Chicago Bulls: 3 attainable goals for Jim Boylen in 2020

Where do the Chicago Bulls go from here as they enter the New Year with a long way to go before they can get back into the playoff picture in the East.

Entering the New Year, the Chicago Bulls did have a chance to get the eight seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. On Jan. 6, the Bulls took on the Dallas Mavericks on the road at the American Airlines Center looking to move their record to 14-23 on the season. A win over the Mavericks would’ve gotten the Bulls possibly within two or 2.5 games of the Orlando Magic for the eight seed in the East. The Bulls also sit behind the Charlotte Hornets by one game.

But they fell short against a hot Mavericks team by the final score of 118-110.

A common expectation for head coach Jim Boylen and the Bulls this season, at least by this point, was around a .350-.370 winning percentage. So this result isn’t the worst. But the Bulls just aren’t beating any good teams under Boylen’s direction this season. Really the only good team the Bulls beat thus far was the Los Angeles Clippers by the final score of 109-106 at home at the United Center last month.

The Bulls fell short on Jan. 6 against the Dallas Mavericks, which continued to put them behind the eight ball. But there is marked improvements that the Bulls made under Boylen of late. Once shooting guard Zach LaVine and power forward Lauri Markkanen shook off their slow starts this season, the Bulls did start playing like more of a low-seed playoff caliber team in the East.

If Boylen can keep this team trending in the right direction throughout the back end of the 2019-20 regular season, then the playoffs could be a realistic expectation. But it doesn’t help that the injury bug is starting to bite harder of late.

Here’s a look into three attainable goals that head coach Jim Boylen should have for the Chicago Bulls in 2020.