The Bulls' Fourth Quarter: Gosh, what could possibly go wrong?

Hey, look ... I'm not going to lie. The Bulls' regular season ended weeks ago and with today being the first Sunday in May, the team unbelievably might have a Final Thoughts column coming much sooner than expected. And if it happens within the next couple weeks here, as long as I'm behind, I might as well combine the Final Thoughts for both the Bulls and the Blackhawks into one post, because they're goddamn splitting images of disappointment. Welcome to summer, Chicago!

Realistically, every single time I have taken time out to focus on what the Bulls' record was at the quarter-marks of this shortened season, the question was always the same: Are they really going to be able to beat the Heat? Same question all year long.

So with the Bulls having indeed secured home with an impressive 50-16 record for the regular season, how was I feeling as we entered the playoffs? No more confident than I did last year, hence, the chosen image of the fingers (taken from here). Sure, the Sixers sounded like a far more favorable matchup than the Knicks in the first round, and maybe even the Pacers could be a bit more of a thorn in the side for Miami in the second round. 

But realistically, the team sort of stumble a bit in April to close out the year. Not only did the Bulls drop a game to the hated Heat, but they also got positively blown out by Oklahoma City, the likely team in waiting even if Chicago somehow got by Miami. 

Such talk of hypothetical Finals matchups is now, of course, silly. But they were fun to entertain back when, you know, the playoffs hadn't started yet.
 
Anyway, that's how things ended this year, and I'm sure I'll have further whining to do when this season inevitably reaches its conclusion much sooner than many of has had expected or hoped for.