Billy Donovan seems to find silver lining in Bulls season

The Chicago Bulls finished a second consecutive season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, qualifying them for the play-in tournament. Chicago will host the No. 10 seed Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in the first of two play-in games needed to make the playoffs. While it’s been an underwhelming year by most metrics, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan sees a silver lining. 

“I really appreciate what those guys have done because of what we’ve had to endure and what we’ve had to overcome,” Donovan said, via Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “It’s not where we certainly want to be, but I will say this — it could’ve been a lot worse. And it speaks to the character of those guys in the locker room.”

Donovan’s Bulls finished with a record of 39-43, closing out the regular season with a 120-119 overtime loss to the New York Knicks. Taking anything positive from this season is a feat of its own for this franchise. 

After starting the year off losing 14 of its first 20 games, just making the play-in feels like an accomplishment. However, no one expects much from Chicago, which has been the case for years. This is Donovan’s fourth season in Chicago and his team has made one playoff appearance with this one yet to be determined. 

With players like Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams missing most of the season due to injury, the Bulls never really found their footing. Then there’s Lonzo Ball, who hasn’t played in two years while recovering from a knee injury. 

Not much has gone right since Donovan arrived in the Windy City, but one thing that can’t be denied is that he's got his players’ backs regardless of what happens on the court.