Chicago Sports Exchange: Bulls End Backslide But Still Moving In Wrong Direction
Hawks Put Playoff Ambitions On The Line In This Week’s Series Against Fourth-Place Nashville
ed. note - some miscommunication led this piece to not be ran last Monday as it should. Enjoy it now and look for a fresh new CSE later today.
The reasoning behind the Bulls having won just four games in the three weeks since trading for Nikola Vučević is manifold.
Aside from barefaced roster flaws, there’s been injuries to Zach LaVine, Coby White and Garrett Temple, dates with superior competition, and pitiless scheduling that’s left little time to practice for a team in desperate need of rehearsal.
Most of that though will fall on the deaf ears of Artūras Karnišovas and Marc Eversley, who extended the goal posts for this season at the trade deadline.
But with LaVine expected to miss multiple games (more on that shortly) and only two contests remaining against teams cut from the cloth of opponent they’ve most frequently beaten this season, it’ll take quite the turnaround for the Bulls to break that plane.
And to keep me from rethinking my diametrical opposition to tanking.
HOLD — Bulls Continue To Defy Unofficial “Win” Now Mandate
So, about last week...
The Bulls mustered just 16 fourth-quarter points in a loss to Memphis, dug themselves into a 23-point hole to former teammate Wendell Carter Jr. and the Orlando Magic, were pile-driven even further into the ground with news of Zach LaVine’s indefinite absence due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and now find themselves in a three-team “race” for a play-in tournament berth.
Had it not been for them snapping a five-game losing streak with a 106-96 victory over Cleveland Saturday, the Bulls (23-33) would’ve proven Murphy’s Law beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Though with 16 games left—including 14 contests against teams currently slotted for the postseason—in a regular season in which playoff contention, not evaluation has become the motive, there’s still time to put that adage to the test.
Ultimately, the saving grace for this season might be the Bulls falling on their face down the stretch.
That tumble would not only improve the odds of them landing in the lottery for the ‘21 Draft, but could also result in them keeping this year’s top-four protected pick that was sent to the Magic along with Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and the 2023 top-four protected first-round pick last month.
At this point, the Bulls’ hole at point guard is glaring enough to be seen from whatever reality Denzel Valentine plays basketball in. Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs will be available.
Short-term pain for longterm gain.
Just saying.
HOLD — Hawks Look To Claw Back Into Playoff Picture
Sure, there’s three weeks left in the regular season before playoff positioning solidifies.
But for the Blackhawks, who lag two points behind the same fourth-seeded Nashville team they’re set to open a three-game series against, the postseason starts tonight.
“These will be the biggest three games of the year,” Vinnie Hinostroza said after slinging three assists in the Hawks’ 4-0 shutout of Detroit Saturday. Hinostroza has now tallied five helpers in six games since being traded back to Chicago April 2.
“I know this group is excited. It’s huge we got the momentum going into it.”
With the Predators (24-21–1) having dropped two-straight games, momentum definitely favors the Hawks (21-19-5). Outside of that, not much else does.
The Hawks have managed just six goals in five losses to the Predators this season and been outshot 115-80 in the last three contests. The Predators’ neutral zone trap has been particularly troubling for the Hawks.
"It's tough to get through sometimes," Patrick Kane said of their 1-3-1 defense. "We really want to play with speed and if we have to get it in deep and have to forecheck and do it that way, that's what it is. But we've got to find a way to beat these guys."
Doing so won’t entail overcoming an at full-strength opponent as the Predators will likely be without two of their top-five goal scorers, in forwards Filip Forsberg (upper body) and Eeli Tolvanen (lower body), and defenseman Dante Fabbro (upper body) for the entirety of the series.
HOLD — Fire Rise Early But Fade To The Finish
It took little more than a quarter into the first half of their MLS season opener for the Fire to score a pair of goals Saturday.
The trouble is they parted ways with that advantage nearly as quickly as they’d gained it, continuing last season’s backbreaking trend to the tune of a 2-2 draw with New England.
It was a bittersweet result for the 8,102 fans cheering on the Fire from inside Soldier Field for the first time since 2005 (a wait paved by the team’s move to SeatGeek Stadium and the onset of the pandemic last year) and players alike.
“This can’t happen again,” defender Francisco Calvo said afterward before adding that because its the first match of the season and still yielded a point, the result wasn’t all bad.
The Fire (0-0-1) play Atlanta United (0-0-1) Saturday.
HOLD — Red Stars Still Looking For First Score, Win Of Preseason
The Red Stars remain in search of both their first goal and victory after falling 1-0 to Portland at home Thursday in their second match of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup.
The Red Stars (0-1-1), who sit five points behind the West Division leading-Thorns, host Kansas City (0-1) Tuesday.
The loss added insult to the injury of the team being fined for violating a league directive in the wake of Sarah Gorden’s claim that she and her boyfriend were racially profiled after the Red Stars’ first match April 9.
According to former Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, the fine was related to partial team owner and ESPN personality Sarah Spain tweeting her support of a statement released by Red Stars players. The NWSL opened an investigation under its anti-discrimination policy the day after Gorden’s allegations but, according to Wahl, asked its board of governors not to comment on the pending investigation.
The NWSL has not given a timetable for when its investigation would be complete.
BUY — Sky Add To Their Championship Potential
On the surface, James Wade appears to have accomplished his mission.
With one of his two picks in Thursday’s WNBA Draft, the Sky’s head coach and general manager needed to find a point guard who could keep his team from so badly short-circuiting in Courtney Vandersloot’s absence.
Shyla Heal may not keep things humming exactly like her new mentor and All-WNBA teammate but, with her ability to score off the dribble and in pick-and-roll, the eighth-overall pick should rescue the Sky from the near 30-point free fall in offensive rating they experienced when Vandersloot went to the bench last season.
While the 19-year-old Aussie satisfied Wade’s first order of business, his selection of WBCA and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Mack eight picks later could help cure the team’s longstanding ails on the other side of the court.
The former Oklahoma State forward, who averaged four blacks a game for the Cowgirls last season, is more of a rim protector than a queen chess piece. Still, every little bit that keeps the Sky from being repeat offenders of the league’s eighth-worst defense counts.
How quickly the two contribute to winning basketball largely depends on Heal becoming a more efficient shooter and ball handler and Mack making good on her assertion that she’s already begun working toward fitting the mold of today’s stretch big.
If nothing else, Heal and Mack add intrigue to what already appeared to be a legitimate title-contending roster on paper.
That’s all anybody can go off of for now.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago