It’s hard to know what the plan is beyond this season in Chicago. For now, though, the Bulls have been wildly inconsistent. Really good in some games, not so much in others.
On Monday, they were pummeled by 35 points in a home game against the Mavericks.
“They came out, jumped on us and played aggressive defensively,” guard/forward DeMar DeRozan said, via Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Offensively, they got to their stuff. We have to give them credit. It’s no excuse on our end, no matter how tough of a road trip we just came off. We have to be ready to play.’’
The Bulls (31-34) currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and are highly likely headed for another season in the play-in tournament.
‘‘Every team is due for a butt-kicking of some sort throughout the season,’’ DeRozan said. ‘‘We have to let this be our last and only one for the rest of the season. It’s all about how you respond from here on out.’’
- In case you missed it, Chicago received some encouraging news on guard Lonzo Ball. Our Ashish Mathur has the full story here.
- Guard Zach LaVine is ahead of schedule in his recovery from foot surgery, as we relayed here. That said, the Bulls are expected to revisit trade talks centered on LaVine this offseason, sources told Hoops Wire.
- The front office of Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley has yet to deliver on big promises made four years ago, wrote Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. For one, staying the course at the trade deadline appears to have been a bad idea, Cowley added.
More must-reads: