From playoff talk to a disappointing finish, Bulls season review

Last September’s media day, the talk all through the Advocate Center focused on a return to the postseason for the franchise. With the league about to restart the season by July, the Bulls will be left at home to sit and watch.

They were all in.

From the tippy-top with ownership, to the front office of John Paxson and Gar Forman, the coaching staff, the players, heck, the people that mop up the sweat on the court during timeouts.

A whole lot of chest-pounding along with some good old fashioned drinking of the Kool-Aid.

The Bulls were a playoff team last September.

Just ask them.

“First and foremost, we want to compete at a high, high level,’’ Paxson said on that first day of training camp. “We think we can compete. And when you compete at a high level, you have an ability to be a playoff-caliber team. And we set that as a goal.

“[Coach] Jim [Boylen] talks about it, he’s not afraid of it, and our guys through their work have shown us that they want to make that commitment, so we feel good about that.’’

Boylen sure did.

“Our goals for the season are to make the playoffs,’’ Boylen said, doubling down on Paxson’s message. “And every day to prepare like we’re a playoff team. Every day to work like we’re a playoff-bound team. I’m excited for that. I think that’s the only way to do it. There’s no way that we were going to stand up here and say, ‘Hey, I hope we can win 10 more games or we hope we can be better.’ We want to get to the mountain top.’’

They never even made it out of the valley.

And now if the ESPN reports hold true and the NBA owners vote to restart the season by the end of July with a 22-team format, guess who is staying home for the dance?

No suit, no date, no ticket.

By finishing 22-43, the Bulls had the seventh-worst record in the league, and the fifth-worst record in the Eastern Conference.

That means by next Thursday, the 2019-20 season could officially be over for them. So one last disappointing look back:

Player of the Year: Zach LaVine averaged a team-best 25.5 points per game, was second in assists with 4.2, and shot 38 percent from three-point range, averaging a career best 8.1 threes per game. Yeah, he even played some better defense than in year’s past.

The good news for the Bulls is several NBA scouts still feel there’s room for LaVine to improve and become a perennial All-Star.

On a playoff team, LaVine is the perfect Robin. On a championship team, he’s that third option – or Flash. But the Bulls need him to be Batman for now, and with the roster all but locked through next season, he’ll have to make that jump sooner than later.

Reserve of the Year: In the last game of the regular season the Bulls played before the coronavirus shutdown, rookie Coby White had finally earned the start. But before that he was instant offense off the bench, averaging 13.2 points per game, including a three-game stretch in which he scored 30-plus in each.

Disappointment of the Year: Along with LaVine, Lauri Markkanen was labeled the foundation pillar for the rebuild when the year started. Only one of the pillars held up, however. Markkanen struggled with his role, struggled making shots, and then struggled staying healthy. Huge offseason for the 7-footer with a whole new-look front office to turn his energy around.

Biggest Move of the Year: The hiring of Arturas Karnisovas to now run all things basketball operations was obviously an organizational shifter. But the first domino to fall and the real move of the year? Paxson going to the Reinsdorfs in December and letting them know that it was time for a change in the front office, starting with his own chair. One last clutch play by “Johnny Big Shot.’’