NBA Playoffs 2022: The Chicago Bulls got back to relevancy -- getting back to contention will be harder

THE FINAL 12 seconds of Game 4 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls had yet to expire, but both Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan had seen enough.

With the game out of reach and their once-promising season slipping away, the Bulls' All-Star star duo rose from the end of the bench, their home white jerseys still untucked, and made their way toward the locker room, not sticking around for the final buzzer.

After splitting the first two games in Milwaukee, the Bulls had returned home to host their first playoff games in five years, with the momentum on their side. An injury to Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton in Game 2 had given them an opening to perhaps upset the defending champions.

Instead, the Bulls were blown away for eight non-competitive quarters over the weekend, the Bucks seizing a commanding 3-1 lead in the series and making a first-round exit all but inevitable for the Bulls. Chicago had been dispatched in a way that mirrored the team's struggles all season against the Eastern Conference elite.

The 2021-22 Bulls season ended Wednesday night with a 116-100 loss in Game 5, bringing to a halt a ride that darted out of the gates and heightened expectations before crashing with an eventual second-half disappointment. The Bulls spent 56 days atop the Eastern Conference, more than any team besides the Miami Heat, who eventually claimed the top seed. However, the last of those days came back on Feb. 25; Chicago went 8-15 after the All-Star break against the toughest second-half schedule in the NBA.

On one level, Chicago's season was a success: The Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season thanks to a roster overhaul led by vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and