CHICAGO _ The Bulls are in a holding pattern, both in the short- and long-term.
They're waiting for Zach LaVine, Nikola Mirotic, David Nwaba and _ remember him? _ Cameron Payne to return from injuries. They're also waiting for young players to improve and a high draft pick to arrive in 2018.
Until then, games must be played, ready or not.
Tuesday night's contest versus the Suns at the United Center featured a Tyson Chandler appearance during a Bulls' rebuild the day after Tim Floyd abruptly resigned. But it wasn't 2001, even if the 104-99 loss reminded many of that era.
Yes, the Bulls have now lost a season-high six straight. The feeling that this could be a prolonged free fall is very real.
The Suns opened the fourth with a 14-2 run and then held off a late Bulls' charge behind Devin Booker's 33 points and 25 from T.J. Warren.
The night featured more flashes of promise followed by inexplicable lapses, most notably from Kris Dunn, who scored a career-high 24 points.
The athletic guard erased his 0-for-6 outing on Sunday that led to him getting benched for the final 18 minutes, 15 seconds with a torrid opening of nine points and two assists in the first 7 minutes.
But he sat for Jerian Grant after picking up two fouls. And despite hitting two big 3-pointers late and finishing with eight assists, four rebounds and four steals, he also had four turnovers, including two off simply flat-out casual passes.
