On Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls clinched a berth in the Play-In Tournament by defeating the Toronto Raptors 137-118 in front of 20,005 fans at the United Center.
The Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak by beating a Raptors team that fell to 28-48. The win didn’t exactly take the bad taste out of Chicago’s mouth after an embarrassing 145-117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
The Bulls had a strong March, winning nine out of 11 games before they lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
But two losses to postseason contenders in the Western Conference paint a more sobering picture about the expectations for the Bulls’ roster, especially considering that the team’s winning streak hurts its odds of claiming a higher draft pick in the lottery.
The Chicago Bulls have to adjust
On Tuesday, Donovan told reporters after the game that making the postseason was important for the development of his players. However, he also said that teams are starting to figure out how the Bulls strategized during their winning streak, and he’s running out of ideas on how to adjust with the given roster.
‘‘For us, we’ve been so good in transition and playing fast that our guys have to realize that teams are going to adjust or make that an incredibly high level of emphasis,’’ Donovan said via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘The next iteration for us is that, yeah, on the (4-2) West Coast (trip), we were going downhill, getting to the rim, getting to the basket.
You saw Coby (White) getting fouled, Josh Giddey getting fouled. Teams are watching that. They’re not going to continue to let those guys do that night after night after night. Now we’ve got to adjust: ‘That’s not there now. Now what’s open, what’s available?’ ’’
The Bulls live and die by transition buckets and attacking the rim. Teams like the Raptors (who are in tank mode) aren’t going to stop Chicago.
Billy Donovan has to find a new strength
Donovan knows he’s running out of time to develop a new plan before his roster has to compete against high-intensity defenses in the postseason.
‘‘Transition has been a huge strength,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘The game against Denver, I think we scored 31 (fast-break) points against them in their place (March 24). Teams are looking at that: ‘Gotta get back, build a wall, show your hands, put your hands up. Coby White’s taken seven free throws, Giddey is getting seven, eight, nine free throws.’
“Now we can’t keep just barreling into people when guys are showing hands and we’re not getting calls. We’ve got to adjust.’’
The Bulls’ next two games are against sub .500 teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Hornets. Then, Chicago will have two true tests against the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 8 and the Miami Heat on April 9.
The Bulls might want to see how Giddey and White can adapt this month before they decide to give them $70 million per year.
