The Chicago Bulls didn’t lose Sunday. After dropping 11 straight games in February, that alone felt like an accomplishment.  The 120–97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks stopped a slide that hadn’t stretched that long since February 2001 and had crept within five games of the worst streak in franchise history. There was relief in the building. You could feel it in the way the fourth quarter drifted instead of tightened. The problem is the Bulls are still straddling two standings a

As his teammates filed out of the United Center Tuesday night, Matas Buzelis sat at his locker sorting through a 32-point performance and a 32-point loss at the same time. The box score screamed progress. The scoreboard said otherwise. “The shots fell in, but we lost the game so it means nothing,” he said quietly. “We gotta figure out how to win games.” His inclination to put the team first is endearing. It’s also why the next phase of his development may require something sl

The Association has never been subtle about what it rewards. When a draft offers players capable of bending a franchise’s arc, the league’s worst teams don’t stumble into position — they manage their way there.  Availability becomes flexible. Timelines stretch. Fourth quarters are optional. Competitive integrity becomes a talking point precisely because it’s no longer the  point. Flattened lottery odds were meant to discourage excess. Instead, they’ve refined it. Losing is no