Based on their recent performances, it is unclear if the Sixers or Chicago Bulls actually want to earn the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference and secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament. But two teams which have looked completely inept for weeks remain neck and neck in the standings, with Chicago currently leading the Sixers by 1.5 games (with the Brooklyn Nets in between them after Saturday's disastrous Sixers loss).
Now, resistible force meets movable object as the Sixers and Bulls face off at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night. Here to get us up to speed on a new-look Chicago team is Steph Noh, who covers the NBA for The Sporting News and is an absolute must-read on all things Bulls. Let's talk to Steph:
Adam Aaronson: The Sixers, for now, appear intent on pushing for a Play-In Tournament spot. The Bulls are their current competition for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference despite not being the most talented team out there. After trading Zach LaVine earlier this month, how important do you believe a Play-In spot is to the Bulls as an organization?
Steph Noh: After the deadline, Bulls beat reporters tried to get lead exec Artūras Karnišovas to at least acknowledge the existence of goalposts. Instead, he said that if the team makes the Play-In, then that's a success. If they fall in the standings, that’s also a success.
This is the way of the Eastern Conference Play-In race that Bulls fans have become accustomed to. Welcome, Philadelphia! Trae Young has prepared a charcuterie plate in the back.
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AA: Speaking of the LaVine trade, what did you make of the return Chicago netted for the dynamic scorer, who went to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal which sent De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs?
SN: I hated the return. The Bulls got their own protected pick back from the Spurs that they probably would have kept anyway if they rebuild the right way over the next few years.
In addition, Zach Collins is on an awful contract, as is Kevin Huerter. Tre Jones is a nice point guard, but he's a free agent this summer and the Bulls have nine guards on their team. It sounds like there wasn't much out there for LaVine, so this was the best they could do. I would have waited until the summer.
Getting that pick back also makes me very nervous that the Bulls are going to take shortcuts in their rebuild again, going for the Play-In next year too.
AA: Many Sixers fans clamoring for the team to acquire Alex Caruso last summer were heartbroken when the Bulls traded the defensive ace to the Oklahoma City Thunder for young guard Josh Giddey. What have you made of Giddey's first season in Chicago as he gets set to become a restricted free agent?
SN: Giddey has been the same guy in Chicago that he was in Oklahoma City. He can fill up the box score, and he's a good passer and rebounder. He has helped get the Bulls out in transition.
He's been one of the worst players in the league in terms of raw plus-minus though. He grades out a little better, around the 300th-best player, in adjusted plus-minus stats like EPM, DARKO and LEBRON.
Giddey is still a very shaky three-point shooter and a poor defender. Defenders (oftentimes centers) will sag way off him, clogging the paint for teammates. That makes him tough to play in playoff settings, when opponents game-plan more to expose his weaknesses.
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More Sixers-Bulls information
• Date/Time: Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m. EST
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
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