Unfortunately for the Bulls, there is one fatal flaw: their rebounding and interior defense. Just yesterday, albeit off a back-to-back, the Bulls gave up 72 points in the paint and it’s clear that outside Vucevic, there isn’t anyone else that can consistently crash the glass. I think this is partly due to Patrick Williams’ unfortunate injury, but nonetheless, the Bulls need another body who can spell for Vucevic and compliment him on the floor.

This is especially true considering the frontcourts the Bulls will have to go through once they make the playoffs. It’s clear to anyone that watches the NBA, that the four best teams in the east are Brooklyn, Chicago, Miami, and Milwaukee. However, the latter two, have big men that can not only do what Vucevic does, but are also more athletic than he is – making it an unfavorable matchup should the Bulls see either team in the postseason.

Take for example Vucevic’s stat lines against Philly and Miami this year:

Philadelphia (11/3): 4 points, 10 rebounds
Philadelphia (11/9): 11 points, 11 rebounds
Miami (11/27): 7 points, 13 rebounds
Miami (12/11): 10 points, 8 rebounds

I say none of this to slander Nikola Vucevic – he’s been absolutely phenomenal as of late and I think part of the reason for his performance in those games can be attributed to the overall slump he was experiencing and still adjusting to a new role. I wouldn’t anticipate this to happen again if he matched up with Embiid or Adebayo. However, there’s still a reason to be concerned if we see these matchups again come postseason.

The Chicago Bulls need to give Nikola Vucevic some help in the frontcourt to truly compete this postseason.

Without any interior help, these athletic big men are able to handle Vucevic defensively and rattle him, and then tire him out on offense. As a result, Vucevic is essentially being thrown to the wolves in my estimation because as good as the defense has played, a) there’s only so much help that can be given once Embiid, Adebayo, or another big has the ball in the paint and b) there’s no one off the bench that can even give Vooch a breather.

This makes a trade seem like a no-brainer. There’s one clear weakness on the team and the Bulls have the assets to go out and make a trade. However, I don’t think it’s as simple as that. If there’s one thing that the COVID protocols and other injuries have given us a chance to see: it’s the encouraging development from Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Coby especially, is equally responsible for these last two wins, as DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine – and has shown effort on the defensive end of the floor that we’ve been dying to see for three years.

Should the Bulls trade either of them in a package for Jerami Grant? At first glance, the answer is obviously yes. However, consider this: Jerami Grant left the Nuggets because he wanted to be more featured – so will he happily reprise the same role he had in Denver, except in Chicago?

Additionally, according to Spotrac, if the Bulls hand LaVine a max extension next summer, their estimated remaining cap space is just shy of 18 million dollars. Jerami Grant is currently making just north of 20 million and will be a free agent at the end of this season. Is trading Coby or Ayo (and picks!) a price the Bulls should pay for a half-season rental that may not definitively get them past Brooklyn or Milwaukee?

As we found out right before that game during the week, that report was false. Nagy has obviously lived to see a few more weeks.

Sunday morning, though, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport dropped an official bomb of information in regards to Nagy’s future.

According to Ian Rapoport, the Chicago Bears will officially fire Matt Nagy after Week 18.

“According to multiple sources, Chicago appears primed to have a new head coach for the 2022 season and is expected to begin its search for Nagy’s successor after Week 18.”

Finally, the moment has come. Nagy’s time as the Bears head coach is coming to a close, as we’ve all pretty much guessed for a while now.

But, to get an official word from one of the league’s most respected sources is another thing. This finally brings some closure to the fans, and we can start to look forward towards whom the Bears might hire.

One of the biggest names in the conversation is Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose Wolverines lost big time to Georgia over the weekend. While some believe he doesn’t necessarily want to return to the NFL, others think it’s a great possibility.

The next couple of weeks will be very telling, though, whether that’s in reference to Harbaugh or any other coaching candidates.

If Rapoport is correct (which he usually is), then the Bears have certainly had conversations behind closed doors before now. They are already game-planning around who their next coach could be, but now that the word is officially getting out about Nagy, it’s not a secret.

The only thing fans care about at this moment is the fact that Nagy is going to be fired, period. The idea of going through another miserably mediocre, sub-par season under Nagy is enough to make us all internally cringe.

For a moment, let’s recall what happened just the night before. The Bulls were down to the Indiana Pacers and, in dramatic fashion, DeMar DeRozan hit a game-winning three off one foot.

Back to Washington. Folks, he did it again. DeRozan also made history with this unbelievable shot.

Per Basketball Reference, DeRozan became the first player in NBA history to hit a buzzer beater in back-to-back days.

Not even Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James have accomplished such feats. This is rare history being made by a guy who was once labeled as the “worst offseason move” by so-called “experts,” just a few short months ago.

These two back-to-back buzzer beaters have proven that, not only is DeRozan proving that hilarious notion wrong, but he’s done the exact opposite. There was no more important signing over last offseason than DeRozan coming to Chicago.

It’s not even close.

What DeRozan has meant to the Bulls is second to none. This is a team that many predicted to improve upon last year, but maybe marginally. Instead, the Bulls are now in sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.

They wouldn’t be here without DeRozan making NBA history, either.

Over those three years, he had a record of 11-11 which is so bad for a team making bad decisions after bad decisions but it wasn’t what they needed from him. He also had an ERA of 4.70 and a WHIP of 1.608. He threw 184 strikeouts (141 walks) in 199.0 innings pitched.

Honestly, to say it was a disaster for him would be an understatement. He had some flashes of amazing play a fair amount but it was never consistent enough to be highly regarded as a pitcher. His command never really matched the stuff on a regular basis and it cost him.

Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Tyler Chatwood has a new baseball home.

Nobody could ever talk bad about Chatwood, however. He didn’t sign himself to a lucrative contract and he didn’t build the mostly flawed roster around him trying to scrounge anything from the 2016 season. All he did was show up to work every time he was needed with max effort and a smile on his face. It didn’t work out well production-wise which stings but the expectations were unrealistic.

After the 2020 season ended, he became a free agent. In January of 2021, he was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays. He played about half of his season there with them until he was released at the end of July. He then signed on with the San Francisco Giants who was one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. They had a really good run.

Right when that season ended, just like the year prior, he was granted free agency. Although this time he won’t be returning to Major League Bsseball. He is headed to Japan to play there with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the NPB.

As mentioned before, he has shown good stuff in the past so you have to wonder what made him make this decision so early. It very well could be the lockout. Borderline MLB players might rather have the financial security if they aren’t already signed onto a club.

Chatwood took the money in Japan and is going to try and reinvent himself. If that works, he just might make his way back to Major League Baseball but you never know. Either way, it is good to see him have a new baseball home and he deserves some success over there.

Of course, the Hawks didn’t have either Marc-Andre Fleury or Kevin Lankinen because of COVID-19 protocol so they were working with a disadvantage from the start. Most good teams don’t give up six just because of a third-string goalie so Colin Delia and Arvid Soderblom don’t deserve all of the blame (they each played in the loss).

The Hawks went down 5-0 in this game so there really wasn’t much they could do from there but they did get one goal after that from Philipp Kurashev. The goal was assisted by Calvin de Haan and Henrik Borgstrom. It would be nice to see all three of those guys chip in just a bit more so that they can help the big guns when they are going well.

2022 isn’t off to the best start for the Chicago Blackhawks but there is a lot left.

The good news about the calendar year of 2022 is that more change is probably going to come. Both the head coach and general manager have interim tags right now so decisions about their futures will be made in addition to some player personnel. Drafting well and making good decisions as an organization will be a big part of that.

They also don’t have to let this first game of the year define them. It is a very bad way to start the year but there are 51 more games to go. They will have a lot of very good competition ahead of them as they try to turn the rest of the season into something.

As mentioned before, they probably aren’t going to the playoffs but they can develop some prospects and allow the veteran players to help them. They can also trade off any expiring contracts for future assets if they want as well.

The first of those 51 games remaining actually come tonight, one night after the Nashville debacle. The Calgary Flames are at the United Center ready to take on the Hawks. They are a very good team that won’t be easy to beat at all.

Getting an early lead would be the key to winning because Calgary is very hard to play against while trailing. Every mistake that was made against Nashville needs to be corrected in time for this game otherwise it will be even worse.