9) Bulls Make Miraculous Late Season Push
It’s a top moment, and a bottom moment all wrapped up in one. The Bulls got off to a really bad start last season and looked like the Bulls were in for a rough season early on. This time last year, the Bulls boasted a pathetic 13-17 record and had so many internal problems and injuries it was getting ridiculous. The glory days of the 90’s couldn’t have more in the rear-view. The lowest point of the season came in late February/early to mid March where the Bulls dropped 10 straight games by margins of 6 points or more. Vinny Del Negro and John Paxson got into an altercation during the season and it seemed as though everything was lost.
But somewhere in there the Bulls turned it around. They managed to get some help by the stumbling Raptors, and that combined with Chicago winning 7 of their last 10 gave the Bulls the 8th seed in the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs. It was short lived as the Cavaliers burst the Bulls bubble by eliminating them 4-1 in the first round. But it showed a sudden maturity to this team that they could accomplish a playoff birth despite the season they had. It was the moment you can pinpoint as the moment the Bulls started growing up and started to stop being the Baby Bulls. They still haven’t fully developed yet, but a large majority of what we are seeing this season can be traced back to the end of last season.