The Chicago Bulls’ roller-coaster of a season came to an unceremonious end on Friday night when the Boston Celtics eliminated them in Game 6 of their opening-round series on their home floor. With their backs against the wall, the Bulls didn’t put up much of a fight, trailing by as many as 30 at one point.
Dwyane Wade was conspicuously quiet in this contest, managing just two points on 1-of-10 shooting in his 19 minutes of action and finishing tied for a game-worst minus-28 for the night. Afterward, however, he tweeted out an inspirational message for his teammates and Bulls fans everywhere.
It never ends the way U want unless you're holding that 🏆 over Ur head. Proud of my team 4 fight'n & thankful to have completed my 14th yr.
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 29, 2017
Despite sprinting out to a 2-0 series lead by stealing the first two games in Boston, Chicago wilted the rest of the way, in no small part due to an untimely injury to Rajon Rondo, who had up to that point rediscovered some of that swagger from his Celtics glory days and appeared poised to lead the Bulls to a historic first-round upset.
Now, Chicago faces an offseason of uncertainty across all sectors of the organization. Head coach Fred Hoiberg will almost certainly be in the hot seat as his lingering inability to connect with his players, combined with an unclear on-court philosophy, have resulted in all sorts of inconsistencies and turmoil during his tenure.
Questions surrounding Jimmy Butler’s future will loom large over the franchise as well, given that the front office reportedly was already dangling his name in trade talks prior to the February deadline. The same goes for Wade, who despite his heartfelt words, can opt out of the second year of his current contract.
Either way, the organization will need to make some tough decisions during the offseason if they want to find their way back into contention in the near future.
