There are a handful of losses that can be attributed to the schedule in every season.
Whether it’s the second game of a back-to-back on the road or three games in four nights, the NBA deals bad hands to every team during the course of filling out an 82-game schedule.
Monday, however, wasn’t that for the Bulls. No, that was a flat-out ‘‘butt-kicking,’’ as veteran forward DeMar DeRozan called the 127-92 loss to the Mavericks.
The Mavericks came to town and reminded the Bulls just what mediocrity looks like when it collides with a focused team from the Western Conference trying to make noise beyond the play-in tournament.
It was also another reminder for Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley just how poor a decision it was for them to stay the course with the roster they had at the trade deadline Feb. 8.
The Bulls (31-34) have 17 games left and have the second-easiest remaining schedule in the league. A quick glance at it shows they should win 10 of those games, which would give them a .500 finish — a game better than last season.
That passes for progress with this front office.
Barring a complete meltdown from the Heat, Pacers or 76ers, however, the Bulls still will finish ninth in the Eastern Conference. That probably will mean hosting the No. 10 Hawks in a first-round play-in game, then looking to pull a road upset against the loser of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 game.
That’s very doable. It’s not as though the Bulls haven’t had some good victories this season, including against the Bucks, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Kings and Warriors. So a must-win game against the Pacers or Heat isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
And then what? A likely sweep at the hands of the No. 1 Celtics and a season-ending news conference about ‘‘competitiveness’’ and how this season was somehow better than last, despite all of the injuries?
That’s not what was sold back in 2020.
Go back to when Karnisovas and Eversley were hired. Both gushed about watching ‘‘The Last Dance’’ and about how it motivated them to want to restore the Bulls to the dynasty days.
‘‘Everything starts and ends with winning,’’ Eversley said in his first news conference. ‘‘We need to focus our culture and mindset to be about excellence day in and day out. I’m so excited to start this chapter. For Bulls fans, hear me when I say it: Our ultimate goal is to bring an NBA championship back to the city of Chicago.’’
People heard him. The problem is, the Bulls aren’t even close to being a title contender four years later.
And the worst part about all of this is there’s not a lot of maneuverability for them to improve.
Even though guard Zach LaVine said last week in Los Angeles that he was ahead of schedule in his rehab from season-ending foot surgery, that still might not move the trade needle on him this summer.
LaVine not only would have to pass a physical from an interested team, but the Bulls would have to be OK with the idea of giving LaVine away for nothing but a bad expiring contract. They will try to do just that, but don’t hold your breath.
Instead, expect a spirited negotiation with DeRozan about an extension, then running all this back with the prayer of guard Lonzo Ball being available in some capacity.
But bringing ‘‘an NBA championship back to the city of Chicago’’? Not even close.
The game Monday was only the latest reminder of that.
