NBA
Nikola Vucevic gets honest and thinks it’s too late for the Bulls to turn around this failed season
One of the biggest upsets this campaign would defintely be the Bulls, as the Chicago team had made the playoffs last season but this time around seem to have few chances of even getting to the Play-In Tournament after a very disappointing 2022/23 spell.
The Illinois squad stands 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 29-36 record so far, and 1.5 games behind the Washington Wizards for that 10th last guaranteed spot for any chance to continue through post-season. After their unfortunate loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, they missed a direct opportunity to get closer to their objective.
Most of our favorite sport betting sites believe the Bulls only have the 24th best odds (+50,000) to winning the NBA championship this year, which is too bad considering last campaign they ranked 6th after regular season.
This weekend’s defeat has really taken a toll on the squad’s motivation inside the locker room, as Nikola Vucevic admitted they are losing confidence to even consider the final push for the play-in qualification.
Nikola Vucevic admits that it’s hard to see the Bulls turning the season around
“Maybe 30 games ago, but now it’s hard to look at it that way.”
(Via @TheAthletic ) pic.twitter.com/yWHfG4Kb2c
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 6, 2023
“Maybe 30 games ago, but now it’s hard to look at it that way,” Vucevic said this week to the press. “It doesn’t really depend on us anymore.”
“I mean, it does. We have to win,” he thought it through. “But we’re depending on the people in front of us, on how they do. So it’s hard to say after 65 games we didn’t figure it out. It’s tough to believe that something’s just going to (click) like that. We’ll see. We’re going to keep fighting, keep hoping something happens. But it’s obvious we’ve put ourselves in a very difficult spot now.”
It’s as easy as this, the Chicago club simply needs to gather as many victories as they can to maintain an opportunity at the post-season. However, the team’s center is right to say they now have to rely on the rival teams losing their matches in order to maintain hope.
The Bulls have a tough road ahead in this final stretch
It seems like Chicago’s schedule won’t give them too much of a break either, as 10 out of their last 17 contests will be against squads with winning records. The only opportunities they’ll have to face “weaker” sides will be against the Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and the Houston Rockets, which must be guaranteed wins for the Bulls if they are to keep competing.
For example, their next challenge will be tonight against the Denver Nuggets, the West’s strongest opponent. Ever since they lost guard Lonzo Ball to injury, their motivations have dropped enormously. Do they have any hope against Nikola Jokic’s side?
As this is slowly shaping to be a lost season for the Windy City, it seems the Chicago squad isn’t strong enough to fight-off their Conference’s better teams and don’t really sell themselves as an attractive bet for young players looking to be drafted in this next selections in June.
This means Bulls fans should expect major modifications in the next off-season.