Chicago Bulls fall three spots in new Athletic weekly NBA power rankings

Last week was not a very good one for the Chicago Bulls‘ designs on making the play-in tournament and, perhaps, the 2024 NBA Playoffs after it. With losses to the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, and the lowly Washington Wizards, the Bulls have killed a lot of the momentum they have built since the 2024 trade deadline.

And for this reason, they have fallen from No. 18 in the Athletic’s weekly league power rankings to No. 21, and deservedly so. “The Bulls even have a chance to make it to .500 by the end of the season, but they’ll probably hit the over regardless on their way to the do-or-die play-in showdown” with the Atlanta Hawks, writes Athletic league analyst Zach Harper.

Currently in the Eastern Conference’s ninth-place spot with the Philadelphia 76ers holding a 4.5 game lead over them at the time of writing, Chicago has a greater chance of falling to the dreaded tenth seed by the end of the season with the Atlanta Hawks just a game behind them, as Harper alludes.

“The roster has responded to the injuries and missing players extremely well,” writes Harper — but will it be enough?

Story originally appeared on Lonzo Wire