Another extended losing streak could be on the horizon for the Chicago Bulls.

While they have gone 2-1 over their last three games, one of those victories came against a reeling 76ers organization while the other came against the tanking Raptors. The next week-plus is going to look a lot different. Things will start in Indianapolis against a 33-25 Pacers squad that still has a chance to surpass the Bucks for the No. 4 seed. After that will come battles against the No. 1 seeded Cavs and the Magic’s No. 2 ranked defense.

The easiest game of the week will be a trip to Miami, but this is still a group that sits 5.0 games better than Chicago. And, even if they manage to pull that one off, the Pacers will be waiting for them again two nights later at the United Center. I’m not sure anyone will be surprised if this turns into a five-game skid. At the same time, I’m not sure anyone will be surprised if that also changes nothing about the Bulls’ Play-In Tournament fate.

Despite losing eight of their eleven games since February 2, the Bulls haven’t budged in the East standings. Crazy.

• The Pacers have proven to be a bad matchup for the Bulls this season. After losing to them by 9 points in December, the Bulls were run off the floor in their January meeting to the tune of a 129-113 defeat. The blowout loss came despite 31 points from Zach LaVine and an overall 51.2 perfect shooting effort from the team. Indiana’s well-rounded offense created just about any shot they wanted against Chicago, dishing a ridiculous 37 assists (a season-high in regulation) on their 52 made field goals.
• Second-chance points also made a significant difference in that second meeting, which sure came as a surprise considering the Pacers rank dead last in that department on a per-game basis. Nevertheless, we all know the Bulls are extremely undersized, especially with players like Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic stuck in street clothes. Whether it be Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Obi Toppin, or Thomas Bryant, this roster has the kind of length that can give the Bulls fits on the glass again this afternoon. They will need Josh Giddey to remain engaged, as well as Zach Collins to continue his physical play in the post. A better night from Jalen Smith against his former team would also be a welcomed sight, as the big man looked rusty against the Raptors after his three-game absence.
• Regardless, this game is likely going to come down to who strings together more stops. Both teams rank Top 7 in fastbreak points per game and Top 6 in overall PACE. They are each extremely unselfish and rank second and third in total passes made per game. If Chicago wants a surprising win, their defense is going to have to play on a string and communicate well. This is particularly true when we factor in how much pick-and-roll the Pacers are going to play. They average the fifth-most points a night from a PnR ball-handler and the second-most points per game from the roll man. This is where Zach Collins, in particular, can make the biggest difference. A lot more agile than Vucevic, he can stay higher up on the screen to put more pressure on the ball-handler.
• Tyrese Haliburton vs. Lonzo Ball should be fun. When Ball isn’t on the floor, however, I worry about the Bulls’ ability to keep the savvy playmaker in check. No Ayo Dosunmu severely limits the Bulls’ defensive options in the backcourt.
• Speaking of which, Chicago’s medical staff never fails to disappoint. After three games on the sideline with a shoulder injury, Dosunmu got the green light to return to action against Toronto. He proceeded to heavily favor his right arm and noticeably grimace whenever cameras caught him on the bench. Fast forward to this morning, and the organization has now announced he will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season. I’m not a doctor, but this feels like it was an ill-advised decision no matter how you look at it. Either they didn’t catch an issue that required surgery beforehand and allowed him to potentially make it worse OR Dosunmu didn’t need surgery before that game and their decision to let him play made the issue that much worse. Just an all-around head-scratching decision.
• Arturas Karnisovas joined Stacey King on the Gimme Hot Sauce Podcast. I haven’t had the time this weekend to sit down and really pay attention to the full interview, so I expect to do that soon. Nevertheless, the few clips I have seen haven’t eased any of my concerns. For example, Karnisovas is already gushing about Josh Giddey’s recent stretch. As good as it has been, we’re talking about a four-game sample size during a pretty meaningless time of the year. The last thing the front office leader should do is put too much stock into this end-of-year run ahead of contract negotiations. His job is to look at the full picture and do what he can to get the best deal possible. Especially one offseason after handing Patrick Williams a five-year, $90.0 million deal, Karnisovas has to be extremely careful with how he handles Giddey’s restricted free agency. Don’t get drunk off one beer, AK!
• Chicago Sports Network’s K.C. Johnson also recently shared an exclusive interview. The Bulls Insider sat down with Matas Buzelis to talk about his rookie season, and I highly recommend you give that a watch here. While the first-year forward doesn’t share anything ground-breaking, I loved to hear him talk about the importance of being a two-way player. Likewise, it sounds like he’s tried to take a lot from his recent experiencing guards superstars like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George:

“I just want to prove everybody wrong,” Buzelis said of his defense. “It’s honestly been very difficult because I think the offense has been taken away a bit because the defense I’m so focused, so it’s very tiring and we’re playing at such a fast pace … I think I’ve learned this week more than I’ve ever learned in my life about playing basketball.”

• The Bulls may stink … but they still gave us some fun highlights last month:

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