Bulls Season Of Continuity Ends Short Of The Playoffs

Good morning Chicago fans! The talent level here is rising 📈

The Sky drafted serious star power with Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese, and Brynna Maxwell. The Blackhawks will have another Top 4 draft pick to add to their elite prospect pool. The Bears have 2 Top 10 draft picks this week. And the Bulls…they competed in a Play-In Tournament 🤷‍♂️ and may run it back with the same team next season…

Anyways, I hope the Chicago synergy could be this good all the time ⬇

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

L - Golden Knights 3, Blackhawks 1

How fitting is a strong Petr Mrazek (34 saves) showing combined with a non-existent offensive attack as the season winds down?

• Golden Knights outshot the Hawks 37-24 and won 40 of 57 faceoffs 😐

• Jason Dickinson scored the lone goal, Seth Jones logged 27:37 of ice time with 3 shots on goal

• Frank Nazar stood out all night long - his skill and speed were evident every time he had the puck

L - Kings 5, Blackhawks 4 (OT)

The Blackhawks delivered an entertaining one to close the season, but the Kings took the W just 6 seconds into overtime.

• Hawks scored 3 goals in 5 minutes in the 3rd period to take a 4-3 lead (Tyler Johnson, Joey Anderson, and Ryan Donato)

• The Kings needed 1 point to jump into 3rd place in the Pacific Division and thoroughly dominated play in this game (SOG 35-13)

Week Record: 0-1-1

Season Record: 23-53-6 (FINAL RECORD)

Star of the Week: Ryan Donato

Donato had 1 goal and 1 assist against the Kings and finished the season strong to get to 30 points on the year (12g/18a).

Play of the Week: Lukas Reichel Goal

News & Notes:

• Kyle Davidson held his end of season press conference

  • They need to improve on the ice next season - time to take tangible steps forward as a team

  • He will add players this offseason and create more training camp battles for roster spots

  • Position will not matter for their upcoming Top 4 draft pick

• 2024 Winter Classic will be on New Year’s Eve - Blackhawks vs. Blues at Wrigley Field

• Connor Bedard will play for Canada in the World Championships

• Ethan Del Mastro was returned to Rockford last Monday, as expected, for the end of the AHL season

• Lukas Reichel was returned to Rockford after the season ended so he can participate in the AHL playoffs

• Mark Lazerus had a great article about the potential roster turnover coming for the Blackhawks this summer. He also shared player reactions regarding the constant moving parts.

• Scott Powers covered the entire scope of the upcoming offseason here.

• Unofficial captain Nick Foligno talked about the need for changes moving forward to become a winning team - “We are a team that needs to make some changes. This isn't good enough; this can't be good enough. This has to change drastically over the summer…We can’t go through this again. And I certainly won’t allow it. Either the mindset changes from the group, or personnel changes.” (via Ben Pope on Twitter).

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

🏀 PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT 🏀

W - Bulls 131, Hawks 116 (Play-In Tournament 9/10 Matchup)

Where was this team all season??? This was a high octane shooting clinic from the Bulls who were locked in from the opening tip and easily took care of the Hawks. Ayo still owns Trae Young!

• Coby White had the game of his life 🔥🔥🔥

  • Career-high (technically not because Play-In stats aren’t officially recorded) 42 points on 15-21 shooting with 9 rebounds and 6 assists

• Ayo Dosunmu (19 points) and Andre Drummond (4p/4r) both played through injuries, Alex Caruso left the game early after Drummond stepped on his foot

• Bulls scored 72 points in the paint, 40 points in the 1st quarter, shot 56.8% from the field, shot 42.3% from 3, and led by as much as 23 points

  • Their ball movement and transition game looked better than I’ve seen all season long

L - Heat 112, Bulls 91 (Play-In Tournament 2nd Game)

Well, the roller-coaster Bulls who love alternating wins and losses showed up in their last do-or-die game of the season. The Jimmy Butler-less Heat controlled this one from start to finish and moved on to face the Celtics in the playoffs.

• The 1st quarter (Heat 34-17) was a complete 180 from the Hawks game (Bulls 40-22).

• Poor shooting performances haunted the Bulls all season, and this one was no different: 35-92 (38.0%) FG, 13-43 (30.2%) 3-PT

Star of the Week: Coby White

Despite a tough 13-point night against the Heat (5-16 shooting), Coby’s 42-point performance against the Hawks was the best part of the Play-In Tournament. Capping off his development this season with a statement game must have been gratifying!

Play of the Week: Ayo Block & DeMar Slam

News & Notes:

• Arturas Karnisovas held his end of season press conference

  • He finally verbalized the need for changes and that a Play-In Tournament appearance is not good enough

  • He fully endorsed Billy Donovan

  • They plan to utilize free agency, the draft, and trades to help improve the roster

  • “Everything is on the table.”

• DeMar DeRozan is a finalist for the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year

• Coby White is a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player

• Onuralp Bitim was diagnosed with a detached retina in his right eye and did not play in the Play-In Tournament

• K.C. Johnson dove into the season-long team stats to see if the Bulls improved in any areas compared to the 2022-2023 season (SPOILER - not much). Read it here.

• Adama Sanogo was named to the G League All-Rookie Team and the All-NBA G League Third Team

TROPHY TRACKER

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Results:

W - Cubs 3, Diamondbacks 2 (F/11)

The Cubs squeaked out a win in extras to start the series in Arizona on Jackie Robinson Day.

• Nico Hoerner scored the game-tying run from 2nd base on a wild pitch in the 9th, and he drove in the winning run in the 11th on an RBI single to right field 💪

• Ben Brown gave up some hard contact but had another great outing: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

• Michael Busch AGAIN - 5th straight game with a HR, tying the franchise record

L - Diamondbacks 12, Cubs 11 (F/10)

What a roller-coaster late night baseball game! The Cubs came back from 4-1 and 8-5 deficits, but the bullpen blew an 11-8 lead late in the game.

• Kyle Hendricks got roughed up yet again (4.1 IP, 7 ER), and the bullpen combined to give up 5 ER the rest of the way, including a blown save from Adbert Alzolay

• Cubs pitchers walked TEN Diamondbacks

• Ian Happ hit a go-ahead grand slam from the right side in the 7th inning and went 3-5 at the plate, Nico Hoerner went 4-5 from the leadoff spot

W - Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 3

Somehow, someway, the Cubs pulled off the series victory to cap off a 5-4 West Coast trip. Despite the injuries, fatigued bullpen, and sloppy play, this team kept winning games!

• Hayden Wesneski pitched 4 shutout innings in relief of Jordan Wicks to get the win with the majority of the bullpen unavailable

  • He had to fly to Arizona overnight after the Iowa Cubs game and was basically pitching on no sleep

• Ketel Marte is a new addition to the Cub Killer club…he went 3-4 with a HR the day after going 4-6 and hitting the game-tying HR in the 9th inning

W - Cubs 8, Marlins 3

Jameson Taillon made his season debut and carried the Cubs to an easy win to start the 7-game homestand.

• Taillon looked great in his return from injury: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 12 whiffs

• A righty-heavy lineup from Craig Counsell produced 7 runs in the first 3 innings - Nico, Belli, Dansby, and Tauchman all had 2 hits on the day

• Ian Happ left the game early with hamstring tightness 🙄

L - Marlins 3, Cubs 2 (Doubleheader Game 1)

Thursday’s rainout turned Saturday into a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, and what looked like a Game 1 win for the Cubs ended in the same old story - a blown save and a sickening loss.

• Adbert Alzolay blew his 4th save in 7 opportunities on the season when he gave up a 2-run HR to Bryan De La Cruz in the top of the 9th

  • Craig Counsell essentially removed Alzolay from the closer role after this game - he will be used in lower leverage situations until he figures things out

• Jesus Luzardo came into the game with a 7.65 ERA and held the Cubs to 2 runs in 6 IP

W - Cubs 5, Marlins 3 (Doubleheader Game 2)

Another strong start from Shōta Imanaga willed the Cubs to a win in the second half of the doubleheader.

• Cubs pitching shined as Ben Brown was used in relief (Imanaga: 6 IP, 2 ER, Brown: 2 IP, 0 ER, Neris (S): 1 IP, 0 ER)

• Cody Bellinger and Alexander Canario hit home runs

• Marlins starter Roddery Munoz had a good outing (5 IP, 2 ER, 7 K) after starting the season in AAA

L - Marlins 6, Cubs 3

The Marlins closed out a series split as Kyle Hendricks got hit hard AGAIN, and BABIP took over in a strange afternoon game at Wrigley.

• Hendricks showed more positives in this game, including striking out the side in the 3rd, but he still gave up 4 ER in only 4 IP

• The Cubs had chances to score early and often but ended the day 3-16 with runners in scoring position.

• A new order at the top of the lineup was used: 1) Nico 2) Belli 3) Morel 4) Busch. I like this approach while Seiya is out. Continue to bat your best hitters higher in the order. BUT if Morel continues to look lost at the plate…Counsell will have to adapt again.

Week Record: 4-3

Season Record: 13-9

Star of the Week: Nico Hoerner

Nico caught FIRE 🔥 as the rest of the offense cooled off.

He raised his season stats from .182 AVG/.555 OPS to .268 AVG/.729 OPS in a single week! Starting with the Nico Hoerner Game to start the Arizona series, he had 4 multi-hit games on the week and looked locked in at the plate.

Play of the Week: Ian Happ Go-Ahead Grand Slam

News & Notes:

• Seiya Suzuki was placed on the 10-day IL last Monday with a right oblique strain

  • OF Alexander Canario was recalled from AAA

  • Suzuki suffered a left oblique strain during Spring Training in 2023 and was out for 6 weeks - Craig Counsell said this injury is expected to sideline him for 4 weeks

• After the two extra-inning games, Luke Little and Daniel Palencia were sent down to AAA, and Hayden Wesneski and Colten Brewer were called up

• Activated Jameson Taillon and Patrick Wisdom from the IL prior to the Marlins series

  •  Hayden Wesneski and Miles Mastrobuoni were optioned to AAA

• Former Cubs pitcher Ken Holtzman passed away at the age of 78

TROPHY TRACKER

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News & Notes:

• Players returned to Halas Hall last Monday for the start of the offseason program

• It’s lengthy, but if you consume ONE piece of content after reading this newsletter, and ONE piece of content about Caleb Williams to get to know the future Bears quarterback before Thursday night…watch his appearance on The Pivot Podcast here.

  • There have been so many rumors and stories about Caleb Williams. I haven’t been 100% sold on the person or the player. And one interview doesn’t change that…results on the field will determine if he’s the right pick for the Bears. But here’s what I loved from this video:

    • He is obsessed with winning.

    • His main goal is to win EIGHT Super Bowls - one better than Tom Brady. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

    • He wants to play in one place for 20 years.

    • He sounds mature. He’s lived on his own since the start of high school, he’s earned a ton of money in college, and he remains focused on his goals and his people.

    • He loves his teammates.

• Brad Biggs and Peter Schrager released mock drafts that BOTH included a Bears’ trade-down from #9 with an eventual OT selection in Round 1

  • These two do not typically make predictions without reliable information, so this could be plausible next week

• Hired Ted Crews, previously with the Chiefs, as their new Special Advisor to the President/CEO and Chief Administrative Officer

  • Multiple NFL reporters gave RAVE reviews of Crews as one of the best people and talents in the league

• Former Bear OL Cody Whitehair signed a 1-year contract with the Raiders

• Draft prospects TE Brock Bowers, DE Chop Robinson, , DE Austin Booker, DB Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and others visited the Bears

• Attended draft prospect DT Johnny Newton’s Pro Day at Illinois

• Former Bears executive Bill Tobin passed away at the age of 83

DeMar DeRozan

🎖 NBA Cares Community Assist Award Winner for March 🎖

DeMar’s mental health initiatives and community work have been well-documented in Windy Conditions. Now the NBA is rightly recognizing him!

I’m more concerned about the Cubs’ offense than their pitching.

The Cubs scored 66 runs in their first 10 games of the season. They were grinding at-bats and drawing walks. Seiya carried over his late success from last year and looked elite. Morel showed extreme plate discipline and crushed every pitch that was in the zone. The lineup looked deeper, more consistent, and had more power than last year (Cubs finished 6th in runs per game in 2023).

In the last 12 games, the Cubs scored 53 runs.

By game: 5/2/2/4/3/3/11/5/8/2/5/3

In those 12 games? The Cubs went 7-5. Without Justin Steele, without Jameson Taillon (until his first start last week), without Julian Merryweather, with a historically bad stretch from Kyle Hendricks, and with a closer losing his job.

The pitching, defense, and overall run prevention should be good this season. The ups and downs have been dramatic to start the season, but they have still won many low-scoring battles.

Cubs hitters look lost lately. Seiya is injured, Dansby is struggling, and Morel has 2 hits since APRIL 9TH. Morel looks shocked every time a pitch down the middle is called a strike as if he’s never tracked a pitch before.

The patient approach that fueled the lineup to start the year is gone. The depth has been exposed due to injuries, and the team is full of streaky hitters.

Hopefully, they flip the switch again, and the offense has a good season. But when the only star hitter is injured and everyone else collectively slumps, easy wins will be extremely hard to get.

Thanks for reading!! Feel free to reply with your feedback.

If you liked this edition, forward this email to family and friends so they can subscribe! If you didn’t, hopefully you’ll like next week’s edition with a FULL Bears Draft rundown. Is everyone ordering their Caleb Williams jerseys??

📰 BONUS NEWS - The windy conditions in Chicago sports is always prevalent, but us fans may have to deal with another headache soon. The Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox appear to be moving their TV rights to Stadium, and a billion questions still need to be answered. Read about it here.