The Bernstein Brief: Stop It, Bulls
By Dan Bernstein --
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(670 The Score) This isn't how it's supposed to go, guys, not with four consecutive wins that have vaulted the record to 7-20 and leapfrogged the hapless Atlanta Hawks in the overall NBA standings.
Nice job, Bulls, but knock it off.
The league is preparing to make radical changes to the draft lottery system come 2019, and this is looking like the last season by the old rules that reward the very worst team with the very best chance of landing the top overall pick. The Bulls' plan was to be really bad to get really good, using the slingshot effect of combining development of a couple important young players with an influx of drafted talent.
So stay the course. Seeing Kris Dunn grow into the kind of lead guard scouts once envisioned is fine, but it's better if the late-game heroics fall just short. Nobody would argue that a team should actively try to lose, of course, but this is getting a bit uncomfortable in its incongruity.
The upside is that the inspired and efficient play of Nikola Mirotic since his return from injury might just help facilitate a trade, and the same goes for the reliably large Robin Lopez. Addition by subtraction might be the next smart move for a team that needs to settle comfortably back in the cellar.
These victories are just making it weird.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Bernstein and Goff Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
