The Chicago Bulls now have the seventh worst record in the league

The Chicago Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets 114-105 Monday in the Barclays Center. Here’s one good/bad thing from the game.

The Chicago Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets 114-105 Monday in the Barclays Center. The Nets swept the Bulls in the season series.

Tank-o-meter

The Chicago Bulls have a 27-54 record after their loss to the Nets. The Bulls are one game behind the Sacramento Kings for the sixth worst record in the league. The Kings play the Houston Rockets 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Golden 1 Center for their final contest of the season.

If the Kings win and Chicago loses its game against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, then the Bulls will drop into the sixth slot in the tank race and the Kings will move up into the seventh slot. If the Chicago Bulls defeat the Pistons and New York Knicks lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, then the Bulls will drop to the eight slot and the Knicks will move into the seventh slot.

Fun Fact #1

Forward Lauri Markkanen tallied 10 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of play. He became the first Bulls rookie to record at least 1,000 points and 500 rebounds since Elton Brand.

Fun Fact #2

The Chicago Bulls allowed the Nets to make 58 3-pointers in their three games against each other. The Nets’ 19.3 3-pointers per game vs. Chicago are the most 3-pointers the Bulls have allowed on a per game basis against any team during the 2017-18 campaign.

Dislike: Pelicans win

I understand this doesn’t have anything to do with the Chicago Bulls vs. Nets game. However, the repercussions from the New Orleans Pelicans win are still important.

The Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 113-100 Monday in the Staples Center to clinch their first playoff berth since 2015. This victory comes on the heels of New Orleans accumulating a 20-13 record since the season-ending Achilles injury to Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins.

Forward Anthony Davis, with significant contributions from guards Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo and E’Twaun Moore and forward Nikola Mirotic, put the team on his back and averaged a ridiculous 30.5 points, 12 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and two steals since the Cousins injury. And while Pelicans’ success is a great story for New Orleans, it only worsened the Chicago Bulls outlook for the season.

The Chicago Bulls traded Mirotic and a second-round pick to New Orleans for the Pelicans’ 2018 first round pick, center Omer Asik and other players the Bulls waived. The Pelicans were in danger of missing the playoffs when the two teams made the transaction. Sure, New Orleans had the seventh best record in the Western Conference when the trade happened. But, the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Clippers were all making pushes of their own to surpass the Pelicans in the standings.

The Chicago Bulls had the opportunity to have two lottery picks in the 2018 NBA Draft. There was a solid possibility they’ve have a top-5 pick and a pick in the mid-teens. But, now the Bulls are stuck with picks that will most likely landed somewhere between 19-21 and seven or eight.

It was former Bulls players who showed up in a big way to hurt Chicago. Mirotic, Rondo and Moore combined to record 48 points, 25 rebounds and 13 assists in New Orleans’ win. They shot 50 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent shooting from beyond the arc in the Pelicans’ playoff clinching victory.

The Chicago Bulls tried their best to rebuild. But, like the previous six seasons, this regular season campaign is most likely going to end in disappointment.

Like: Bulls losing in wacky ways

The Nets knocked down a franchise-high 24 3-pointers when they defeated the Chicago Bulls Saturday. On Monday, Nets guard Allen Crabbe scored a career-high 41 points on only 15 field goal attempts in the Nets victory against Chicago.

I find it funny the Nets, or a Nets player, achieved a milestone in both victories against the Bulls. It made the losses and the games themselves a tad more entertaining.