My sports day began with the 3:05 Bears game and eased into night with a DVR-delayed Bulls win over Cleveland.  Akiem Hicks owned the 49ers offensive line and kept everyone but Chicago’s old pal Robbie Gould out of the scoring column in a 14-9 victory.  Lauri Markkanen topped 30 points for the 2nd consecutive game as Cleveland didn’t have any answers for the Finnisher.

The Bulls hadn’t won 2 games in a row since March.  The kids need some Ws.  If you’re someone who has his or her heart set on Zion Williamson next year, don’t fret about draft position.  There are plenty of losses on the horizon this year, so enjoy the wins while you can.  No matter how well Lauri, Kris Dunn(who had another big game and is showing the consistency we all hoped for) and Zach LaVine (who could return Wednesday against his former team, the Timberwolves) mesh – and hopefully they mesh beautifully – the Bulls should finish in the bottom 5 in the NBA.  That gives them a pretty solid chance of walking away from June’s draft with a Williamson or an R.J. Barrett.  Especially if they end up trading Justin Holiday and Robin Lopez, their two key veteran contributors.

Sit back and watch The Markksman as his three-ball arcs high and splashes through the net.  Smile when Kris Dunn rushes the hoop and wraps a pass around a defender for an easy Wendell Carter Jr. dunk.  Get pumped when you see Zach Attack suit up again.  Every game is a chance to discover a bright future.

Besides, we’ve got the Bears into January.  Winter is gonna be fun this year.