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The Chicago Bulls went down 126-111 to the LA Clippers at the United Center on Thursday, prompting former NBA star Charles Barkley to share his two cents on the Bulls' prospects if they played in the March Madness. Safe to say, it's not what Windy City fans would want to hear, as the TNT analyst roasted the side saying the Bulls were in no position even to win the marquee college tournament.
The Clippers, led by Paul George and Kawhi Leonard's 28 and 27 points respectively decimated Chicago. The LA bench edged out the Bulls role players 36-35 while the starters had a better evening than the hosts.
Speaking on TNT, Barkley kept it real when he said the Bulls couldn't win March Madness when they struggled to contain the Clippers' offense:
"The Bulls couldn’t win March Madness."
On the game front, DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Chicago sorely missed the services of Coby White, who missed out with hip soreness. The good news for the hosts was that the guard's injury is not deemed to be serious.
Can the Chicago Bulls make the playoffs?
The Chicago Bulls find themselves in a similar place they were last season. The team staked a claim for the eighth seed in the playoffs, by beating the Toronto Raptors in the first game of the Play-In. However, they eventually went down to the Miami Heat.
The ongoing season has seen them play catch-up to the .500 mark with every passing game, and despite their superstars in rich form, Chicago has faltered in closing out winnable games.
DeMar DeRozan has been their savior for a major part of the season, while White and Ayo Dosunmu have been vital cogs in the team's postseason push. Vucevic and Alex Caruso have played their parts, but the overall effort hasn't been enough for the Bulls to finish at a higher seed so far.
The Bulls (32-25) are three games below the .500 mark, but just as many wins ahead of the Atlanta Hawks. It has helped their case that the latter have lost two games in a row and are placed 10th. The Bulls will aim to catch up to the Heat (incidentally three wins above Chicago). At best, they are a Play-In Tournament side for now.
