The Chicago Bulls have enough remaining energy to qualify for the Play-In Tournament. They are still ahead of the Brooklyn Nets by 6.0 games. DeMar DeRozan is raising the alarm now, hopefully before it’s too late, but the Atlanta Hawks are only a half-game behind.
After losing to the Nets 125-108 on March 29, their comfortable grasp on the nine-seed has become shaky amid a 1-4 run into a crucial game against the Hawks on April 1.According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on March 29, DeRozan stated, “We’re getting down to the point where it’s one and done.” We must approach these games accordingly.
We can’t simply show up to a play-in game and decide to react as though we’ve been”Use your frustration to motivate yourself to keep going and return to playing basketball the only way we know how—by competing on both ends—instead of dropping to the 10th spot.”
In addition to his game-high 31 points on 55% shooting from the field, DeRozan ended with two assists, one block, eight rebounds, and one steal. On a night when two other Bulls got close, but none scored more than 20 points in the contest, it wasn’t enough.The 34-year-old DeRozan, who leads the NBA in minutes played overall, refuses to acknowledge his weariness.
DeRozan responded, “Nah, we can’t have none of that,” according to Johnson. “There are just eight games left. We will therefore need to keep fighting for our life. That is going to occur Therefore, even if the Hawks win their game on Monday, they will not receive the tiebreaker.But the Hawks still have a chance to win the nine-seed and host the Bulls in their Play-In game.
Things might alter when Atlanta plays the Milwaukee Bucks on March 30.
Despite having fewer players than usual, they have won five of their previous seven games and four straight games coming into that match. Key reserve Onyeka Okongwu is also out, along with starters Jalen Johnson, Saddiq Bey, and Trae Young.Similar circumstances exist for DeRozan’s Bulls, who are without Patrick Williams and Zach LaVine.Bulls Lose on the Road Again
Before facing the team, the Bulls had successfully turned their fortunes away from the United Center, winning five of their previous seven road games.
