Bulls vs. Hornets preview and thread: Zach is Back

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Organizations do tanking. We know now that the Bulls are not trying to lose as much as possible, because Zach LaVine is returning for tonight’s game against the Hornets.

LaVine was still out a bit longer than the minimum absence, which is kinda weird, but it is not some galaxy-brain stuff where the Bulls are prioritizing keeping their top-4 protected pick.

So instead we look to the play-in race, where the Bulls are almost functionally eliminated from contention but NOT YET. They are 3.5 games behind the Wizards of Washington, and 4 behind the Indiana Pacers. Given how the latter has performed lately under the apparently mad reign of Swedish Boylen, maybe it’s the…