So the Chicago Bulls are done for the season. For the first time since 2008, we will not see the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Playoffs.
It’s a sad sight but we saw it coming as the season went along. Before the season started, most of us had the Bulls in the top 4-5 seeds, I expected them to take a dip, but not plummeting out of the Playoffs. I don’t think any of us were expecting that.
The players are just as dumbfounded as us, they feel defeated. It comes to no surprise that some of the Bulls players are mailing it in and will sit out the last two games of the season.
Rose, who admitted he was left “kinda speechless” by the fact that the Bulls did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season, said he would sit out after dealing with myriad injuries throughout the year.
“Pau will not play these last two games,” Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “I’m not sure people realize the full extent of Pau and how he’s been playing through this knee injury. Every game, his knee blows up and you have to get him back, manage the swelling, so we’ll get an MRI on Pau [Tuesday] and see how he’s doing.”
Gibson has been dealing with a rib fracture for the past couple of weeks and has been out since leaving a March 29 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Moore has been out since April 5 as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury that knocked him out of seven games at the end of March.
Rose, Gibson, E’Twaun and Pau won’t suit up.
So that means that we probably have already seen Pau Gasol’s last game as a Bulls player. I don’t think he should leave feeling like he didn’t succeed. He showed that he is still legit. We thought that Pau would fade away because of injuries but he has been amazing for the Bulls. Because of this he will get some great offers from Playoff teams and will still be an integral part of a great team.
For the Bulls, I’ve said it before, bite the bullet and trade Rose and Noah. Build a team around Jimmy Butler, that’s what I would do right now. I know, it’s gut wrenching to imagine DRose not in a Bulls jersey but I think it has to be done.
