A detrimental loss to the playoff hopes of the Chicago Bulls on May 11 came at the hands of the star-studded Brooklyn Nets and head coach Steve Nash. The Bulls got a huge night out of star shooting guard Zach LaVine, but he didn’t get much help from the supporting cast. The Nets did a good job shutting down star center Nikola Vucevic and played solid defense most of the night.
In a night where LaVine put up a game-high more than 40 points, you would expect the Bulls to have a better shot at pulling off the upset of the Nets. And they did get close late in the fourth quarter. But when a team like the Bulls lets the Nets get ahead by double digits before halftime, that can be a killer down the stretch.
Falling behind by more than 12 points by halftime proved to be too much for the Bulls to overcome in the end. They fell short of the Nets in this one by the final score of 115-107. It was nice to see the Bulls hang tough with the Nets, but their postseason odds still look very bleak at this point.
Chicago Bulls about to miss out on the postseason again?
And with the divisional foe Indiana Pacers notching a win over the Philadelphia 76ers in upset fashion on May 11, the Bulls really don’t have good odds at this point to make it into the postseason. They will need the Pacers and/or Washington Wizards to lose out, while they win three straight against tough opposition.
Remaining for the Bulls this season are meetings with the Milwaukee Bucks, Nets again, and the Toronto Raptors.
Knowing that the Bulls’ chances to make the postseason aren’t looking good at all, let’s take a look at three possible ramifications of missing the playoffs.