The Chicago Bulls were just mere seconds away from their first 3-1 series lead against a LeBron James-led team in the playoffs. So of course, James would hit a miraculous shot from the corner to tie the series and ever since then, the Bulls just haven’t been the same.
Last September, I wrote a piece on the Chicago Bulls making a relative clean transition from the era of icing pick-and-roll offensive sets and Tom Thibodeau’s hoarse voice, to the more laid-back Fred Hoiberg and a quicker, free-flowing offense to spark the defense.
Hoiberg was brought in to replace Thibodeau after the Bulls bowed out to LeBron James for the fourth time in a six-year span after taking a 2-1 series lead and coming within an eyelash of being up 3-1 if it wasn’t for that James guy.
You’ve seen the clip hundreds of times.
(If you want to put yourself through that misery once again, here’s the shot.)
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There’s also the timeout that was called by former Cleveland head coach David Blatt (who didn’t have any timeouts left, but I digress) after Derrick Rose shook Iman Shumpert out of his shorts to tie the game at 84 with just 08.4 left in regulation.
Cleveland tied the series at two games apiece, then won the next two games, including Game 6 back in Chicago that stole most of the headlines due to a rumored beef between Rose and Jimmy Butler heading into the summer.
But, it was Game 4 — which was played a year ago today — that set these events in motion for the new era of the Bulls.
That transition appeared to be off to a good start. In a rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers to kick off the 2015-16 season at home, the Bulls got a big block late from Pau Gasol on James and the Bulls survived the opening act of Hoiberg’s tenure.
Believe it or not, the Bulls actually won three of their four meetings against James and the Cavaliers this past season, but that was just one of the few things that went right for the Bulls.
The Bulls went 7-1 against the Eastern Conference’s top two teams this season (Cleveland and Toronto) and 35-39 against the rest of the NBA.
There was Derrick Rose’s fractured orbital bone that set him back until late December, Fred Hoiberg’s attempt to make Joakim Noah look like a team player (that totally backfired), Jimmy Butler’s spat after a loss towards Hoiberg about the Bulls needing to be “coached harder”, Noah’s shoulder injuries (and surgery), Nikola Mirotic‘s medical procedures and just a complete lack of progress and unity with the supposed “best team to dethrone Cleveland in the East”.
Oh, and there was also the part of Bulls general manager Gar Forman and vice president John Paxson coming out of their foxhole and holding their end-of-the-season press conference while Kobe Bryant was scoring 60 points in his final NBA game and the Golden State Warriors won their 73rd game to surpass the 1995-96 Bulls’ record of 72-10.
All of this started when LeBron James reversed the Cleveland sports curse one Sunday afternoon last May.
Will the Bulls recover from their most disappointing season since before Rose fell into the Bulls’ lap in the 2008 NBA Draft? That remains to be seen. The Bulls missed the postseason for the first time since before Rose’s rookie year and have a boatload of issues to address this time around this summer.
Will both Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah walk in free agency? Will the Bulls trade Jimmy Butler just 12 months after signing him to a five-year, $92.3 million deal? Can Derrick Rose turn back the clock and earn an extension to stay with the Bulls in what could be his final season in Chicago next year?
Next: Jimmy Butler not happy with Gar Forman's end-of-season comments?
Since the season ended, the status quo has remained the same.
The Bulls have more questions than answers.