The first place in the East is about to fall into a play-off team, and the Bulls are likely to face such a dilemma. The Bulls have been ranked first in the East for some time now, and this season's Bulls have been a metamorphosis, with the team's record improving by leaps and bounds after winning DeRozan, Ball and Caruso. There are a lot of endpoints on the offensive end, there are many ball holding points and breakthrough points, and coupled with the aggressive defense of the outside line, the Bulls attack and defend well. This season has won a lot of strong teams.
Recently, the bull has fallen into the dilemma of no one to use because of injuries, after all, it is difficult for a woman to cook without rice. Today the Bulls lost to the Magic by 19 points on the road, and it is clear to everyone what level the Magic are on. Today's upset defeat is the epitome of the Bulls' current predicament, DeRozan scored 41 points, but he is difficult to beat four hands with two fists. The Magic blossomed more, and the Bulls had no one to help the team score except DeRozan and White, and could only accept the loss on the road.
The Bulls have a record of 28 wins and 17 losses after losing today. The gap between it and the seventh Hornets in the East is 4 wins, and 4 wins is not a big one. Moreover, the competition in the East this year is very fierce, the gap between the top place in the East and the sixth place in the East is not large, if you can play a wave of consecutive wins, the gap will shrink rapidly.
The Bulls are really injured at the moment, with 4 core rotations on the team unable to play. Lavin is currently recuperating from his injuries, and Bauer has undergone knee surgery to rest for at least a month and a half. Caruso also had to rest about the same amount of time as Bauer because of the fracture. That is to say, in the next two months, the Bulls will have at least two core rotations that will not be able to play, which is a huge blow to the Bulls. Ball and Caruso are important outside defensive champions for the team, and without their Bulls defense would have slipped down a large notch.
Injuries not only leave the Bulls short of people, but also have other adverse effects. First of all, Ball and Caruso can't play, which means DeRozan has to take on more pressure. Today's trip to the away game deRozan to fight for his life to get a high score can not be exchanged for a victory. DeRozan's consumption is significantly higher than at the beginning of the season, with Ravenbauer Caruso present at the beginning of the season, deRozan does not need to bear too much ball possession and organizational pressure. You just need to score honestly and stand up for the key moments. At that time, DeRozan played extremely efficiently and scored quite efficiently. Now Rozan is back to the old pattern, slashing points wildly and organizing attacks to grasp with one hand. But the team's record has not improved, and his own efficiency has fluctuated. DeRozan is no younger player, he is also a veteran now, and playing like this is not good for him or the team.
Second, the time for bulls to run in is further reduced. In fact, this season's Bulls were originally very well run-in, but they were constantly interrupted due to injuries. If the Bulls' run-in is not in place, the probability of the Bulls making mistakes in some high-intensity games will be higher, and the run-in is too important for a championship-fighting team.
According to the current situation, the Bulls will have a hard time developing in the future, and they are likely to continue to fall in the ranking. Falling to sixth or even seventh in the East would be a shame if it ended up falling into a play-off team, and if it weren't for injuries, the Bulls would have been a steady top two team in the East. Readers, what do you think the Bulls will achieve this season?