It was a week that perfectly summed up the Bulls’ season.
They stumbled through one of their more embarrassing losses against the 14-victory Wizards at home March 25; blew out the playoff-bound Pacers by 26 points at home last Wednesday; lost to another dead team walking in the Nets on the road Friday; then appeared to grab the momentum back by defeating the Western Conference power Timberwolves on the road Sunday.
So how did the week end? In painful fashion, thanks to a one-sided home loss to the Hawks, who are right on their heels in the Eastern Conference play-in standings.
Still, despite the untimely loss with six games left in the regular season, the Bulls (36-40) backed their way into clinching a play-in spot, thanks to a loss by the Nets.
‘‘For us, we’ve shown we can beat anybody and also we’re able to lose to everybody, too,’’ guard Zach LaVine said a little more than a year ago.
That statement still holds true.
But before a plot is chosen and the hole is dug on these Bulls, writing them off isn’t that simple.
Three positives to bank on
1. Clutch time: Even though the loss to the Hawks was one-sided, the Bulls have played in a ridiculous number of clutch games this season — 41, to be exact — and are among the league leaders with 25 victories in such games. (Clutch games are defined as those in which the score is within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime.)
If the Bulls get the Hawks in the first round of the play-in tournament — a very strong possibility — the Hawks won’t want to get into a close game.
‘‘That says a lot about our character, our will to keep going, not to quit, to bounce back when things aren’t going our way,’’ Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan said of his team’s makeup. ‘‘That’s a lot of character.’’
2. Schedule: The Bulls have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule, including revenge opportunities against the Wizards and a 13-victory Pistons team that has beaten them twice. It’s a little rougher for the Hawks, who still must play the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Mavericks and have the 14th-toughest schedule left.
Despite the Hawks’ victory Monday, they have a 15-22 road record, and the play-in game likely will be at the United Center.
3. ‘‘DeBo’’: DeRozan goes by the nickname ‘‘DeBo,’’ and the Hawks should just call him ‘‘Daddy.’’ They have no answer for DeRozan and haven’t for quite some time. DeRozan averaged 27 points against the Hawks last season and more than 28 in three games against them this season.
Three negatives to be concerned about
1. ‘‘Thibs’’: While two of their games are easy — not that anything is easy for this team — the Bulls also face former coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks three times in the last 10 days of the season.
Thibodeau has haunted the Bulls since they fired him in 2015, with a 12-5 record against them as the coach of the Timberwolves and Knicks.
2. Long-range issues: The Bulls’ defense has slipped since a hot December and January, but a seasonlong issue has been the number of three-pointers they allow. Opposing teams are shooting 11.2 corner threes per game (second-most) and hitting 42% (second-highest). The Hawks showed Monday they can get hot from outside, going 19-for-40 from three-point range.
3. Tired legs: Forward Torrey Craig still is dealing with a sore knee. Guard Alex Caruso has been banged up since training camp. DeRozan leads the league in minutes played, and guard Coby White is third in that category.
The Bulls are crawling to the finish line. Can they find another gear for the play-in tournament?
