Zach LaVine thinks Chicago Bulls threw “some games away”

A lot of bad losses for the Chicago Bulls to bad teams this season put them in the situation they’re in now at the most difficult point of their schedule.

Heading into the New Year, the Chicago Bulls played in 34 of their 82 games during the 2019-20 regular season. Through those first 34 games of the regular season, the Bulls sport a record of 13-21. That’s good for the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, putting them two games behind the Orlando Magic for the final spot in the playoff picture.

The rest of the regular season schedule promises a very difficult road ahead for the Bulls, but it’s not going to be impossible for them to make a playoff run. The East is still pretty weak in the group of teams that the Bulls will be battling for the last two seeds in the playoffs. A group of four other teams that the Bulls will be battling with in the playoff race in the East includes the Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and the Magic.

However, the Bulls players seem to be getting more confident as the season moves along. In a recent Tweet from K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago on Jan. 1, Bulls starting shooting guard Zach LaVine looked to remain optimistic heading into the New Year.

LaVine is the Bulls leader in points per game this season and is really the only player that has a legitimate chance to be an All-Star selection. He’s averaging 23.4 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range. He is improving in his shooting from beyond the arc this season.

However, here’s what LaVine had to say to Johnson in the Tweet that he posted on the first day of the year.

"We understand the position we’re in. We’re 1.5 games out of 8th place. I think we’ve thrown some games away. I think we should be right in that hunt. As poorly as we’ve played some nights, we can still make up for it."

There’s a point to what LaVine is saying about the fact that the Bulls have “thrown some games away”. A handful of bad losses where the Bulls had significant leads late in games put them behind the eight ball heading into the tougher stretch of their schedule. A season by the Golden State Warriors, a bad road loss to the New York Knicks, and the 26-point collapse against the Oklahoma City Thunder are the four games that come to mind based off LaVine’s statement.

Next up for LaVine and the Bulls will be the 21-12 Utah Jazz on Jan. 2 at home at the United Center. That will be the first of 17 games that the Bulls will take on during the month of January. This might be the most difficult month of their season.