The Bulls aren’t exactly hiding their intention to best position themselves for the lottery as a rebuilding season winds down, a strategy which has included resting healthy vets like Justin Holiday and Robin Lopez in lieu of younger players. However logical that might be with Chicago well out of playoff contention, the NBA isn’t in favor.
Sources: The NBA issued a warning to the Chicago Bulls this week on resting healthy players, and the team now plans to play veteran starters Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday again more extensively to close the season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 6, 2018
Holiday and Lopez are two of the Bulls’ better players, but have played sparingly as of late. Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned this past offseason that the Association was going to crack down on tanking, and this appears to be the first directive handed down so far this season.
Chicago is currently 21-42 and has the 8th-worst record in the NBA as of Tuesday night. But with just three games separating the Bulls and the league-worst Grizzlies, every loss will matter a ton down the home stretch of the season.
