Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Scoop Jackson

Bears predictions: Week 15 at Browns

2023-12-14T11:09:53.621-06:00

Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones celebrates during a preseason game against the Browns last year.

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ game Sunday in Cleveland:

Rick Morrissey

Bears, 20-17: If the Bears can make Jared Goff look like an interception-throwing statue, surely they can do the same with 38-year-old Joe Flacco, who leaves the pocket only for bingo and bathroom breaks. A huge question is whether Justin Fields can survive the Browns’ defense. Season: 9-4.

Rick Telander

Bears, 28-24: Wherever you go, whatever you do, no matter how bad it gets, the Browns are worse. Tim Couch, Kellen Winslow Jr, “Johnny Football” Manziel, Deshaun Watson ($230 million guaranteed), etc. Season: 9-4.

Scoop Jackson

Bears, 19-16: Stefanski vs. Eberflus. This will not be a matchup against teams as much as it will be about Matt’s future. Going against an 8-5 team that has the most wins in the NFL against teams with winning records — with their own polarized coach — this will be the “gauge game” the Bears use to confirm who Eberflus is and what he’s capable (or incapable) of becoming. Season: 9-4.

Patrick Finley

Browns, 23-20 (OT): Winning on the road is hard. Since going 5-3 away from Soldier Field in 2020, the Bears have won just six times in 24 road games. Only one team the Bears have played on the road this year, the Lions, have a better record than the Browns right now. Season: 10-3.

Jason Lieser

Browns, 19-17: While the spike in scoring with 28 points against the Lions was nice, the Bears are two games removed from managing just four field goals against the Vikings. And Cleveland has one of the NFL’s best defenses. Season: 6-7.

Mark Potash

Browns, 20-19: The Bears are heading in the right direction under Eberflus, with three victories in their last four games, and are in position for a third consecutive upset. This should go down the last play. Season: 7-6.

Bears’ last five games will determine fate of many

2023-12-09T08:30:00-06:00

Bears chairman George McCaskey shakes hands with team president & CEO Kevin Warren at Warren’s introductory news conference Jan. 17.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

It seems like a scene out of “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” But instead of North Side Gang gangsters being lined up in Lincoln Park against a warehouse wall on Clark and Dickens, it’s Matt Eberflus, Luke Getsy, Justin Fields, Ryan Poles, damn near everyone on the offensive line, any coaches or coordinators still left on the staff who haven’t resigned or been fired and — if he drops one more interception or says “I’m one of those guys that can get paid at a high level” one more time — Jaylon Johnson.

The entire city is aiming at their backs. The McCaskeys and Kevin Warren sitting back on some Al Capone vibe waiting on when to give the order. Fire v. Fired. Same thing. Semblance. The writing seems to be on the wall instead of the blood, but we can’t make out what the writing is going to say or even if the triggers are going to be pulled.

The evaluation process sits as judge, jury and executioner. Win out or don’t win out. Go 3-2 or go 1-4. Undefeated changes nothing; lose all changes everything. What’s an underachieving, trapped at the bottom of their division but showing signs of life entering the end of the season team to do? Essentially no one in the city will be happy with whatever decision is made. Not in the moment, at least.

Keep Fields? Keep Eberflus? Release Getsy? Draft a potential franchise-changing quarterback to replace Fields? Trade Fields while he’s still on his rookie contract for another starting quarterback (of similar value), draft wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 1 pick (if secured) and still draft another QB (say, Jayden Daniels) with their next pick and see if Getsy and the current coaching staff can do with them what they couldn’t do with Fields/DJ Moore & Co.?

Fire the entire coaching staff and build around Fields and the glimpses he has shown, hoping that a new set of coaches can do what this coaching regime couldn’t? Keep Eberflus and Getsy and find a mindfreak of a defensive coordinator? Give Johnson the money he’s seeking, draft a can’t-miss defensive lineman or edge rusher with one of those high draft picks to complement Montez Sweat and build wins through the defense, giving the offense one more year to figure it all out?

Or do you take these last five games, if you are the Bears, to hunt answers to the uncomfortable regional/divisional questions you’ve been internally asking yourselves: Is Eberflus ever going to be able to out-coach or coach strategically on the level of Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell or Matt LaFleur? Or ever be able to be the reason a team led by him beats any team in the NFC North on a regular basis? If not, which coach do you poach? Jim Harbaugh? Eric Bieniemy? Ben Johnson or Ejiro Evero?

And do you make a move on them now because this time next year, they may all be 14 weeks deep into their new NFL head-coaching jobs for other teams? Is Fields at his best ever going to be better or on par with Jordan Love now — or how good Love is going to be in the next two seasons? Is he ever going to get to Jared Goff’s level? Or have six games in a row showing the promise Josh Dobbs had three games in a row for the Vikings against the Falcons, the Saints and (even in a loss) the Broncos? Is there any QB in the draft who could become the C.J. Stroud of your division if he were in a Bears uniform?

These next five weeks would be an entirely different scenario if the Bears didn’t have the options they have leading up to April. And while Poles had eerily similar circumstances this time last year going into the draft, he cannot afford to play it the same way this time. Unless the Bears end the season on a five-game winning streak or win four out of the last five, Poles’ position as GM is no different than anyone else standing against that proverbial wall. It’s just that his timeline might be a few months longer. What Eberflus and Fields do in these next five weeks may determine their fate in Chicago; what Poles does in response to what happens in these next five weeks will, without question, determine his fate in the NFL.

So here we are, standing at the beginning of the Bears’ inevitable, inescapable moment of change. The decisions that will be made all predicated on this five-game assessment capsule will determine what the upcoming five-year future of the franchise will be.

Even if the Al Capones of Halas Hall think they already have their minds made up on what it is they’re going to do, they have no idea WTH they are going to do. No beauty, all curse. It’s like the NFL/OnlyBears/football version of Johnnie Taylor’s “Last Two Dollars.” These last five games, I’m not gonna lose. These last five games, I sho’ ain’t gonna lose . . .”

Unfortunately, we all know the rest.

Bears final five games may lead to firing squad

2023-12-08T16:20:40.399-06:00

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus hugs quarterback Justin Fields #1 after the Bears beat the Texans, 23 - 20, at Soldier Field, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

It seems like a scene out of “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” But instead of North Side Gang gangsters being lined up in Lincoln Park against a warehouse wall on Clark and Dickens, it’s Matt Eberflus, Luke Getsy, Justin Fields, Ryan Poles, damn-near everyone on the offensive line, any Bears coaches or coordinators still left on the staff who so far haven’t resigned or been fired, and if he drops one more interception or says one more time “I’m one of those guys that can get paid at a high level,” Jaylon Johnson.

The entire city is aiming at their backs. The McCaskeys and Kevin Warren sitting back on some Al Capone-vibe waiting on when to give the order. Fire v. Fired. Same thing. Semblance. The writing seems to be on the wall instead of the blood, but we can’t make out what the writing is going to say or even if the triggers are going to be pulled.

The evaluation process sits as judge, jury and executioner. Win out or don’t win out. Go 3-2 or go 1-4. Undefeated changes nothing, lose all changes everything. What’s an underachieving, trapped at the bottom of their division but showing signs of life entering the end of the season team to do? Essentially no one in the city will be happy with whatever decision is made. Not in the moment, at least.

Keep Fields? Keep Eberflus? Release Getsy? Draft a potential franchise-changing quarterback to replace Fields? Trade Fields while he’s still on his rookie contract for another starting quarterback (of similar value), draft wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 1 pick (if secured) and still draft another QB (say, Jayden Daniels) with the next pick and see if Getsy and the current coaching staff can do with them what they couldn’t do with Fields/DJ Moore & Co.?

Fire the entire coaching staff and build around Fields and the glimpses he has shown, hoping that a new set of coaches can do what this coaching regime couldn’t? Keep Eberflus and Getsy and find a mindfreak of a defensive coordinator? Give Johnson the money he’s seeking, draft a can’t-miss defensive lineman or edge rusher with one of those high draft picks to complement Montez Sweat and build wins through the defense giving the offense one more year to figure it all out?

Or do you take these last five games, if you are the Bears, to hunt answers to the uncomfortable regional/divisional questions you’ve been internally asking yourselves: Is Eberflus ever going to be able to out-coach or coach strategically on the level of Dan Campbell, Kevin O’Connell or Matt LaFleur? Or ever be able to be the reason a team led by him beats any team in the NFC North on a regular basis? If not, what coach do you poach? Jim Harbaugh? Eric Bieniemy? Ben Johnson or Ejiro Evero?

And do you make a move on them now because this time next year they may all be 14 weeks deep into their new NFL head-coaching jobs for other teams? Is Fields at his best ever going to be better or on-par with Jordan Love now — or how good Jordan Love is going to be in the next two seasons? Is he ever going to get to Jared Goff’s level? Or have six games in a row showing the promise Josh Dobbs had three games in a row for the Vikings against the Falcons, Saints and (even in a loss) the Broncos? Is there any QB in the draft who could become the C.J. Stroud of your division if he were in a Bears uniform?

These next five weeks would be an entirely different scenario if the Bears didn’t have the options they have leading up to April. And while Ryan Poles had eerily similar circumstances this time last year going into the draft, he can ill afford to play it the same way this time. Unless the Bears end the season on a five-game win streak or win four out of the final five, Poles’ position as GM is no different than anyone else standing against that proverbial wall. It’s just his timeline might be a few months longer. What Eberflus and Fields do in these next five weeks may determine their fate in Chicago, what Poles does in response to what happens in these next five weeks will without question determine his fate in the NFL.

So here we are, standing at the beginning of the Bears’ inevitable, inescapable moment of change. The decisions that will be made all predicated on this five-game assessment capsule that will determine what the upcoming five-year future of the franchise will be.

Even if the Al Capones of Halas Hall think they already have their minds made up on what it is they’re going to do, they have no idea WTH they are going to do. No beauty, all curse. It’s like the NFL/OnlyBears/football-version of Johnnie Taylor’s “Last Two Dollars.” These last five games I’m not gonna lose. These last five games, I sho ain’t gone lose … ”

Unfortunately, we all know the rest.

Bears predictions: Week 14 vs. Lions

2023-12-07T08:22:10.017-06:00

Brothers Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown chat after the Lions-Bears game last month.

Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ game against the Lions on Sunday at Soldier Field:

Rick Morrissey

Lions, 28-20: The Lions have not been playing well. We know this because they eked out a victory over the lowly Bears on Nov. 19. Detroit’s Jared Goff threw three interceptions in that game. Hard to picture it happening again. Season: 9-3.

Rick Telander

Bears, 21-20: Jared Goff has that tall, skinny retro QB look to him, and he throws like the No. 1 overall draft pick he once was. But someday the Bears have to beat somebody as good as him and pals. Don’t they? Season: 8-4.

Scoop Jackson

Bears, 27-21: The Bears had the Lions’ offense on lock for 55 of the 60 minutes in their loss to them three weeks ago. Expect the new-feel, post-bye-week team to do the same without giving the game away at the end. Season: 8-4.

Patrick Finley

Bears, 24-19: The Lions have given up the third-most points in the NFL since Week 7. During that same half-season span, only seven teams have given up fewer than the Bears and their resurgent defense. Season: 9-3.

Jason Lieser

Lions, 20-16: The Lions, winners of four of their last five, supposedly are in a rut. The last time the Bears were that good in a five-game stretch was early in 2020. These teams are in very different places. Season: 6-6.

Mark Potash

Bears, 24-20: The Bears are healthy, at home, refreshed off a bye and motivated to finish what they started at Ford Field. The Lions have been shaky in their last three games, and losing defensive tackle Alim McNeill doesn’t help a leaky defense. Season: 6-6.

With Corey Perry drama, Blackhawks are a cloud franchise

2023-12-02T08:30:00-06:00

The Blackhawks terminated Corey Perry’s contract, but we still don’t know what he did to force the team’s hand.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

You can’t even say they brought it on themselves. At least, not this time.

The Blackhawks’ latest journey into darkness — this go-round — is another add-on to the conclave of internal behavior and activities that before 2010 seemed unthinkable for the organization. “Not them! Good guys wear red and black.” (Except when they wear face paint to Chiefs games.) Except they weren’t the good guys. Not then and almost by default not now.

This time, there was no cover-up. There is no Stanley Cup run hanging in the balance that could be thrown off course if they acknowledge internal scandal in real time.

Corey Perry’s recent “infraction” that forced the Hawks to terminate his contract was something the organization didn’t see coming. You could hear it in general manager Kyle Davidson’s voice during the news conference. The emotions reeking of realness. Until the PR part kicked in.

“As this is an individual personal matter, I will not be able to disclose any details related to the initial reporting, investigation or the findings,” he read.

Though smart legally and the correct thing to do ethically, it was the last thing the Hawks needed.

They left the door open to bury themselves further as an organization in a place — because of what they already were dealing with before Perry’s misconduct went public — that could be impossible for them to recover from in the foreseeable, generational future.

Even as the right thing to do, this is not the way to play the situation when an entire city and an entire league has trust issues with you. Unfortunately, it’s full disclosure or nothing. Nothing in between.

Because the rumors in this digital day of open thought and wide-open communication that emerge from these situations — especially when unsquashed — seem to turn every situation like this into exactly what it doesn’t need to be. The handling of the crime (or offense when there are no criminal charges on the table) seems to level up to or supersede the incident itself.

Think Penn State, of what Joe Paterno knew and didn’t know, of what he allowed to happen and continue, of what Jerry Sandusky did as his No. 1 assistant coach. Think Celtics and the Ime Udoka situation from last year, of the news conference, of the ineptitude of majority owner Wyc Grousbeck and team president Brad Stevens and the entire organization, of what to do, of their indecisiveness and the lack of reasoning or clarity given to the players for the decisions they did make, of the optics. Think Northwestern.

The Hawks currently have two on their résumé. With a third pending.

Just the ripple effect of the fallout from the Kyle Beach case is enough to crumble a professional organization. The fact that in 2010, the organization knowingly, as the lawsuit says, put “Stanley Cup championship aspirations ahead of the welfare of its players” by waiting three weeks before internally investigating a sexual-assault allegation made against a member of their coaching staff (Brad Aldrich) who, once he left the Hawks, was convicted of sexually abusing a minor three years later in Michigan and is now on the state’s sex-offender registry, would seem to be something you’d want to disappear as a member of the NHL.

But it didn’t. Even as the case was settled two years ago and the free fall came in the form of the exit of GM Stan Bowman, a $2 million fine imposed on the Hawks from the NHL and the removal of other executives due to the findings of an independent investigation of that assault claim, a new “John Doe” sexual-assault charge (again, against Aldrich from 2010 while with the Hawks) was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County just last month.

And now this. The Perry drama. Even as his statement/apology Thursday cited mental health and alcohol abuse as primary sources, that didn’t help much in providing any clarity of what internal policies he violated or the level of inappropriateness of his behavior. That allows public speculation, public blame and shame to continue to run rampant, metaphorically becoming a gunmetal gray cloud that not only hovers heavy over the Hawks but is still producing and releasing bullets of rain.

There are victims here. And all of them are to some degree attached to the Hawks. That is something the team is trying to distance itself from this time so that the stain and pain of it don’t last like the last time. Too late. The vultures already circled Conner Bedard (all of 18 years old, all of just a neophyte in this game) in Winnipeg, a somewhat homecoming to Western Canada, where he grew up. Questions about the rumors of his family — specifically his mother — being the victim at the center of the insanity were unnervingly sprayed on him.

“I don’t need to answer any more questions about this stuff. Obviously, it’s all just a bunch of ‘BS’ on the internet,” he said. “It’s of course [had] an effect on myself and my family, but who cares. It’s out of our control, and it’s all just fake, made-up stuff.”

Well, some do care. And the fact that he mentioned that allowing the situation to reach this point has had (“of course”) an effect on his family, validates that he’s of course one of those who does care.

Right now, because of the lack of information provided and lack of public trust, this seems like another situation — again, this incident almost by default — the Hawks are going to have to own as a referendum of who they are. Even as much as we’d like to believe that it’s not. Transparency is tough, especially in situations where, one, you have a history of misconduct and the mishandling of that situation is still haunting you and, two, when the situation could become worse if the public were to know what really went down.

Between a rock and a hard place seems like a spa with “New Blue Sun” playing in the background in those moments. Even your enemies feel for you. Karma can’t hate you like that, can it?

Connor Bedard shows maturity, poise when interrogated about false Corey Perry rumors

A hearty scoop of thanks

2023-11-24T22:18:38.515-06:00

Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard is among the many people on the Chicago sports landscape for whom we can be grateful.

Erin Hooley/AP

Opinions are like a–holes, everybody got one. Except for columnists, they got three.

— Unknown fact

As columnists, it seems like all we do or our only job when covering sports in the city is to 1) complain, criticize and oppose, never see a light at the end of anything, or 2) make everything in Chicago sports seem worse than what it is. In other words, tell the truth. But in this week of giving thanks, it seemed apropos to look past the darkness that has become the Bears, Bulls and White Sox; the subtle shade overcasting the Cubs, Sky and Blackhawks; the Northwestern drama and Illini struggles and find the light — that dim, fading light — that is our only source of lumination in this former sports mecca the world calls Chicago but we call home.

But there’s thankfulness inside our opinions. They’re just hard to find, hidden too deep between the lines we write. Even in this week of Thanksgiving, where the Bulls are 23rd (out of 30), the Hawks are 30th (out of 32) and the Bears are 28th (out of 32) in each league’s power rankings, there are many things we’re — like most of the people in the city — thankful for. Maybe more.

We’re thankful for high school basketball jumping off (and the top two teams in the state playing each other next week). Thankful for Loyola vs. Lincoln-Way East (Class 8A), Mount Carmel vs. Downers Grove North (7A) and Joliet Catholic vs. Nazareth (5A) in the state high school football finals, never mind the outcomes. Thankful for the message Ogden Park’s James Bell walks through life with that should be a message to all of us in the city and beyond.

Thankful that the Cubs have a somewhat legitimate chance at possibly making the Shohei thing happen. Thankful that, at the end of the day (season, year, current era), the Bears will have a foundation-changing pick(s) in April’s draft that hopefully they won’t mess up. Thankful for the Sox that it can’t get any worse. Thankful for the Sky giving T-Spoon the keys. Thankful for the Alex Brown/Lance Briggs ‘‘Aftershow’’ debates. Thankful for Connor Bedard. (Thank God for Connor).

Thankful, strictly from a sports perspective, that Northwestern football is officially bowl-eligible. Thankful Jim Harbaugh will be leaving Michigan after this season and can be convinced that Halas Hall is a better option. Thankful for Marquette basketball. Thankful that Olivia Miles (Notre Dame) will (hopefully) be back on the court soon. Thankful Boo Buie (Northwestern) stayed to give us front-row seats to his senior season.

Believe it or not, we’re thankful for Montez Sweat. Thankful for Luis Robert Jr. Definitely thankful for Kahleah Copper. Thankful for Cody Bellinger. And, more important, Justin Steele. Thankful for our colleagues in the local media for even putting out there that Jerry Reinsdorf has to sell the Sox. Thankful that the McCaskeys are next on the list. Thankful Milwaukee’s mad that Craig Counsell chose us. Thankful for ‘‘Leila Wednesdays.’’ Thankful that Charissa Thompson and Erin Andrews aren’t based — or were taught how to be journalists — in Chicago. Thankful for our every-day-all-day sports-radio competition — I’m sorry, sports-radio ‘‘options.’’ Thankful for Adam Amin and Stacey King making a lot of the Bulls’ first halves watchable. Thankful that Ryan Chiaverini is back in the sports-anchor space where he belongs. Thankful for all that Jim Rose did and all that Kenny McReynolds continues to do. Thankful knowing that one day Jason Benetti will return the same way Chuck Swirsky did. Thankful for orange uniforms. And thankful that even though they ain’t winning on it, the Bulls do have the dopest In-Season Tournament court in the NBA.

Thankful for what Je’Shawn Stevenson (Lindblom), Jack Stanton (Downers Grove North) and Davion Thompson (Bolingbrook) are about to show us. Thankful for what Colson Montgomery has the possibility of soon becoming for the Sox. Same with Colton Dach one day for the Hawks. Thankful for the Bears as an organization out in the streets, helping to feed migrant families. Thankful for the example former Bear Israel Idonije is setting for former NFL players and future young Black entrepreneurs throughout the city. Thankful for former UIC legend, MLB All-Star and Blue Island’s own Curtis Granderson’s Grand Giving Initiative for directly dealing with the food desert and hunger issues throughout Chicago.

We are thankful — and grateful — we get to see so many Walter Payton jerseys every day, especially on Sundays. Thankful Scottie Pippen, through it all, still gets his flowers. Thankful Steve McMichael finally made the Hall of Fame finalist list. Thankful DePaul brought Mark Aguirre back home. Thankful Sister Jean is all ours. Thankful that the Bears have six more games to be at least one game better than they were last season. Thankful in that thing called progress and the wishful, often delusional, thinking — not writing — that always seems to come with it.

Bears predictions: Week 12 at Vikings

2023-11-24T11:28:41.687-06:00

Vikings running back Alexander Mattison runs against the Bears last month.

Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ game Monday night in Minneapolis:

Rick Morrissey

Vikings, 23-20: The Bears are coming off a tough road loss in which they outplayed the Lions most of the game. Now they’re at the hot, but not-that-mighty Vikes. A case could be made for an uplifting victory. By why potentially spoil a good thing — the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft? Season: 9-2.

Rick Telander

Bears, 27-24: It seems there have been endless make-or-break, must-win games for the Bears this season. Kirk Cousins is gone, Justin Fields is healthy, so we really mean it this time. Silence that damn Viking horn! Season: 7-4.

Scoop Jackson

Bears, 24-20: Winning one more game than they did last season begins right now for the Bears. Not to save anyone’s job or position, but to at least say going into next season, “At least we showed growth.” Whatever that means. Season: 7-4.

Patrick Finley

Bears, 23-21: If Fields plays as well as he did last week, the Bears should score enough to win. Their defense needs to answer the bell after gagging away the win in Detroit. Season: 8-3.

Jason Lieser

Vikings, 25-23: This is an intriguing matchup of defensive play callers between Bears coach Matt Eberflus and Vikings coordinator Brian Flores. Flores won that battle decisively last time they played. Season: 6-5.

Mark Potash

Vikings, 24-23: The Bears are a better team than they were in Week 6 when they lost to the Vikings 19-13 at Soldier Field. But so are the Vikings, who have won two of three without Cousins and receiver Justin Jefferson. Season: 6-5.

Zach LaVine isn’t the problem — the Bulls are

2023-11-18T08:00:00-06:00

Zach LaVine drives to the basket past the Magic’s Paolo Banchero in the second half Wednesday.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

‘‘Ladies, if you got 14 women hating on you, you need to figure out how the — to get to 16 before the summer gets here. Fellas, if you got 20 haters, you need 40 of them — what [are] you complaining about? If there’s any haters in here right now that don’t have nobody to hate on, feel free to hate on me.” — Katt Williams, gospel

It was his swan-song game. A game that was all on him because his “equaled half” wasn’t present because of personal issues. The game that will go down as the official beginning of his end. At least here in Chicago. Everything that happens afterward is just one step closer to the exit. Closer to the art of noise that has been his time here.

Zach LaVine, one of the best bad-shot makers in the league, ended Wednesday’s winnable game against the Magic with two Kobe-esque threes that turned a 19-point deficit in the third quarter into a tie game with 7.5 seconds left. We all know swans don’t sing, but damn. The franchise player on the day in which he finally (an important word) spoke out loud about the years-old, ongoing trade rumors buzzarding around his existence with the Bulls being real — turning rumor into acceptance — never touched the ball again once Orlando took the lead with 1.4 seconds left.

“We had our best player make the plays to get us in the situation, and they went to theirs,” Bulls announcer Stacey King said into the mic immediately after the Bulls’ two-point loss to the Magic.

The “our best player” in that statement stands out. Probably because King probably would have used the same phrasing if DeMar DeRozan was on the floor. But the Bulls still took another ‘‘L.’’ And LaVine’s reality only got realer. If Wednesday’s game didn’t show any of us anything, it solidified in all haters’ minds that LaVine will never be enough. He had a heroic 34-point performance Friday in the follow-up loss to the Magic.

Now that it has become a foregone conclusion that LaVine won’t finish the season — or the year or maybe the month — in a Bulls uniform, the time has come to look at the other side of the coin. The non-basketball side. The side that gets lost in the W-L percentage, in the data-searching analytics that will be used to make the Bulls getting rid of him make absolute sense. Because what will be the focus is how $40 million is a lot of single-season money to give a player and a hard price to move when an organization wants to part ways.

But in a marketplace in which 90% of every team’s base operating budget by law has to be spent, then where the $40M is going is more of a concern than the $40M itself. And at some point by either trade deadline or end of the season, some team will look at their 40-mill assets and realize that LaVine might be a better option. It always happens that way in the NBA.

What doesn’t always happen in the NBA? A max-paid player handling never-ending trade rumors with the dignity LaVine has. Something that we should recognize, appreciate and applaud.

At any point, LaVine could have done a Ben Simmons/Anthony Davis/Kyrie Irving/Jimmy Butler/Kevin Durant/James Harden-type move that he had the right to exorcise. Put his private feelings and frustrations out on Front Street & Madison and/or put the organization on blast for whatever (right or wrong) reason he chose to use as an exit strategy and hold the Bulls hostage to his requests by half-assing it on the court or finding a legal loophole in his contract or new league rules that afforded him the room to not play at all without losing bags of commas and zeros.

But he didn’t. LaVine played the game off the court the way the Bulls laid it out for it to be played until he couldn’t play it any longer. Until he realized the “game” was over. Which at this point, it is.

So peace, Zach. Appreciate all you’ve done. Keep collecting haters. Keeping it dignified at 200 when 100 would have been good enough. Unfortunately, this will all be the same without you. The targets’ll just shift. The city, the haters, the self-proclaimed basketball savants, the Bulls’ organization will focus on another scapegoat, another player, another purpose and reason as to why things remain the way they have.

You won’t look at it as a blessing in this moment, but once far enough removed, you will. Same way Khalil Mack did, same way Roquan Smith did, same as David Montgomery is doing right now in their rearviews from the Bears. Same way DeMar will once the Bulls decide to seal his fate the way they’re doing yours.

Just leave knowing the Bulls are in need of a total culture change. Periodt. What that entails is not for us or you to decide because we aren’t the ones inside the organization who established, cultivated and allowed the disposable, irreconcilable culture to exist. But if we’re honest, we know it ain’t all — or a lot of it — on you. But know until you’re gone, they’re going to make you feel like it is.

Bulls guard Zach LaVine hurting himself trying to play role of villain

Bears predictions: Week 11 at Lions

2023-11-16T12:38:37.736-06:00

Quarterbacks Justin Fields and Jared Goff embrace after last year’s Week 17 game.

Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ game Sunday in Detroit:

Rick Morrissey

Lions, 38-17: This could get really ugly really quickly. The Lions are the far better team, David Montgomery will be looking to send a message to his former team and the Bears don’t have a whole lot going for them, other than next year’s draft. Season: 8-2.

Rick Telander

Lions, 27-20: Remember when a Lions game was pretty much an easy W for the Bears? Remember when mortgage rates were 3%? Memories ... Season: 6-4.

Scoop Jackson

Lions, 42-28: The Lions have put up two “40-pieces” already this season. Adding a third against the No. 27 points allowed defense in the League doesn’t seem possible. And it’s a Montgomery “payback” game. Season: 6-4.

Patrick Finley

Lions, 31-28: The Lions have given up 90 points over the past three weeks. The problem for the Bears remains that the Lions can win a race to 30. Or 40. Season: 7-3.

Jason Lieser

Lions, 31-25: The Lions scored 72 points in two wins against the Bears last season. And they’ve improved. They might even take the North and never give it back. Season: 5-5.

Mark Potash

Lions, 27-17: The Bears have a lot of things going for them with the return of Fields and guard Nate Davis — and defensive end Montez Sweat in his third game. But Ford Field with a juiced crowd is a tough place for Fields to shake off the rust. Season: 5-5.

Bears predictions: Week 10 vs. Panthers

2023-11-07T09:18:08.025-06:00

The Bears last played the Panthers in 2020.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The Sun-Times’ experts offer their picks for the Bears’ “Thursday Night Football” game against Carolina:

Rick Morrissey

Bears, 17-14: The winner is the loser in this game, right? Two bad teams fighting for 2024 draft position? This has “Bears” written all over it. Season: 7-2.

Rick Telander

Bears, 23-20: Being at home should mean something to the Bears in this battle of bad vs. worse. Just the desire to avoid being booed should be worth a point or two. Season: 5-4.

Scoop Jackson

Bears, 27-16: Catching a bad team on a short week with a depleted, injury-riddled defense is just the gift the Bears need to say, “Yo, at least we’re better than them!” and feel proud about it. Season: 5-4.

Patrick Finley

Panthers, 24-21 (OT): It’s been hard to trust the Bears to do anything right this season — and the draft implications of beating the Panthers are the highest stakes they’ll play for all year. Plus, the wrong team wins on Thursdays all the time. Season: 7-2.

Jason Lieser

Bears, 23-11: The Panthers are worse across the board, and the Bears have no excuse for whiffing on the closest thing they’ll have to a gimme all season. Season: 4-5.

Mark Potash

Bears, 23-16: Whether Justin Fields or Tyson Bagent starts should matter more than it actually does. But either way, the Bears are motivated on multiple levels against a beatable opponent with a rookie quarterback at home on a short week. Season: 4-5.