One thing we didn’t expect to say before Christmas (or Easter, or next Christmas… or next Easter): The Chicago Bulls are playing great basketball.
Well, it’s December 18th, and the Bulls are playing great basketball.
Their abysmal play in October and November was to be expected, but since Nikola Mirotic returned to the lineup on December 8th, the Bulls have strung together five wins in a row.
Mirotic has been something of an enigma throughout his NBA career. He came into the league in the fall of 2014 with some pretty legitimate hype for a team that was hoping to contend. Coming to the NBA from overseas and making an immediate impact on a contender is no small task.
Yet still, relatively speaking? Mirotic was a good rookie. He earned over 20 minutes per game under Tom Thibodeau, a coach notorious for keeping rookies buried on the bench, and he led the NBA in fourth quarter scoring during March of that season when both Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler were sidelined with injuries.
However, the last two seasons have yielded mostly disappointing results.
Mirotic began the 2015-2016 season as the starting power forward under Fred Hoiberg, a move that pushed fan favorite Joakim Noah to the bench. That move barely lasted a month, and he’s been primarily coming off the bench ever since, producing at a mediocre rate offensively while being a defensive liability.
Mirotic entered this season on a new two-year contract with low expectations, certainly no one was worried about him disrupting the teams plans of tanking.
Well, it’s December 18th, Niko is back, and the Bulls are playing great basketball.
"Niko is back"@threekola with 29 points & 9 rebounds tonight! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aVFxa9bzL4
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 14, 2017
After Bobby Portis infamously sidelined Mirotic for the first 23 games of the season with a right hook in practice, the duo has combined to lead the team through the oddest of win streaks.
The Bulls just became the first team in NBA history to follow up a 10-game losing streak or longer with a winning streak of 5 games or more, according to @EliasSports.
— Chris Herring (@Herring_NBA) December 16, 2017
Mirotic is averaging 20 points on 54% shooting in just 26 minutes per game since his return. Portis is averaging 15.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg over the winning streak.
With the Sixers coming to town with a banged up bunch, it appears as if the Bulls win streak has a good chance to continue.
Embiid is out tomorrow. Booker (ankle) out next two games. pic.twitter.com/Xux3wpO5gR
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) December 17, 2017
While this win streak has brought on complicated feelings, it won’t last forever and the Bulls record remains one of the league’s worst at 8-20. The tank is still on.
For tonight, let’s sit back and enjoy what Mirotic & Co. have in store for us.
