Chicago Bulls: 3 observations from recent 7-game losing streak

3. Old habits are hard to break

When the Bulls were coasting toward a 10-game losing streak earlier in the season, some of those losses were a result of the team’s inability to hold on to large leads down the stretch. Unfortunately, that trend has reared its ugly head once again.

For instance, look at their game against the New Orleans Pelicans back on Jan. 22. The Bulls were up by 14 points with just five minutes left in regulation. However, the double-digit cushion wasn’t enough to keep Chicago from being on the wrong end of a 132-128 double-overtime loss.

An even more recent example took place against the Los Angeles Clippers. Not only did the Bulls limit their opponent to just nine points in the opening frame; they led by as many as 21 points.

Thanks to a lackadaisical defensive effort the rest of the way, the Kings averaged 31.7 points over the next three quarters en route to a surprising 104-98 win, which marked the first time the Kings have swept the season series between these two teams since the 2006-07 campaign.

Although the ultimate goal is to lose as many games as possible, the way in which they’ve lost some of these games can’t sit too well with the players. Unfortunately, with upcoming games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors, it is possible that the Bulls will exceed their previous 10-game skid that dropped them to 17 games below .500.