Are the Chicago Bulls nothing more than a play-in team?

The Chicago Bulls might be in trouble.

After a hot start to the season that garnered MVP Buzz for DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls have started to ever so gradually drift down in the standings. Right now, they sit in fifth place in the East with a 41-28 record, just two games ahead of Cleveland and Toronto, the latter of which currently sits in a double-elimination play-in spot.

Could the Chicago Bulls fall all the way to the play-in?

Bulls fans would be disappointed to see the team fall to a play-in that could see them bumped from the playoffs without even a seven-game series. But where things currently stand, that doesn’t seem so far-fetched.

The Bulls have posted just a 3-7 record in their last ten games, while Toronto has been flying up the standings, going 7-3 in their last ten. The one saving grace for Chicago has been the lackluster play of Cleveland in that stretch, who have managed just a 4-6 record.

Looking ahead, there is reason to believe Bulls fans should be concerned. Chicago currently faces the most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, while Cleveland and Toronto face much easier slates (23rd and 18th in difficulty, respectively).

A key factor in the Bulls’ slide has been injuries, but as guard Lonzo Ball is still without a timetable for return, it seems unlikely that that will change soon. The Cavaliers, hot in pursuit of the Bulls, also took an injury hit when All-Star center Jarrett Allen fractured a finger. But they recently got some good news, as Allen elected not to have surgery and could return before the end of the regular season.

Looking back on the Bulls’ hot start, the signs may have always been there that things were too good to be true. Though the team was considered a contender to win the East, they have thus far posted just a 7-13 record against the remainder of the top eight teams in the conference.

Take a look at the Bulls’ record against the top five teams in the NBA by record and you’ll be even more concerned. Are you ready? Brace yourself. You’re not ready.

0-10.

It might be that the Bulls never were contenders, they just rode a hot start and an easy schedule to the top. Chicago is currently 14th in the league in net rating, below both Cleveland and Toronto. 14th is a playoff spot, sure, but not a contender’s spot.

In fact, their 14th rank in net rating puts them in a clump with the rest of the East’s play-in teams – the Hawks, Hornets, and Nets. Perhaps the Bulls aren’t contenders at all, merely a play-in team.

At some point soon, the Bulls will have to face the reality that the Play-In is a real possibility. Once they do, they may want to think about dropping to eighth, rather than seventh.

In seventh place, they would likely host the Brooklyn Nets, having to face both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Should they drop all the way to eighth, the Bulls would travel to Brooklyn where, due to Kyrie Irving’s bizarrely strong conviction and lack of medical expertise, his unvaccinated status prevents him from playing, making for an easier matchup for the Bulls.

Funnily enough, the Bulls have only beaten the Nets in games where Irving did not play, losing the one contest in which he did play.

There are a lot of reasons to be concerned for the Bulls. A play-in berth would certainly be a disappointment for fans after such a strong start. But really, it seems like their start just wasn’t as strong as their record had us believe.

It seems like the play-in is right where the Bulls belong.