The long, angered and confused faces worn on the Bulls’ faces as they sat on the bench in the waning moments of Thursday’s disappointing but predictable loss to the New York Knicks have been seen plenty of times before.
Yes, this season, along with the look of bewilderment Fred Hoiberg has worn while trying to explain what he considers the unexplainable—how a team he believed to be disciplined shows no signs of it.
But also, it was worn on May 14, 2015, a night that should’ve spawned the Bulls’ best effort but produced a jarring one, one that started a series of events which has led to where the franchise, the coaching staff and locker room find themselves in today—on the outside looking in the playoff party, as a hungrier and more unified Detroit Pistons team makes a more definitive push toward a postseason berth while the Bulls flail away aimlessly, unable to produce anything more than a moment of peace, let alone optimism.