Beat writer Julia Poe talks Bulls' chances on the road in Play-In Tournament
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Bulls regular season is over and done with, and the team is still alive.
But to get into the playoffs, they'll have to win two Play-In Tournament games, both on the road, beginning with a win-or-go-home game at the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
CBS 2 Sports Director Marshall Harris spoke with Chicago Tribune Bulls beat writer Julia Poe on what could be the difference against Toronto.
Poe: "It's a clear step back for this team. Most of the issues that we saw throughout this season, they weren't new. They were problems that going into last offseason, this team knew that they had. They knew that the three-point shooting was an issue. They knew that point guard was a questionable position, but just not a lot of changes were made in the offseason. So this kind of felt like a repetition of a lot of those errors. And you know, there were areas where they made improvements, but a lot of the steps back were not new problems. It was very, very familiar.
Harris: "Very Paula Abdul-like, two steps forward, two steps back. They're in the Play-In Tournament. They will face the Raptors Wednesday in Toronto. If they win that game, then they'll face the loser of the Hawks/Heat Play-In game. The 10-seed has no wins in this tournament. It's only been two years. They're 0-4 thus far. Any reason to think this will be any different?"
Poe: "I do think that the storyline of this game is DeMar DeRozan going back to Toronto, having a big, single-elimination game in a place that he's so familiar with. I definitely could see DeMar coming in having that spark, having, not a chip on his shoulder, but a lot to play for in a very familiar environment and that being enough to push them through that Toronto game. I think from there is where this tournament gets very difficult for the 10-seeds because that initial game is already hard enough, but then you have to turn around so fast to that Friday game to keep it going against a new team."
Harris: "Yeah that could be very difficult. With that being in mind, we know DeMar is probably going to do his thing, or try to do his thing to the best of his ability. Who else needs to step up on this Bulls team for them to have a chance to win not one, but two Play-In games?"
Poe: "Yeah, I think the obvious answer here is Zach Lavine and the good news for the Bulls is that we have seen that. Zach has been getting better and better week over week throughout this entire season. He's really kind of been peaking at the right time in terms of looking the way that you would want him to on both sides of the ball, but especially on the offensive end. In these moments, if you're going to have a max player on your roster, he needs to be doing max player things and that means showing up in this moment."
Harris: "Certainly he's looked like a max player since the All-Star break, and maybe even a little bit before then. He's healthy, looking good. Two good knees have been very good for Zach Lavine. My question is this: we know that this team isn't taking steps forward, so now, it's what steps should they take when the offseason gets here? Whether that's in the Play-In Tournament or in the playoffs. What could or should this team be doing this offseason to turn things around?"
Poe: "I think the number one priority has to be: you need a starting point guard. It cannot be a young player that you are trying to move into a point guard position. You can't be putting Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, those guys, into those positions. They need an actual point guard and whatever it takes to move this roster around to make sure that you have a starting point guard on the first day of the season. That's what you have to do. Obviously, you hope that Lonzo Ball is going to be able to make a full return at some point, but we know that's not going to be the first day of training camp or the first day of the season. So that's what you have to go at. You have to go out and get that if this team is going to be organized next year."
Harris: "I think most people like myself are looking at it like, I don't expect Lonzo Ball to play another game in a Bulls uniform. If he does, great."
Poe: "Of course."
Harris: "But in the meantime, something needs to happen. The other things people are looking at: you didn't trade Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline. Will he be back in Chicago next season?"
Poe: "Vooch has made it clear that he would like to come back. That's at least what he was signaling around the All-Star break and kind of some of the weeks after that. I think the question is just fit. It took a really long time for him to figure out how to make this fit work here in Chicago and it definitely is better. It's definitely working better, but he's not putting up anywhere close to the numbers. He's having to be more of a role player. I think that's the big question, is whether they actually think that this fit every worked the way they wanted to and even if it did, is that the most ideal situation for him to be in this offseason? He's going to have a lot of things to look at there."
Harris: "Listen, I know you cover the Bulls, but I'm not gonna say you gotta find a way to shoehorn the Bulls into this next question I'm about to ask you. The NBA playoffs, they start Saturday and Sunday for everyone. My question is this: who do you like to go to the Finals? And who do you like to win it all based on what you've seen?"
Poe: "Yeah, there's so much fun matchups that could come out of this. I think it's a really, really exciting postseason. Honestly, I've been looking forward to it throughout the last few weeks. I really do think that this Suns team, everyone's really looking to see what they're going to do in the playoffs. They have been just figuring each other out since the All-Star break. So I think that's going to be a really interesting look out of the West. The East is really though where I think you're going to have some heavy-hitter matchups coming into the actual Finals. I still think that the Bucks, as long as they're able to stay healthy, they've had some concerns with Middleton, et cetera. I think you have to take a long look at that, but I still think that that Bucks team, when they're clicking, when Giannis is at the top of his game, I don't really know how you're able to withstand just the level of pressure that they can put over the totality of a series."