The Chicago Bulls are currently falling short in their quest to make the upcoming 2023 NBA Playoffs which will begin around April 15th.
Last year, the Chicago Bulls finished 6th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a 46-36 record. This year they are currently the 11th-best team in the Eastern Conference, sitting at a record of 28-34. Betting sites such as IL Betting currently predict the team to fall just short of playoffs or to scrape by into the tournament into an early exit.
According to the Betting sites like IL Betting currently predict, the team to fall just short of playoffs or to scrape by into the tournament into an early exit. The Chicago Bulls have the 10th best chance in the Eastern Conference to make the playoffs since only 8 teams make the playoffs, they are definitely in jeopardy.
Why the Bulls Could Make the Playoffs
Las Vegas also has the Chicago Bulls, currently ranked as the 19th-best team in the NBA out of 30 teams.
One thing in their favor is that the Bulls’ strength of schedule is ranked as the second easiest in the Eastern Conference for these last 20 games.
The Bulls have currently lost one game in a row, losing a critical Eastern Conference game last night at Toronto. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games, not a good trend for a team trying to make the playoffs. However, this is offset by the fact that the teams remaining in their schedule are, at large, the ones they are trying to beat out.
Due to the NBA’s new play-in tournament that was instituted a few years ago, the Bulls may have a shot at making the playoffs. The Bulls will have to move from the 11th spot to the 10th spot by April 9th, which is very possible for them, and then they will have to beat the 9th-seeded team in one play in-game, and then they will have to beat the loser of the 7th and 8th seeded team in another play-in game.
Why the Bulls Will Not Make the Playoffs
Last year‘s Chicago Bulls team had the very solid Lonzo Ball playing point guard who averaged 13 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals a game. He has missed this entire season with a knee injury, and he has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Bulls’ offense is not very good. They are ranked as the 20th-best offense in the NBA out of 30 teams. Their defense is better where they rank as the number 10 defense in the NBA. The main problem comes down to the increase in scoring over the last year, as the team has struggled to keep up. They are an average three-point shooting team in the NBA ranked as the 15th best 3 point shooting team. It doesn’t help them that their best player, DeMar DeRozan, is only shooting at a 30% rate from the three-point line.
In addition, the other two all-star caliber players on the roster, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic, are having career lows and only average 24 PPG and 18 PPG, respectively. DeMar DeRozan’s MVP campaign from last year has come to a complete halt, as this year, he is down to playing as just an average All-Star player.
Compounding these problems heading into the last stretch, the Bulls are not a very good team on the road. Over the last season, they have only gone 10-21.
They are much better at home, with an 18-13 home record. Of their remaining 20 games, 10 are at home, and 10 are on the road.
While on paper, the Chicago Bulls seem to have a very good team, it appears that they may fall short this year in making the NBA Playoffs.
They should be able to make the play in the tournament, and it will be fascinating to see what happens from there.
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