It's Starting To Get Pretty Ridiculous How Frequently The Bulls Are Getting Screwed Over By Poor Officiating

Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.

If you've been following along this season, I've been hot on the trail all year documenting how terrible the NBA officiating has been this season. Terrible calls, refs getting into their feelings and unleashing ridiculous techs and ejections, every night it feels like an outcome of a game is being impacted by the refs. It's annoying as shit and the fact that Adam Silver and the league does nothing to change or improve it is even more infuriating.

For Bulls fans, I can only imagine how irate they are right now. Outside of the Kings, there may not be a team who has been boned more by late game officiating than the Chicago Bulls to the point where it is legit impacting their record and potentially the overal direction the franchise goes in over the next few weeks. That might seem dramatic but allow me to explain. 

Currently, the Bulls sit at 16-21, which is pretty shitty. It has them currently slated in the Lottery, which is a little concerning because unless that pick is in the top 4, it's heading to the Magic as part of the Vucevic trade. They are one of the "win now" teams in the East given what they gave up in order to build this current roster. Wins are very, very important for a team like the Bulls.

I'm sure every Bulls fan knows where this is going, but if you don't happen to watch them every night you may not have a clue as to what the team and their fans have experienced when it comes to getting boned by officials. Based on the NBA's Last Two Minute Report, the NBA has admitted to four boned calls that went against the Bulls at the end of games that directly impacted the result. 

Just 3 days into the NBA season, the Bulls had possession with a chance to win the game. Given that DeMar DeRozan makes game winners in his sleep, you probably felt pretty good about his chances. Then this happened

The NBA later admitted that Gill made contact with DeRozan's foot before it touched the ground, and that should have been a foul. Given that it was a 3PA, it's not crazy to think DeRozan makes all 3. Instead, it was a loss.

Then came their game on 12/14 against the Knicks when Patrick Williams as called for this foul. It wasn't a foul, Billy Donovan challenged, and ultimately won. The L2M confirmed that this should not have been a foul. Bulls ended up losing this game in OT

On 12/31, in a tight game against the Cavs we once again had another opportunity for a DeRozan game winner. He took a tough shot sure, but he was fouled

We know this because the L2M confirmed it the next day. LeVert made contact with DeRozan's arm which according to the league affected his release. You can't do that, that's a foul. Down 1, it's fair to assume DeRozan makes both of those FTs. Instead, another loss.

Then there was last night against the Cavs. The story may have been about Donovan Mitchell's 71, but there was another massive miss by the officials in an end of game situation that ultimately cost the Bulls another win

For those not aware of the rule, when missing a FT intentionally, you can't rush in until the ball hits the rim. Otherwise, it's a lane violation. As you can clearly see, Donovan Mitchell does not wait. An unreal play and an awesome moment, but it should not have counted. How an official staring right at the play misses it is beyond me, but you can kind of see the issue here. There will be no penalty for that official for fucking up that play. 

Stuff like this is always a twist of the knife because of course it doesn't actually change the result. Billy Donovan nailed it after the game last night

while it doesn't change anything it still doesn't excuse the poor officiating. It's a problem and when it starts impacting actual results, I don't understand how the league can sit and do nothing.

Think of the position the Bulls are in right now. I'll keep the Knicks loss the same because there were plenty of possessions after that call, but the rest? Take those losses and make them 3 wins (which isn't outrageous) and they go from 16-21 to 19-18. That would have them currently in the 9th spot, barely trailing the Pacers for a top 6 seed. Think of how that potentially changes their strategy moving forward. They could go from sellers to buyers at the trade deadline for example. As a lottery team at the moment, maybe the best bet is blowing it up in an effort to increase the chances you land top 4 this summer and get to keep the pick. Considering there's only a 3 game difference from the 6th spot to the 4th spot in the East, had they not been boned like this you could make a case they'd still be alive for homecourt! 

That's a pretty wild swing. Do the Bulls go from potentially trading DeRozan/Vucevic/LaVine/Caruso etc and starting over, or do they look to add to this team to get over the hump and into contention? That's a franchise altering decision that could have a long lasting impact. If they stand pat and do nothing but are too far down to contend but not shitty enough to land top 4, they lose their pick. What a wild spectrum of scenarios that now exist all because they've continued to get boned at the end of these games.

Now, we should also acknowledge that those 4 games are not exactly why the Bulls have somewhat underachieved so far this year. Their defense is mostly dogshit, coming in at 21st in the league. Offensively, things aren't much better (19th). Lonzo never getting healthy has obviously been a huge blow, and as a team their margin for error is razor thin. A game like last night where they had plenty of opportunity to close it out and still fumbled is on them, but there's no getting around the fact that those missed calls impacted the result.

It's not like this is the Kings or a small market team where nobody will really give a shit. This is the Chicago Bulls. They're kind of a big deal in the NBA. And while some may say this happens to everyone and that's just how life goes in the NBA, I think if your favorite team was boned out of 4 wins already and was currently in the Lottery as a result, you wouldn't be so cool about it.