What Happens Now?
The Bulls are 16-17 after this loss, putting them just barely in the Eastern Conference playoffs. It won’t be hard to be an 8-seed in the East this year. It’s not even a guarantee that you’d need to be over .500. The problem is that, at best, the Bulls will have a 7-10 December (if they beat the Bucks on Saturday, far from a given), and the schedule doesn’t get easier from there. After facing the Hornets on Monday, the Bulls will go up against the Cavs, Raptors, Thunder, Wizards, Knicks, Pelicans, and Grizzlies.
They still have to play the Warriors and Rockets twice, the Cavs and Raptors three more times, and the Clippers one more time. It’s gonna be tough, and the Bulls don’t need off-court drama on top of it.
Don’t be surprised if things get bitter real quick in Chicago. Although fans certainly aren’t pushing for Fred to win coach of the year, my guess is that an overwhelming majority would blame Gar/Pax before they even think about blaming Hoiberg. If Hoiberg gets the axe, VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson would be hiring his sixth coach. How many GMs get that chance?
We can certainly hope for the best, but it would be naive not to think that things are likely to get a lot worse in Chicago before they get any better. It’s not out of the question that we look back at 16-17 and think that things really weren’t so bad.
Hold on Bulls fans. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.