Fortunately the Bulls are not fighting with the Nets for the “play-in” because that is their pet peeve! This season, Billy Donovan's men have lost their three meetings against Mikal Bridges' teammates, and the latest defeat puts Chicago in an uncomfortable position.
With 35 wins for 39 losses, the Bulls remain 9th in their conference, but the Hawks are just behind with 34 wins for 40 losses. And on Monday, Dejounte Murray's teammates arrived at the United Center. It will be a “back-to-back” since this evening, the Bulls are traveling to Minnesota.
“The match is over and we move on” said DeMar DeRozan after the big defeat against the Nets. “We must use this frustration as motivation to realize that we must not fall to 10th place. We have to come back to our basketball, and give our all on both ends of the court. »
Eight matches to play
The Bulls have the tie-breaker over the Hawks, and the two teams should meet in the play-in. But the question is who will have the home advantage for the first jump-off. Last season, the Bulls played their two play-in matches away and ended up losing in Miami. This time, they want to finish 9th and play a match in front of their home crowd.
“Our guys are more than aware of this” assures Billy Donovan. “The guys even texted about it when there were still maybe 12 games to go. The guys were made aware of the importance of finishing strong, of doing all these things. It is obvious that it would be difficult to go further. There is a chance we could go below our level, and the guys are aware of that. We have a home game and then we go on a road trip. The guys are aware of it.”
After the “back-to-back” against the Wolves and the Hawks, the Bulls will play the referees of the race for 4th place since they host the Knicks twice and go to Orlando.
