the best team in the league but there is still much to improve upon.

Yet, this season should still feel like a success because the Bulls were able to change the culture back to winning. The United Center is going to be fun next year and the Chicago Bulls will be back.