Here’s why Bulls’ loss to Knicks on Monday is worse than you think

The Bulls are almost ended the month of March on fire … but in a dumpster kind of way.

The Chicago Bulls have only won five games in the month of March and are currently the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. They lost a tough game to the New York Knicks Monday night, in a game where Chicago was up double digits.

Aside from the fact the Knicks are flat-out a bad team, the loss left an even saltier taste in Bulls fans’ mouths because the Knicks main scorers were ice-cold. Their so-called best player Julius Randle was benched the entire fourth quarter, only scoring five points. Evan Fournier was able to stay on the court, but only put up five points. It was the Knicks role players that did the Bulls in — outscoring Chicago’s equivalent by 25 points (46-21).

The Bulls have had a role player issue since the All Star break. Billy Donovan has been trying to alter his lineups to address this, and found success in inserting Coby White into the closing lineup against the Wizards on Tuesday night, which resulted in a victory.

Coming into the Wizards game, it felt that a win could help kickstart a strong end to the season, but things started to look a bit daunting ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Paul George was cleared to play Tuesday night in Utah after being absent since late December, and he helped the Clippers win by six after overcoming 25-point deficit. But guess what? The Bulls conducted a comeback of their own against LA on Thursday, erasing an eight-point deficit with just over two minutes remaining to force overtime and grab the much-needed win. DeMar DeRozan finished with his first career 50-point game and the team was ecstatic, boosting morale heading into a new month.

But going back to that loss against the Knicks, which should’ve never happened, the Bulls really hurt their chances of securing home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They’re 1.5 games behind the 76ers for fourth place, two games behind the Boston Celtics for third, 3.5 behind the Milwaukee Bucks for second, and four behind the Miami Heat for first place.

And guess who they play to end the season?

• Apr. 2 vs Heat
• Apr. 5 vs Bucks
• Apr. 6 vs Celtics
• Apr. 8 vs Hornets
• Apr.10 at Timberwolves

There isn’t a single game listed that feels like an easy win, and that loss to New York has the Raptors on Chicago’s tail (only a half-game back) for the No. 5 seed.

Bulls fans are hoping to keep their good vibes after wins over the Wizards and Clippers, but that blown lead and eventual loss to the Knicks could have serious implications on their playoff standing when all is said and done.