There’s a turning point every rebuild and while it’s impossible to identify in the moment, the current five-week stretch that Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine have put together for the Bulls feels like it just might be theirs.
Ironically enough it came in a seven-point loss to the Charlotte Hornets, but Feb. 2 marked the beginning of what’s maybe the next chapter in the Bulls franchise. On that night, a 125-118 loss in which the Bulls coughed up a nine-point halftime lead, Markkanen poured in 30 points and LaVine, returning from an ankle sprain, pitched in 18 points of his own.