Chicago Bulls: The value of losing with dignity

If the Chicago Bulls can’t be a winning product this season, there should at least be a lot of value in learning how to lose with dignity.

As the Chicago Bulls enter the last leg of this season, they have been racking up more Ls than Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen have Js in their living rooms. They have dropped 13 of the last 17 contests, and 21 of the last 27. No matter how you slice it, it’s going to sting.

While there are clear benefits to losing in a rebuilding season, the truth is that it hurts the fans, it hurts the brand and worst of all, it can hurt the players and their development. If one thing is for sure, outside of a player’s natural born talent, circumstances matter a lot.

Just look at Jae Crowder, who went from an elite 3-and-D guy to a mediocre rotation player once being shipped out of Boston’s system. In addition, there are countless players who are blatantly talented yet end up fizzling into the background once being drafted. They had the skills, they had the NBA frame, but they didn’t have the headspace to max out their potential on the largest stage. The point here is that if a player has a damaged self esteem, or is thrust into the wrong situation, it can be as detrimental to their career as an ACL tear.

That’s what the Chicago Bulls need to realize.  Losing is one thing, but losing with dignity is the best thing to help both their draft odds and their player development. So how do they do it?

Step one is containing visiting superstars: The Bulls are better off letting Anthony Tolliver go off for 25 points than letting Andre Drummond grab 20 boards and four blocks like he did recently.

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The Bulls have been doing a good job of that as of late, keeping Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe relatively honest in a game where Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t even playing. While the Nuggets did run a clinic against the Bulls last week, Nikola Jokic did not end with the triple-double he is used to flirting with. And even though he is the king of the basketball world, letting LeBron James rack up a casual triple-double in their recent game can’t feel good.

The best thing the Bulls can do now is keep big-name players honest and prove that while this isn’t a highly competitive NBA team today, a lot of these guys will be a part of a competitive squad in the near future. That assertion needs to happen before any big picture growth actually occurs.

Step two is not letting other lottery-bound teams beat up on them. The Bulls have done a decent job of this lately. Although the wins have been seldom these days, they are coming against all the right teams: Memphis Grizzles (twice), Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Dallas Mavericks (who have also been impressively competitive despite what the standings say) and the Orlando Magic.

Chicago is sending a message to the rest of the league that it may be a lottery team this year, but it is going to be a threat soon. The lottery teams the Bulls beat this past month are all dogging it at this point, and it’s sloppy basketball. The Bulls can lose with dignity, sure, but to maintain that dignity, they also need to win a few games, particularly with competence and hustle.

This recent string of five losses may be largely due to an injured Kris Dunn, and a redistribution of minutes back to starters Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday, where both those guys and young players who would’ve gotten those minutes don’t get enough consistent burn to get into a flow. Maybe the NBA’s meddling with the Bulls’ lineup ends up ironically promoting — rather than deterring — the tank process.

Next: NBA Rookie of the Year ladder - Week 24

Bottom line: The Chicago Bulls have a clear road to success from here through the draft. They are embodying everything that a rebuilding team needs to do to lose with dignity and preserve the confidence of their players.