It isn't surprising the Philadelphia 76ers won't be going to the
playoffs thanks to a horrific rebuilding project that led to the
resignation of general manager Sam Hinkie last week.
That the Chicago Bulls are missing out is a much bigger surprise
given the club had made seven straight trips and won 50 games a
year ago before losing a tight series in the Eastern Conference
semifinals.
These teams are disappointing for far different reasons and the
Bulls seek their 10th straight win in this series tonight
at home to close the season.
Philadelphia's wretched three-year run with Hinkie's imprint on the
team will come to a merciful end. He quit last Wednesday after
running an analytics-minded front office and stripping the
organization of all major talent with the idea of bottoming out in
the standings and acquiring lottery picks. A loss Wednesday will
make this season's edition the second-worst team in NBA history to
the 1972-73 Philadelphia club that went 9-73.
While the 76ers (10-71) are badly in need of a new direction, the
road forward for Chicago is less clear. The Bulls (41-40) fired
popular coach Tom Thibodeau and brought in Fred Hoiberg before
2015-16 to guide a squad considered a leading contender in the East
after a six-game loss to Cleveland in last year's playoffs.
Instead a season full of turmoil has ensued that saw star guard
Jimmy Butler criticize Hoiberg in December while injuries to Joakim
Noah and Derrick Rose hampered the club's rotation.
Rose and Pau Gasol opted to sit out the final two games once the
Bulls were eliminated, and that decision caused controversy when
Butler played through a sore knee Monday and had 23 points and 11
assists in a 121-116 victory at New Orleans.
''I don't want anyone to think I'm quitting on my team,'' Butler
said. ''I love this game and I'm fortunate to play every day. I
don't care if we're in the playoffs or out of the playoffs. I don't
like to lose, period. I play to win.''
Butler, who had a career-high 53 points in a 115-111 overtime win
in Philadelphia on Jan. 14 in the last meeting, later clarified
that his comment didn't mean that he thought Rose and Gasol had
quit for the last two games.
Rookie Cristiano Felicio, who has totaled 32 points on 13-of-15
shooting in his last two games, will get major minutes in this
contest. So will Bobby Portis and Justin Holiday, who combined for
27 points Monday.
The word quit is what the 76ers used to describe how Hinkie parted
ways, although the club was clearly headed in a different direction
once Jerry Colangelo was named chairman of basketball operations
Dec. 7. That move came in the wake of an embarrassing stretch for
the organization when star rookie Jahlil Okafor was attached to a
string of off-court incidents that included reckless driving and a
fight in Boston.
Colangelo helped bring in veteran players like retiring center
Elton Brand, who will play his final game Wednesday if he gets into
this contest. Brand, the No. 1 overall pick by the Bulls in 1999,
sat out Tuesday's 122-98 defeat to Toronto
Philadelphia, which has dropped 15 of 16, is 0-11 in road games in
the second half of a back-to-back.
Robert Covington, who grew up outside Chicago, is averaging 24.3
points in his last three games and scored 25 in the last meeting.
Tonight's game can be heard on Newstalk 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at 6:30.
