The last couple of weeks have offered a reminder about just how much responsibility Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is shouldering.

A home victory against the Hornets and road victories against the Raptors and — shockingly — the Celtics gave the Bulls their first three-game winning streak of the season before the Celtics ended it Saturday. Still, they are 13-16 and sitting comfortably in a familiar ZIP code: the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

If things don’t change for the worse, that means the Bulls’ first-round pick next summer — which they will keep only if it lands in the top 10 — likely will become property of the Spurs.

And it’s not as though the Bulls will get much cooperation from the schedule, either. With the games against the Celtics behind them, the Bulls have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA.

Plus, they have a coach in Billy Donovan who seemingly is pushing all the right buttons with arguably the least talented roster he has had since arriving in Chicago. And the players aren’t going to lie down and take losses by turning down their effort.

Guard Zach LaVine made that clear recently when he said: ‘‘Players and coaches never tank. That’s just not going to happen.’’

Donovan reiterated that, saying the front office hasn’t told him to ease off at all.

‘‘It would be very, very difficult for me personally to walk in front of a locker room every single day and be like, ‘Let’s pretend,’ ’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I think we’re trying to put our best foot forward.’’

That’s why only Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley can course-correct this.

A source Sunday said the front office still has full autonomy about the direction this season can take. The Sun-Times reported at the start of the season that Karnisovas & Co. were firmly behind the idea of showcasing players such as LaVine, center Nikola Vucevic and guard Lonzo Ball through the first 30 or 35 games, then hoping there would be a shift in what they found to be a stubborn trade market last offseason.

That shift hasn’t come yet, but there at least has been a flinch.

While the power structure in the Eastern Conference is pretty well-defined at the top, things are murkier in the Western Conference. The Thunder still sit at the top, but every team down to the No. 11 Suns can make a logical argument about why it can make a run to the conference finals.

That’s why the Warriors — No. 7 in the West — already traded for guard Dennis Schroder and put him in the starting lineup. And they still reportedly are shopping for an even bigger fish. Vucevic and LaVine fit that description and would make their roster better.

The Nuggets reportedly are sniffing around on LaVine — something the Sun-Times has confirmed — and the Lakers are in on every rumor of the day.

A team to keep an eye on is the Grizzlies, who would love to move off the contract of guard Marcus Smart. He has been playing inconsistent minutes off the bench and makes $20 million this season.

The issue is that, like Vucevic, Smart is set to make $21 million in the final year of his deal next season. The Bulls aren’t looking to add veteran contracts that stretch beyond this season unless draft picks are included.

The Bulls’ game Monday against the Bucks will be their 30th. All eyes are on Karnisovas now.