Play-In Tournament woes continue to haunt Bulls: ‘We've got to be better'

New York Times

17-04-2025

CHICAGO — Wednesday was exactly why Chicago Bulls fans dreaded another pursuit of the Play-In Tournament.
The odds were always too long, and the uphill climb to postseason success was much too steep.
The Bulls were defiant all season, determined to respect the integrity of the game rather than dismantle their roster in hopes of increasing their NBA Draft Lottery odds. But the result was a third straight year of failing to make it out of the Play-In round.
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And for the third straight year, the Bulls' season ended at the hands of the Miami Heat, this time a 109-90 home embarrassment in which the Bulls trailed by as many as 25 and were booed off the United Center floor at halftime and at the end of the game.
'The disappointing part was that we didn't play to our identity,' Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
The Bulls finished with a 39-43 record after winning 15 of their final 20 regular-season games. Despite establishing themselves as a fast-paced team capable of applying offensive pressure on anyone, their point total Wednesday was the lowest of the season. Chicago's starting backcourt of Coby White and Josh Giddey took turns dazzling crowds during the second half of the season, and they combined to score 42 points on 14-of-41 shooting on Wednesday. But they were responsible for 10 of the Bulls' 18 turnovers, which led to 26 Heat points.
Giddey's defensive struggles emerged at the worst time, immediately allowing a relentless attack by the Heat to find an early rhythm. In the opening four and a half minutes, Giddey gave up three drives, including consecutive back cuts to Heat swingman Andrew Wiggins for buckets at the rim. On the Heat's second possession, Giddey got switched onto Miami star guard Tyler Herro, who beat Giddey on a blow-by.
Miami made five of its first six shots, and all five makes came from inside the paint.
'We could not control the ball at all,' Donovan said. 'I don't think it was necessarily Coby or Josh. It was everybody. We had a really hard time maintaining the ball in the coverage and in the pick-and-rolls.'
Maybe things would have ended differently if the Bulls finished the season healthy. Maybe they would have advanced to face the Atlanta Hawks for a chance at the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed. But Chicago lost critical players Lonzo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu and Tre Jones to season-ending injuries. All three would have provided the Bulls with more resistance Wednesday.
Instead, the Bulls had no answers for Herro, who scored a game-high 38 points on 13-of-19 shooting.
Tell us how you really feel, @raf_tyler 🙌 https://t.co/fj5dTsp3fL pic.twitter.com/oePrbIP3tJ
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 17, 2025
'We beat these guys three times this year,' Giddey said. 'We probably had that at the front of our minds. We're just, like, 'We beat them already. We know what to do.' And we just didn't.
'They punched us first. We didn't respond the way we had to. … We obviously knew what was at stake, a win-or-go-home game. We just didn't come out with the right mentality — and that's what happens. You lose, and your season's over, just like that. It's a sour way to end it. We thought we were much better than the way we played.'
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White, who was the team's leading scorer this season, sat at his locker with bloodshot-red eyes after the game. He slouched in his chair as he fielded questions, rubbing his hand against his face several times in frustration. White, Nikola Vučević, Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry are the only active Bulls players who have experienced all three Play-In losses to the Heat.
'We've got to be better. We've got to learn from it,' White said. 'We've got to go into the summer knowing that we can't keep putting ourselves in this position.'
The Bulls now project to have a late-lottery selection in the June draft. Bulls management recouped their own first-round pick this year from the San Antonio Spurs in the three-team trade that sent Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings and De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs. The pick originally was traded to the Spurs as part of the DeMar DeRozan acquisition.
The biggest difference for the Bulls as they head into the offseason is the young nucleus they have assembled. Giddey, who arrived from Oklahoma City in last summer's Alex Caruso trade, proved throughout the season that he can be an all-around performer. He averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists over his final 25 contests, showing growth at both ends after taking on more responsibility following LaVine's trade. The Bulls have made clear their intention to re-sign the 22-year-old point guard this summer.
'It's a new situation,' Giddey said. 'I never wanted to come in and step on any toes, so I tried my best to fit in how I could. I think when the deadline happened, my role opened up a little bit more, so I was able to play freely. It wasn't just me; it was us as a group. We started getting it rolling after the All-Star break, we found ways to win games, and we stuck with that formula. I thought us as a whole did a great job in the back half of the year.'
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Chicago also can move forward with confidence in White, Dosunmu, Ball and promising rookie Matas Buzelis. Vučević, Williams, Zach Collins and Jalen Smith are rotational players who could return or be included in potential trades.
'In terms of the way we finished the year, I'm proud of this group,' Giddey said. 'I think there's a lot of good things to build on going forward.'
(Top photo of Josh Giddey and Bam Adebayo: David Banks / Imagn Images)