Bulls are winless against NBA’s top teams, but could still be dangerous in playoffs – Yahoo Sports

DETROIT It seemed fitting, DeMar DeRozan exuding an air of confidence the morning of the Chicago Bulls season opener in October but also knowing what was to come over an 82-game season.

I think well be really good, he told Yahoo Sports. But I wanna see how we react when we hit a little adversity.

Adversity has knocked the Bulls upside the head recently, with injuries being a main but not singular culprit to erase a lot of the good vibes that started the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks were the latest team to show the Bulls theres a clear line between them and the NBAs elite, and time is beginning to run out to fix it. Although theyre winless against Phoenix, Golden State and Memphis, its not practical to evaluate them against opposite conference competition.

Focusing on Milwaukee, Miami and Philadelphia is enough to have Billy Donovan, DeRozan and Zach LaVine running for the Tylenol on the dresser. Every morning they wake up with a ringing in their ears.

O-for, the alarm clock seems to say, and the hangover is ongoing because the play-in tournament is looming.

The Bulls being 42-30 is still a surprise on its face, but the expectations were raised when they sprinted out to a hot start. Going 39-21 with a six-game winning streak sandwiched around the All-Star break had many feeling they could be Eastern Conference party crashers.

DeMar DeRozan has played some of the best basketball of his career in a Chicago Bulls uniform, but his team is still winless against the NBA's top teams. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

They followed a Phoenix-ish formula that sounds simple enough but reveals incredible discipline: making their free throws, not turning the ball over and forcing the opposition into open-floor mistakes.

In short, they maximized their possessions, especially with shot-makers like DeRozan and LaVine, while managing to throw some mascara on their lack of size inside. Teams werent truly able to exploit the Bulls on the interior because their perimeter defense, led by Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, was so potent.

Then Ball went down, followed by Caruso suffering an unnecessary wrist injury due to the recklessness of Grayson Allen. A huge chunk of their newfound identity left the building, and even Carusos return has been dulled a bit by the reality of the schedule hitting them hard mixed with coming down to Earth a bit.

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Ball underwent meniscus knee surgery and hasnt been in action since January. He was on track to return, but his rehab hit a snag this week as the Bulls announced theyll slow down the process and hell stop running for 10 days.

It's not a positive sign if a full roster was the easy solution to the Bulls struggles.

Were only going up from here. Were getting some key guys back, DeRozan recently told Yahoo Sports. Thats gonna be a boost of emotional energy, knowledge, experience that well need at a critical time of the season. With that alone, itll make us much better, much more confident than anything.

Three of their four best four-man units involve Ball, with his defensive prowess, outside shooting and tempo-pushing catching teams off guard when trying to exploit switches. But theyve been able to employ them in only a handful of games, and even if he were to make a return before the playoffs, it doesnt seem that muscle memory would carry over.

DeRozans muscle memory was on automatic even while things were crashing around him in February, producing his best month as a pro: 34.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists on splits of 55/40/88, outstanding production for a player this advanced in his career.

It seemed to keep the Bulls afloat, similar to early in the season when his late-game heroics had many allowing themselves to dream of June. If DeRozan was pushing you over the top, the Bulls would be dangerous. But its been trending toward the necessary space for quite a while now, especially with LaVine battling knee issues.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine is battling knee issues late in the season. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

LaVine wont say it because hes too proud and too close to playing relevant, but his left knee is bothering him. He and the Bulls are being careful with it, of course, to preserve his long-term health with free agency coming in July and maximize whats in the immediate future simultaneously.

When Yahoo Sports asked if he was 80 percent a couple weeks ago, LaVine chuckled and said, I dont know but its not 100 percent. Im still able to go out there and be effective. After a relatively down January and February, LaVine has rebounded in March, his scoring and assist numbers up while his efficiency still remains on par.

This is the closest he has been to contention so sitting isnt an option, nor will the losing get to him, because, hes seen far worse.

Right before the All-Star Game, we won [a lot] in a row, and now, we dont need to act like the world is on fire, LaVine told Yahoo Sports. You understand whats going on, why youve lost games and make adjustments.

He sees the struggle as a positive, with players who wouldnt otherwise get an extended opportunity have a chance to show they can adapt in pressure situations. LaVine said recently acquired veteran Tristan Thompson has been a vocal presence in the huddle, and the return of second-year forward Patrick Williams has been a boon.

But did the early-season success, last-second wins and over-reliance on DeRozan and LaVine come back to haunt them?

In the playoffs, having shot-makers can change the math when you can do only so much scouting. Not too many teams have multiple wing defenders to shut down both of the Bulls scorers.

We rely on ourselves to go out there and make plays and close out teams. I dont think its fools gold. Now is it something we can rely on each and every game to win games? No. But its an ace in your pocket because were able to do that. Were able to take on that challenge, LaVine told Yahoo Sports.

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Bulls are winless against NBA's top teams, but could still be dangerous in playoffs - Yahoo Sports