The Chicago Bulls did not have a particularly great Friday night. The team trailed by 28 points at halftime against the Charlotte Hornets, and while that margin wasn’t quite as bad when the clock hit zero, they still lost convincingly, 133-117. It marked the fourth game in a row and the seventh in 10 games where Chicago lost, and since the All-Star break, the team has a paltry 7-15 record.
For a team that looked like a threat to make some noise in the Eastern Conference this postseason, the Bulls suddenly seem like a team that would be lucky to get out of the first round. Their fans expressed frustration with this at halftime against the Hornets, showering the team with boos, and during his postgame media availability, Zach LaVine made clear that he thinks the fans should absolutely make their voices heard.
Zach LaVine: “We’re a really good basketball team and we’re not playing like it. (Fans) know that. We know that. It’s understandable. We understand they have our back. But we have to play better.”
The Bulls are 7-15 since the All-Star break. pic.twitter.com/8Dejid33gi
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) April 9, 2022
“They should,” LaVine said of the boos. “It’s embarrassing. We’re a really good basketball team, and we’re not playing like it. They know that. We know that. It’s understandable. We understand that they have our back, but we got to play better.”
LaVine went on to say the team is “upset” and characterized the team’s recent run of form as “we’re getting our ass kicked” before venting about how things are going.
“They just jumped on us,” LaVine said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “We singing the same story, and I always try to be very uplifting and try to see the bright side, but I’m tired of talking. We say a lot of words and we say the right thing, but we got to figure it out. We’re not doing that, plain and simple.”
The Bulls are locked into the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and will get whichever of the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, or Philadelphia 76ers finish the regular season in third.