The latest Chicago Bulls news for March 9 after a comeback win over the Miami Heat, featuring updated Play-In standings, an irreplaceable Zach Collins and the team making another franchise first.
Bulls make Play-In Tournament statement
Is it ideal for Chicago to make the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament again this season? No. Given the state of the franchise, Capturing the Flagg would have been a much more helpful path. But the Bulls will be one of the final teams in the postseason again anyway, so why not make the best of it?
Chicago trailed the Miami Heat by 11 points entering the fourth quarter of last night's game and had been down by as many as 17 at one point, but behind 13 fourth-quarter points from Tre Jones, rallied to pick up a 114-109 win in South Beach.
The win increased the Bulls' advantage over the Philadelphia 76ers for 10th place in the East to four games, while the loss dropped the Heat, who are now riding a three-game losing streak, from seventh to ninth in the standings.
If the season ended today, these two teams would face off again in the first-round of the Play-In. Considering Chicago's not-so-great history with Miami in this postseason format, a come-from-behind win on the road has to give the Bulls some confidence if this pair plays again with a trip to the playoffs on the line.
Zach Collins is becoming irreplaceable
Zach Collins was an unimpressive piece of the trade deadline move that sent Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings. A former top-10 pick, the 27-year-old had settled into a role as a semi-productive reserve big man and was averaging 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 46 games with the San Antonio Spurs this year.
Fast forward to now and Collins is making good on that lottery-level potential, at least temporarily.
Since playing his first game with the Bulls on Feb. 11, the NBA journeyman has started seven of his 10 games, averaging 25.2 minutes per night. He's scoring 12.7 points, grabbing 8.5 rebounds and dishing out 2.4 assists on 54.8 percent shooting. In the win over Miami, Collins finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds and shot 4-of-6 from three.
Chicago is 4-3 in the seven games he's started.
Bulls make franchise history
Perhaps it was inevitable given the change in strategy this season, but Chicago's 11 made threes in the win over the Heat set a new franchise record. This Bulls team is the first to make more than 1,000 threes in a season, per K.C. Johnson of CHSN.
Bulls have made 1,000 3-pointers in a season for first time in franchise history
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 9, 2025
With a more athletic roster, no iso-based DeMar DeRozan sets and a defensively challenged squad, head coach Billy Donovan installed an up-tempo, run-and-gun system.
It worked better earlier this season when Chicago was one of the most efficient three-point shooting teams in the NBA, but even though the Bulls have dropped off in terms of makes, this style still suits (or suited) players like Josh Giddey, Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Lonzo Ball and Matas Buzelis. Breaking 1,000 made threes is proof that Donovan's change in strategy was the right call.