Three males were shot June 23, 2021, in Wentworth Gardens on the South Side, according to preliminary information from Chicago police.
Officers responded to calls of shots fired about 5:40 a.m., in the 3800 block of South Wentworth Avenue, police said.
Three males were shot and taken to the hospital, police said.
This is a developing story, check back for details.
3 shot in Wentworth Gardenson June 23, 2021 at 11:29 am Read More »
Tuesday night, the Chicago Bulls found themselves hoping for a bit of luck in the 2021 NBA Draft Lottery.
Entering the lottery, the Bulls had a 20.3% chance to land in the top four picks and a 4.5% chance to come home with the no. 1 overall pick. If the Bulls’ pick landed in the top four, they would get to keep it. If not, it would go to the Orlando Magic by way of the Nikola Vucevic trade.
In the end, the Bulls stayed put at the eight spot where they were most likely to pick going into Tuesday night. Because they drew the no. 8 selection, of course, it went to the Magic.
To say that the Bulls lost the lottery may be a bit of a stretch, considering they were able to trade for an All Star center. However, Bulls fans were hoping to see some magic happen, and were let down.
Not only do the Bulls lose out on their first rounder, but they saw two fellow NBA Central rivals land in the top three picks.
The Detroit Pistons get to pick first overall after moving up one spot in the lottery, bumping the Houston Rockets down to no. 2 overall. The Cleveland Cavaliers also moved up two spots from five to three.
More than likely, the Bulls will see two of either Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green or Evan Mobley on a regular basis for a long time.
Although it would have been nice to secure one of those guys, the Bulls do have hope for the future. Having an All Star center like Vucevic paired with Zach LaVine for at least the 2021-2022 season means Chicago could make a playoff run depending upon the pieces they add this summer.
Looking ahead, the Bulls will pick in the first round next year and the 2022 NBA Draft class is absolutely loaded. Compared to the 2021 class, next year is a far better class to pick from. This year, there are about five players to get wildly excited about. Next year? There could be a solid 8-12 players teams will be gushing over.
For now, it’s about building for the future. Locking down LaVine on a long-term extension should be a priority, that way he and Vucevic will be around for a while. From there, adding talent around those guys and particularly finding a solution at point guard will be key.
Then, in 2022, it will be back into the first round of the draft.
Chicago Bulls are double losers in 2021 NBA Draft Lotteryon June 23, 2021 at 11:00 am Read More »
Experts answer some of readers’ better universal questions—buck in velvet, coy-wolves, smallmouth bass wound—from around Chicago outdoors, plus the Stray Cast.
Readers asked questions, and people in the know answered.
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‘‘My buddy is convinced that the Chicagoland coyotes are actually coy-wolves,’’ Timothy Powell emailed. ‘‘I disagree. Is there any data to answer our debate?’’
Chris Anchor, a senior wildlife biologist for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, replied via Carl Vogel, the director of communications for FPCC:
‘‘It wouldn’t be accurate to say there are coy-wolves in Northern Illinois. That would imply that our coyotes are a hybrid of coyotes and wolves or even that the animals have a wolf and a coyote as parents. That isn’t true.
‘‘However, coyotes in our region do have trace amounts of wolf DNA, typically 1% to 3%. That is a result of the brief period 50 years or so ago — about 30 generations — when coyotes were reappearing in the region but were relatively rare. During this time, they would occasionally mate with dogs or wolves when they could not find another coyote for mating. As their population quickly grew, that stopped [because] the first preference of a coyote would be to mate with its own species.
‘‘Note that this trace amount of DNA does not impact the coyotes in any notable way, in terms of size, coloration, behavior, etc.’’
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Tim Ledbetter emailed a photo of a wounded smallmouth bass caught from Monroe Harbor and noted, ‘‘Have seen similar lesions on too many SMB this season.’’
‘‘I would classify the lesion as a wound of life, possibly from an interaction with a predator (bird or fish) or related to spawning activity,’’ responded Vic Santucci, Illinois’ Lake Michigan program manager. ‘‘It looks pretty severe on this fish, going deep into the musculature. However, given that this fish hit bait or an artificial lure, it suggests to me that it was doing OK even with the lesion.’’
Santucci checked with Rebecca Redman, a Lake Michigan biologist, who noted: ‘‘The wound somewhat resembles what folks in northern LM have been seeing on smallies over the course of several years. No consistent pathogen was found in northern LM smallies with lesions that have been tested to date.’’
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In May, Alan Anderson visited the Des Plaines Riverwalk for the River Bird Blitz when he spotted a buck in velvet and wondered if it was early.
Dan Skinner, the forest wildlife program manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, gave this primer:
‘‘When an antler is actively growing, it’s going to be covered in a ‘velvet’ coating. Velvet is essentially a furry skin covering the growing bone, and it is highly vascular, meaning it’s full of blood vessels. These blood vessels carry nutrients and oxygen to the rapidly growing antlers. We can always see individual variation based on the age or body condition of a buck, but generally speaking, in northern Illinois, annual antler growth begins in late March or early April and continues through mid- to late August.
‘‘In late summer, blood flow to the antlers will stop. After a period of drying and hardening, the buck will scrape or ‘peel’ the velvet from his antlers by physically rubbing his rack against vegetation, trees, fences or similar material. This process of shedding velvet usually lasts only a day or two, so it’s pretty common around Labor Day or so to see a buck in velvet, only to observe the same deer a couple of days later sporting a set of ‘polished’ antlers.’’
Illinois hunting
Waterfowl-blind draws at IDNR public sites are returning in July. Click here for details.
Wild things
Wildlife biologist Bob Massey messaged Tuesday, “Wild raspberries are ready.”
Stray cast
Mayor Lori Lightfoot responded to the Bears’ threat to move the same emotional way I do to a muskie boatside.
A man was killed, and another man was wounded in the first block of East 118th Street.
One person was killed, and five others were wounded in shootings Tuesday in Chicago, including a man who was killed and another wounded in a shooting in West Pullman on the Far South Side.
About 9 p.m., they were in the first block of east 118th Street when someone fired shots, striking them both, Chicago police said. One man, 27, suffered a gunshot wound to the side of his body and was pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The other man, 50, was shot in the arm and taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
In non-fatal shootings, a 37-year-old man was shot in South Shore on the South Side. About 10:50 p.m., he was driving in the 2400 block of East 74th Street, when he heard shots and felt a pain, police said. He was struck in the shoulder and drove himself to Trinity Hospital, where he is in good condition. He told police he did not see a shooter or know where the shots came from.
Minutes earlier, a 22-year-old man was critically wounded after he was shot in Back of the Yards on the South Side. About 10:30 p.m., he was driving when he was shot in the chest in the 5400 block of South Union Avenue, police said. He drove to the 600 block of West Garfield Boulevard, abandoned his vehicle, and was dropped off at the University of Chicago Medical Center by an unknown person, where he is in critical condition. The circumstances of the shooting are unknown.
About 6:45 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in Austin on the West Side. He was on the sidewalk in the 5500 block of West Augusta Boulevard, when he was shot in the right ankle, police said. He took himself to West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, where his condition was stabilized.
In the day’s first reported shooting, a 15-year-old boy was wounded in Washington Park on the South Side. He was standing outside about 2 p.m. in the 300 block of East 56th Street when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside opened fire, police said. The teen was struck in the leg and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition.
Seven people were killed, nine others were wounded in shootings Monday citywide.
Avoid shopping or making important decisions after 9 p.m. Chicago time. The moon is in Sagittarius.
This is a fabulous day to entertain at home. It’s also a great day to have a group congregate where you live. Be open to real estate deals or ways to improve or expand where you live. You might even find better digs!
Today you’re in a positive frame of mind. This is wonderful because the mind creates its own ease or difficulty depending on how it approaches things. So, if you are in a positive frame of mind, you’ll be happier in whatever you’re doing. (Everything begins in the mind.)
This is a great money day! Look for ways to boost your income or perhaps to get a better-paying job. You might also see ways to make money on the side? If shopping, you won’t be afraid to consider big-ticket items.
Today the sun is in your sign dancing with lucky Jupiter, which is great news because it gives you feelings of peace and harmony when dealing with others. You’re enthusiastic, optimistic and up for anything! Admittedly, you would rather play than work.
It’s easy for you to have a warm feeling in your tummy. Of course, nothing is perfect because it never is. Nevertheless, things are falling into place. Today you are more inclined to see your life as a whole and take stock of what you’re doing to see how it fits into where you want to be down the road.
You will get along with others today, especially groups, clubs and organizations because you’re in an upbeat, enthusiastic frame of mind and enjoying congregating with others. Be open to new activities, especially with groups, because you might learn something that is edifying. (Like the meaning of that word.)
You look fabulous in the eyes of others today because a particular planetary aspect makes you look successful and affluent (even if you don’t do anything special.) Knowing this, you might as well milk this for all it’s worth. Go for the gold!
Many of you are excited about big travel plans. Others are just as excited about opportunities to get further education or to explore new avenues in the media, publishing, the law or medicine. Today is full of many possibilities! (Do get out of bed.)
This is an excellent day to do financial transactions with others or to decide how to share something like an inheritance. Whatever happens, you will likely come out smelling like a rose. You will also feel generous to others, which is a good thing because what goes around, comes around.
Relations with partners and close friends are warm and rewarding today, which is why this is a great day to schmooze with others. It’s also an excellent day to mend broken fences or to ask for a favor, because doors will open for you. (Expect a warm hug from someone.)
Work-related travel is likely today. Regarding your job, any activity with a group or a professional association will be mutually beneficial. Furthermore, your mind is eager to learn something new! You will benefit from talking to people from other cultures.
This is a party day! Enjoy schmoozing with others. Take a long lunch. Enjoy sports events. You will definitely enjoy the arts and playful activities with kids. Treat the world with a smile on your face! (Romance blossoms.)
Actress Frances McDormand (1957) shares your birthday. You are a generous person. You are also dynamic, talkative and very astute. You are a good listener and can often mimic others. Some might consider you eccentric. You are curious about people and enjoy interacting with them. This year is a year of learning as well as teaching for you. Study as much as possible. Soak it all in.
Horoscope for Wednesday, June 23, 2021Georgia Nicolson June 23, 2021 at 5:01 am Read More »
Along with Bryant, Willson Contreras and Patrick Wisdom knocked home runs as Cubs string together some much needed hits.
After a rough stretch at the plate, the Cubs were looking for a game in which they could turn things around on offense. They got it Tuesday, stringing some hits together when they needed them in a 7-1 victory over the visiting Indians.
Kris Bryant got it started in the fourth inning with a solo home run for the Cubs’ first hit and first run. The blast broke a streak of 48 straight at-bats without an extra-base hit — the longest of Bryant’s career.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets hot here real soon after the at-bats I saw [Monday],” manager David Ross said before the game.
Said Bryant: “I’m just trying to be a little more patient. [They’re] not really throwing me much over the middle of the plate. The last few games, I’ve gotten some pitches to hit, but sometimes you’ve just got to be a little patient and take walks. Three in two games is pretty good. So, yeah, I feel good with those results.”
More offense came in the sixth after starter Kyle Hendricks (10-4) threw six scoreless innings — good for his eighth consecutive win. The Cubs sent nine men to the plate in the sixth, scoring four runs on RBI doubles by Joc Pederson and Javy Baez and Willson Contreras’ RBI single.
“It’s a long season, and putting together an inning like that, it’s good for us,” Contreras said. “That’s small ball. Javy had a nice at-bat, swinging at the first two pitches and [making] an adjustment. We’ve been getting better and better.”
Contreras and Patrick Wisdom added back-to-back homers in the eighth to extend the lead — the Cubs’ fourth set of back-to-back homers this season.
Cubs pitchers adjusting to MLB’s new foreign substance policy, mid-game checks
Pitchers across baseball have been adjusting to life under MLB’s new foreign substance guidelines. Last week, the league sent out a memo to all 30 teams that they would be cracking down on the use of a variety of substances including products like Spider Tack, Pelican Grip and different combinations of pine tar, sunscreen and rosin.
The rules change took effect on Monday and as each pitcher entered the game or finished an inning, they were met by the umpires before entering the dugout
“We’ve got all the protocols and things we’ve got to go through to be prepared for the new kind of protocols that are in place,” manager David Ross said. “I think it’s a big wait and see for a lot of us. Guys are going to get checked. Guys are all aware of how it’s going to be done. We’ve passed out the memos, we’ve had the discussions. And now it’s just kind of in the umpire’s hands and we’ll see how it all goes down.”
Under the league’s new guidelines, players who are caught using foreign substances will be suspended for 10 games. Right-hander Adbert Alzolay, who pitched 4 2/3 innings on Monday, was the first Cubs pitcher to be checked under the league’s new rules and didn’t have any issues with the new process..
“It was pretty normal,” Alzolay said. “I guess that’s what MLB wants to do, so they just checked my hat, checked my glove and made sure everything was okay. But I feel it was normal. It was easy.
“[The umpires] are out there doing their job too, you know. They gotta make sure to follow the protocol, so I thought that they were fine with that too.”
As expected, the change has already been followed by a drop in spin rates around the game and as pitchers have to adjust, hitters will likely continue to see an increase in production, which had taken a dip this season.
“The information so far in the last 10 days, batting average has gone up, on base has gone up, slug has gone up,” Ross said. “Spin rates are down on fastballs and breaking balls and hit by pitches are exactly the same. So you draw your own conclusions.”
Rizzo gets the night off
First baseman Anthony Rizzo didn’t play in the second of a two-game set against the Indians. Ross has attempted to string together days off for players by sitting them at the back end of a series before a scheduled team day off. Rizzo is slashing .252/.347/.443 with nine home runs and 31 RBI.
“He’s been going pretty hard,” Ross said. “I pencil him in pretty regularly and was trying to find him an off day at some point and earmarked [Tuesday] if it looked like everybody else was healthy and we could have a pretty good lineup. It made sense to give him a day.”
About 9 p.m., two men were in the first block of east 118th Street when someone fired shots, striking them both, Chicago police said.
A man was killed and another wounded in a shooting Tuesday in West Pullman on the Far South Side.
About 9 p.m., they were in the first block of east 118th Street when someone fired shots, striking them both, Chicago police said.
One man, 27, suffered a gunshot wound to the side of his body and was pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.
The other man, 50, was shot in the arm and taken to Roseland Community Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, police said.
Area Two detectives are investigating.
1 killed, 1 wounded in West Pullman shootingSun-Times Wireon June 23, 2021 at 3:08 am Read More »
Bullpen gives up the lead after pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal’s three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Pirates.
PITTSBURGH — Maybe the White Sox will find out what they’re really made of now.
‘‘It’s kind of like a test right now,’’ right-hander Lucas Giolito said after the Sox’ 6-3 loss Tuesday to the Pirates that saw them go ahead on pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal’s uplifting three-run home run in the seventh, only to see the lead disappear quickly in the bottom of the inning. ‘‘Rough series [in Houston], and we drop this first game. Maybe a little wake-up call we need. We have to come ready to play from the beginning of the game.’’
The Sox had been mesmerized by funky left-hander Tyler Anderson before the switch-hitting Grandal, batting right-handed, gave the dugout a jolt with his first-pitch homer.
As invigorating as Grandal’s fourth career pinch homer was, a bullpen collapse and shaky defense moments later dragged the Sox back into the familiar, weary ways of this winless (to this point) road trip that began with a four-game sweep in Houston.
‘‘That little blow-up inning,’’ said Giolito, who allowed two runs and four hits, struck out seven and walked two in six innings and was in the line for the victory after Grandal came through batting for Zack Collins.
The meltdown involved reliever Garrett Crochet giving up singles to each of the four batters he faced, one of them on a bunt by Kevin Newman on which third baseman Yoan Moncada misfired to second baseman Danny Mendick covering first, allowing the tying run to score.
Crochet then left a breaking pitch up to pinch hitter Erik Gonzalez, who singled in two runs, before Bryan Reynolds capped the Pirates’ four-run seventh with an RBI single against reliever Aaron Bummer.
‘‘The word is ‘cruel,’ ’’ manager Tony La Russa said. ‘‘Because Yaz lit up the dugout, and we were looking at a one-run game.
‘‘When we hit the home run and got the lead, just try to hang in there. Cruel. You saw the way the inning played out. We’ll talk [about] what could have been done better to change the outcome, but probably the one thing that I’m sure Garrett regrets is he got the one breaking ball up to [Gonzalez].’’
The Sox have to find a way to beat the Pirates on Wednesday to avoid an 0-6 trip.
Giolito had the Sox’ first hit against the Pirates, one of five singles they had to go with Grandal’s homer.
‘‘We came out a little flat, which can be expected sometimes after a day off,’’ Grandal said. ‘‘[The homer] was the turning point of the game, and the dugout came alive. That’s what we need to get back to White Sox baseball. Go, go, go and high energy at all times.’’
Grandal said he knew he might pinch-hit in that situation if it came up. He is usually super-selective, but he was looking to drive in runs on the first pitch.
The Sox, who are hitting and walking less, no longer lead American League in on-base percentage, now ranking third.
‘‘It’s baseball,’’ hitting coach Frank Menechino said. ‘‘We’ve run into a little bit of a hard time, and we have to find our way out of it.
‘‘It’s hard to pick out one thing. Everybody is different, and everybody is pitched different. It’s basically about getting back on our approach. We’re not taking our walks as much. We’re kind of chasing and pushing the issue a little bit, trying to make stuff happen.’’
La Russa said he didn’t sense the Sox being flat. And his team is still in first place in the AL Central.
‘‘It was a very determined attitude today,’’ he said. ‘‘I could sense it. I could hear it in the clubhouse, in the hitter’s meeting, in the batting practice, in the dugout.
‘‘But what you learn sometimes [is that] just because you want something to happen, you don’t have a magic wand. Just got to keep that excitement for tomorrow, salvage something here.’’
Wake-up call? White Sox lose fifth in rowDaryl Van Schouwenon June 23, 2021 at 3:11 am Read More »
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday announced efforts to curb gun trafficking in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, D.C., a day before President Joe Biden unveils a sweeping series of programs to deal with crime and violence.
Biden will deliver remarks on Wednesday, unveiling his comprehensive strategy to combat violent crime, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.
Among those meeting with Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland at the White House on Wednesday will be Eddie Bocanegra, senior director at READI Chicago – the Rapid Employment and Development Initiative – a group dealing with Chicago’s gun violence.
Biden’s plans comes as cities, including Chicago, struggle with violent crime and, on the political side, Republicans aim to hurt all Democrats by labeling them as supporters of efforts to “defund the police,” a phrase that gained traction in the wake of last year’s police killing of George Floyd.
Psaki said Biden on Wednesday will talk about supporting additional funding for community policing and helping local governments “keep cops on the beat. So yes, we believe that a central driver of violence is gun violence and is the use of guns.”
In April, Biden announced an initial series of actions to address gun violence.
Biden wades into the crime issue as Chicago’s chronic gun violence problem was dramatically underscored when 52 people were shot, seven fatally, over the last weekend.
The Justice Department on Tuesday announced the launch of “five cross-jurisdictional firearms trafficking strike forces within the next 30 days to help reduce violent crime by addressing illegal gun trafficking in significant firearms trafficking corridors.”
The five strike forces will “focus on significant firearms trafficking corridors that channel guns into New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.,” the Justice Department said, to be led by U.S. attorneys “who will coordinate with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and with state and local law enforcement partners in places where firearms originate and where they are used to commit crimes.”
While Chicago has long banned the sale of firearms, weapons from Indiana, other states and Chicago’s suburbs make the city’s ban ineffective in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.
The concept of sending more resources to Chicago is not new. On July 22, 2020, John Lausch, Jr., the Chicago-based U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, joined then-Attorney General William Barr and then-President Donald Trump to announce the expansion of Operation Legend to Chicago.
Operation Legend was a consolidated push by local and federal law enforcement authorities “fight high levels of violent crime, particularly gun violence.”
Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff – in his first official visit in Chicago – hits the city on Wednesday to push more people in Black and Brown communities to get the COVID vaccine. If plans don’t change, Emhoff will visit the It’s Official Barbershop on the South Side followed by a stop at the Esperanza Health Clinic on the Southwest Side.
Emhoff this month has been to Alabama, Florida and Tennessee as part of the administration’s drive to get more people vaccinated.
In April, Vice President Kamala Harris made her first visit to Chicago since her election, when she, among other activities, toured a mass vaccination site run by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399 hall at 2260 S. Grove St. She also made a stop at Brown Sugar Bakery at 328 E. 75th St. to highlight a Black, female-owned small business.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who compared pandemic mandates for masks and vaccinations to the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people, is headlining a fundraiser July 8 in Effingham for freshman Illinois GOP Rep. Mary Miller.
Democrats who control the House stripped Greene of committee assignments after the QAnon conspiracy booster and 9-11 denier threatened to execute Democrats, spread anti-Semitic tropes and pushed baseless claims about staged school shootings.
By throwing in with Greene, Miller, who represents a Downstate district, may create problems for other Illinois Republicans who would rather ignore Greene – while building up a base if she is thrown in a primary in 2022 with another incumbent GOP Illinois House member.
Panic doesn’t seem to exist in the House of Karnisovas.
In the handful of Zoom meetings Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has had with the media since his takeover of the new regime, that point has been made very clear in both the way he speaks and carries himself.
Setbacks are for other organizations to dwell on. With Karnisovas there’s always the next plan.
After Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery saw the Bulls come up dry, that next-plan-up mentality is about to be tested.
Not that Karnisovas & Co. were banking on help from the lottery. That dwindled back at the March trade deadline when the Bulls went big swing in acquiring All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and forward Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlando for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and more importantly, two first-round picks from both the upcoming 2021 draft and the 2023 draft.
The details of that ’21 pick were that the Bulls could still retain it because it was Top 4 protected, but in finishing the regular season in the eighth slot those chances were just 20.3%. Chances that ended with the bouncing of balls landing outside that protected area, officially awarding that No. 8 draft pick to the Magic.
A scenario that Karnisovas sounded very comfortable in dealing with last month.
“If we don’t get our pick we still have a second round pick,” Karnisovas said very matter-of-factly. “We have free agency and trades to get better. We have a lot of free agents this year and I think leading to Aug. 1 [the start of free agency] is going to be huge preparation for us.”
That’s all well and good, but in what was considered a very good ’21 draft class, especially in the lottery portion of it, Karnisovas’ preparation will need to lead to some real creativity.
The glass half-full approach is, yes, the Bulls can still try and hit on a second-round pick next month, but more importantly the deal with the Magic netted them a double-double machine in Vucevic, giving them a one-two punch with fellow All-Star Zach LaVine.
Teams with multiple foundation All-Stars – flawed or not – aren’t easy to find. As far as Karnisovas was concerned, that speaks louder to possible free-agent targets than a 19-year-old prospect who could reach an All-Star ceiling someday or have the ceiling crash around him by Year 3.
“I think when you have a foundation of let’s say two All-Stars in one place, I think it’s easier to add additional things that we need,” Karnisovas said. “So we’re going to discuss the needs of the team and we’ll attack it during free agency.”
As for the team the Bulls made that Vucevic deal with? Orlando not only landed the No. 8 from the Bulls, but also hit on No. 5 overall.
The two biggest winners on the evening, however, were Detroit, who landed the top overall pick and will likely select Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham, and then Toronto, who pulled off what Karnisovas did last season, jumping from the No. 7 slot to the No. 4 pick.
There’s a good chance that Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs could be there for the Raptors, which is a real gut-punch for the Bulls.
The ultra-competitive Suggs would be the ideal point guard to play alongside LaVine, not only because of his defense and play-making, but how he has always displayed that “it” factor that impacts winning.
The heartache for the Bulls’ front office was that No. 7 spot seemed to be a lock with under two weeks left to go, but while Toronto basically folded up the tents and lost 10 of its last 11 games, the Bulls won five meaningless games in that time, including a May 13 win over the Raptors, moving to eighth.
