Tanking is Getting in the Way of Growth – and that’s bad for Chicago

As the Chicago Bulls played the olé act against the Boston Celtics last night, they only proved the damage of a tanking season.

Coming into the NBA season, we expected the Bulls to lose and lose a lot. The Las Vegas over/under on the Bulls’ win total was a league-low 21.5; their current 21-42 likely makes the betters on the low out of some money. The growth of the young players seemed a reason to watch among the failings.

Many fans are totally cool with the Bulls losing. Fans got their eye on a top pick in the NBA Draft, hopefully, one who can re-legitimize a franchise. Since the Derrick Rose-era came to a crashing end, the Bulls joined a collective of NBA clubs hoping to re-enter the championship race.

However, you’ll find very few fans who are totally cool with the way the Bulls lost last night. They showed minimal effort and a pure lack-of-caring about a glimpse of victory.

After the loss, head coach Fred Hoiberg said this about his team’s performance.

“Things got tough, and we shut down. We quit playing. Our offense was brutal, absolutely brutal. We got stagnant, we quit moving. When things got tough, we just kind of gave in and said, ‘okay, this is too hard for us.’ That was embarrassing the way we got outworked.”

I think Hoiberg nailed it, but it speaks to in buckets to the larger issue at hand. Bulls are in the market for failure, which is complex considering the stature of their players. NBA Players are guys who didn’t grow up losing a whole lot of basketball games.

Tanking is probably the best road for this team, but not at the cost of growth

So I ask, who are these Bulls? Are Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, even Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio, and Denzel Valentine capable of conjuring up enough gumption to push for an NBA Championship? Do they have the stomachs to win a best-of-seven playoff series? Do they even have the mental fortitude to chase the NBA Playoffs?

Now, perhaps this is out-of-hand. Throughout the season, we’ve seen these same Bulls play their guts out for 48 minutes against teams like the Golden State Warriors. The way Zach LaVine lead a toppling of Minnesota in Jimmy Butler’s return game showed basketball magic. However, the way the Bulls played against a Kyrie-less Boston Celtics club simply cannot happen.

Going forward, with just 19 games left on the schedule, the Bulls need growth, not failure. Losing by 30-plus is one thing, not even showing up is an entirely different, disgraceful beast.

Sportsmanship is often discussed in the context of players treating other players, officials, coaches, and fans with respect. Usually, it’s discussed in the context of the gracefulness a winner carries with them (see Jesse Owens). However, it takes just as good of a sportsman to lose as it does to win.

Last night, the Bulls were terrible sportsman; they didn’t show up for the fans (at home, I should note), they didn’t show up for the coaching staff, but the most concerning note is that they didn’t show up for each other.

What is this team if they’re not going to show up for each other? Can they ever learn to win as a team?

Something tells me last night is a fluke and a teachable moment; Fred Hoiberg’s performance with these bunch of Bulls is quite frankly inspiring. This team should be much worse, but at times, they’ve learned to play together, like winners.

Next: What does the future hold for Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg?

Tanking isn’t particularly easy on any member of an organization; losing is not fun, especially in a building with six of Michael Jordan’s championship banners overhead. However, if this team has intent on hanging a seventh, they should show up with the intent of winning every game, even if it “ruins” better draft position.

This tanking thing is about organizational growth, after all, not about being the worst team in the league. The Chicago Bulls must adjust this narrative in the locker room or risk the result of an aimless rebuild.