Can we all just agree at this late stage of the 2016-17 NBA season that the Chicago Bulls make absolutely no sense? Here they are, 76 games into a wholly underwhelming season, and they’re still making noise about “hating to lose” and “not being expected to win.” Considering Chicago has lost 39 times already and still is assured of nothing as far as a postseason berth, those sort of chesty pronouncements ring awfully hollow.
If the Bulls really hate to lose, they might have done something about it long before April. And if they wanted to prove critics wrong about the team’s ill-fitting roster and inattention to detail, they probably shouldn’t have spent five months proving those critics right. So take with a grain of salt some of the brash talk coming out of Chicago’s dressing room after its comeback home victory over Atlanta Saturday, whether coming from point guard Rajon Rondo or from Jimmy Butler:
After the Bulls maintained momentum in their playoff push by beating Atlanta on Saturday, Rajon Rondo offered a mix of insight and commentary about recent team practices.
“We’ve been having some great practices,” Rondo said. “We’ve been very competitive in practice, more than we’ve been all year. Almost a couple fights. Me personally, I love it. That’s intensity we need. We showed a little grit coming back (Saturday), we were down 10 with four minutes to go.”
Actually, the Bulls were down 9 with five minutes left, but it was still an impressive comeback. Jimmy Butler tied the score on a driving bank shot with 32.9 seconds left, then hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 2.1 seconds on the clock to give the Bulls a tense 106-104 victory at the United Center.
Butler finished with 33 points and Rondo added a season-high 25. The victory moved the Bulls (37-39) into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with six games left to play, and snapped a seven-game losing streak to Atlanta.
Now about those near-fights in practice, who exactly is starting those?
“I start them. I’m the instigator,” Rondo said with his usual stone-faced expression. “So no punches were thrown. But we’re competing at a high level now. And we hate to lose.”
And then there was this from Butler:
Jimmy Butler loves being the man who both takes and makes the most important shots late in games. He proved that again Saturday, scoring the final nine points for the Bulls, including two free throws with 2.1 seconds left, to lead them to a 106-104 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The 27-year-old has thrived late in games in recent seasons and isn’t shy about discussing his love for the situation.
“I do,” Butler said. “Why? Because I’m not supposed to be here anyway. I’m supposed to miss shots and I’m supposed to fail. Everybody always picks me to do that, but it’s OK. I like all the so-called pressure. I just want to go out there and show that I belong.”
Butler has done that repeatedly over the past three seasons, three consecutive All-Star campaigns, but particularly since Dwyane Wade fractured his elbow in a March 15 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies and was ruled out for the season. Since that game, Butler is averaging 27.3 points, 8.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds and is shooting 54.4 percent from the field. The Bulls, who sit in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, are 5-3 during that span.
“I always look at it as nobody picked us to be in the playoffs,” Butler said. “Nobody picked us to win anyways. I’m just out there playing basketball. I want to win, I think everybody knows that. I’m just doing what everybody asks of me, so to speak.”
