The Chicago Bulls are slouching toward the proverbial treadmill of mediocrity with every day they do not make a move, and that tendency is even starting to show up in NBA power rankings. Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey slotted the Bulls into the No. 20 spot they held last week — and not all of that is negative.
Noting Chicago has “pretty solid positioning in the play-in tournament, where they have a 2.5-game buffer between themselves and 11th place” due to the improved play of Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic, has helped Chicago not lose ground in the rankings, even if they also haven’t gained any.
“The 33-year-old returned from an injury on January 5, and the Bulls are 5-2 since then,” notes the B/R analyst. “During those seven games, he has averaged 18.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists.”
We need to talk about the Chicago Bulls' defense https://t.co/eyfwUc3Sz4 pic.twitter.com/2twEyWYIbO
— Bulls Wire (@Bulls_Wire) January 21, 2024
To be fair, some of those wins were not vs. especially dangerous opponents (a pair of games against the lowly Charlotte Hornets, the Houston Rockets, and the San Antonio Spears do not exactly instill fear in their opposing teams).
Which is probably why such a solid record over that stretch did not see the Bulls rise.
