Crash and Burn

With their 113-103 drubbing at the hands of the now five-win Nets last night, the Bulls have lost five in a row—to the dregs of the NBA, no less, to which their name will soon be added—and eight out of their last twelve after getting off to a 5-0 start. Oh, my. There’s nothing to see here, unless your tastes run to six turnovers from Nikola Vucevic or having your shot blocked eight times by the opposition while returning the favor just once. Yes, these Bulls have a lot of injuries right now, but nobody given a chance to start or log significant minutes is seizing the chance to make a statement. I mean a positive statement. On top of everything, first-round draft pick Noa Essengue is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Bad luck? Maybe, but what do you expect to happen when an 18-year old generously listed at 200 pounds is plucked out of European club-play and deposited in the NBA G League? Gosh, you don’t think a lot of guys frustrated over their exile from the NBA took out on the kid, do you? This is all another feather in the cap of Arturas Karnisovas, the NBA exec who apparently can’t be fired.