Yet another day without live sports as the lockdown around the country became more severe. There is no end in sight for the hiatus for the Chicago Bulls.
At this point in the novel coronavirus pandemic, the precautions domestically have heightened to the level of a near national lockdown. The fact that there are no sports going on right now seems like it is a storyline that was put behind us a month ago. That was in fact less than one week ago. The NBA was really the first to put its league on hiatus, and the Chicago Bulls are now going on without basketball for a full week. Their last game was March 10 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
What will come out of the NBA hiatus, and how long will it last?
Those are both questions well pertinent to the Bulls situation at the moment. The Bulls ended their regular season run before the NBA hiatus with a record of 22-43. Really the only way I could see them getting back into the relevant picture of professional basketball if and when the NBA starts back up is if there’s a 30-team tournament that runs later in the summer.
With a rather desolate NBA news cycle coming out on March 16, here’s a look at where we are on the sixth day without any basketball to speak of.
What’s happening for the Bulls and around the NBA
Rumblings of “The Last Dance” releasing earlier than anticipated
Maybe the best news that could possibly come from a sports media outlet outside of the NBA starting back up at this point in time is the ESPN documentary “The Last Dance” starting to release early. There were a few rumblings within the last day or two that it could be a possibility, but there is nothing concrete coming from ESPN in that regard yet.
Source at ESPN says there are no “current plans” to move up the much anticipated Michael Jordan doc The Last Dance, and the plan is still to release it June. (Would be amazing if it could’ve somehow been ready for like April 15th or so.) pic.twitter.com/ReiD9IQh3I
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) March 13, 2020
Remembering Michael Jordan highlights
About the best pastime that NBA fans are coming up with on social media, especially pertaining to the Bulls, includes showing off legendary highlights from the all-time great shooting guard Michael Jordan. Even dating back to his days before his final retirement from playing in the NBA, with the Washington Wizards, MJ looked truly dominant.
More players speaking out
A lot more players spoke out in the midst of the NBA hiatus on March 16. That list included the Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic, Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, and once again the Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. Once we’re able to see those three ultra-talented guards back on the court in game action, it will be a truly special day.
A message from @TheTraeYoung pic.twitter.com/H5loWcObGd
— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2020
A message from @luka7doncic and @DwightPowell33 pic.twitter.com/5yH8OZc95J
— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2020
A message from the NBA & @TheNBPA pic.twitter.com/iLoUWHUmNr
— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2020
Last but not least… the NFL comes to the rescue
The 2020 NFL Draft appears to still be on for next month, according to an nfl.com official release. With pretty much all sports on a hiatus around the world due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NFL is coming to everyone’s rescue.
There was an enormous first day of NFL free agency, that also included a massive trade between the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. Bulls fans might also be enticed by the Chicago Bears moves and rumors on day one of free agency.