NBA power rankings roundup: Where do the experts rank the Chicago Bulls this week?
Zach LaVine is still untradeable. Nikola Vucevic is still, reportedly, mostly untradeable, although that may have more to do with the Chicago Bulls themselves than teams across the league.
Lonzo Ball is still on the block and still finding ways to help the team win games, even when he isn’t scoring. Matas Buzelis put his name on the rookie radar.
The Bulls simply couldn’t be any more Bulls-ier right now – Chicago has posted a .500 record in its last 10 games and has risen to 9th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Where does that put them in league-wide power rankings?
NBA power rankings roundup: Chicago Bulls
NBA.com: No. 22
John Schumann has held firm on the Bulls this season, keeping them in the 21-24 range for most of the year. This week is no different.
Chicago actually dropped one spot from No. 21 last week, and the team’s putrid defense refuses to let them out of the bottom third. The Bulls are still finding relative success offensively, but they’re 26th in defensive rating and 19th with a net rating of -3.
Schumann points out Chicago’s ugly win against the Charlotte Hornets (which was ugly for both teams) and last night’s win over the Toronto Raptors gave the Bulls just two wins out of four games against teams in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference.
Ball gets a shoutout for his non-scoring contributions, but then the cold water hits again: The Bulls have consecutive games against the Boston Celtics coming on Dec. 19 and 21 and then two games against the Milwaukee Bucks sandwiched around a road game against the Atlanta Hawks.
That could very easily be an 0-5 stretch for the Bulls.
The Athletic: No. 21
Law Murray of The Athletic has Chicago jumping from 24 to 21 this week with those aforementioned wins against the Hornets and Raptors, but he immediately pivots to what we’re all thinking.
Who can the Bulls trade and when, assuming they’re even able to? Murray’s focus is on Vucevic:
“Offensively, Vučević is having a tremendous season, as he has made career highs from the field (58.7 percent) and from 3 (47.5 percent). Vučević remains a strong rebounder and one of the better passing centers in the game. His age (34), poor defense and contract (2026 free agent) may keep him in Chicago past the deadline.”
The last sentence isn’t one Bulls fans want to read.
HoopsHype: No. 21
Finally come Mike Shearer’s rankings at HoopsHype, which take a similar stance as Murray. He has the Bulls at No. 21 and dives into trade speculation, but his focus is on LaVine:
“The oft-injured Bulls wing has decisively answered questions about his health to this point, as he’s averaging nearly 22 points per game on silly 50/43/80 percent shooting splits.”
The 29-year-old has rebuilt his value on the court. Unfortunately, it’s his bank account that will likely keep him in Chicago past this year’s trade deadline.
Bulls upcoming schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 19: At Boston Celtics
Saturday, Dec. 21: Vs. Boston Celtics
Monday, Dec. 23: Vs. Milwaukee Bucks
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