This has been a rough NBA season for the Chicago Bulls, and their struggles continued on Friday when they lost 121-108 to the Toronto Raptors, another team that has been navigating choppy and uncertain waters.
The contest was the Bulls’ third loss in their three in-season tournament group play games so far this season. But what seemed to hurt even more, at least in their minds, was a play that took place near the end of the contest.
With the outcome clearly settled, Raptors star Pascal Siakam took a 3-pointer, and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan took exception to it.
“I don’t care about no In-Season Tournament points, none of that. Just respect for the game,” DeRozan said. “If the roles was flip-flopped and I had the ball, hold it. It is what it is.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls, Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors Updates
When it comes to jockeying for top seeding in the next round of the in-season tournament after group play, which is known as the knockout round, point differential is a key tiebreaker when two teams are tied with the same record in group play. As a result, teams have been “running up the score” at the end of games instead of dribbling out the clock in the name of political correctness.
Toronto had already been eliminated from knockout round contention prior to its game against the Bulls. But perhaps Siakam wasn’t aware of that fact when he chucked up his trey at the end of the contest.
The loss dropped the Bulls to a 5-12 record, and rumors continue to swirl that they will soon liquidate their roster and look to start over again. While many of those rumors have concerned two-time All-Star Zach LaVine, DeRozan is another player who could be moved ahead of February’s trade deadline.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls, Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors Updates
He arrived in Chicago prior to the 2021-22 season, and it was thought that he would help make the team into a contender. During the first half of the campaign, it looked like it was on its way to being such a team, but injuries have rendered it mediocre or worse ever since.
Meanwhile, Siakam has seen his name come up in trade rumors himself. He will be a free agent at the end of this season, and he hasn’t been able to agree with Raptors management on a contract extension.
