The Chicago Bulls’ 2025-26 campaign has been a tale of two teams. The first version, a 6-1 powerhouse with a top-ten defense, a balanced scoring attack featuring seven to nine players in double figures every night, and the best assist numbers in the league. The second edition, a 3-11 bunch behind the league’s weakest defense, mediocre three-point shooting numbers, and abysmal rebounding woes. What was the turning point after a promising start to the year, and is there any end in sight for the dumps that Chicago has found itself in lately?
From Good To Bad, To Worse
All statistics and analysis aside, the Chicago Bulls have returned to the same machine they’ve been over the previous two seasons. They still score a lot of points, shoot a lot of three-point attempts, lead the league in transition and pace, but they are horrendous defensively. They allow the most points in the paint in the NBA, are bottom-three in points allowed and defensive efficiency figures, and are outsized by nearly every opposing lineup. The heart of their issues remains the lack of big men. Nikola Vucevic is the league’s least effective and intimidating rim protector, and the Bulls deploy two undersized power forwards that rotate in an effort to contribute to inside defense. A few examples of the gross disadvantage include Matas Buzelis and Patrick Williams being tasked with Karl-Anthony Towns, Paulo Banchero, Kristaps Porzingis, Zion Williamson, Lauri Markkanen, and Evan Mobley. All of these matchups favor the opposition and have completely exposed Chicago’s interior defense and rebounding abilities.
Through the first quarter of the season, the Bulls are…
21st in Offensive Rating
23rd in Defensive RatingHave lost 10 of their last 13 games. Not a winning recipe. pic.twitter.com/LZCy8RmWax
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One of the more intriguing storylines for Chicago’s season is the addition of Coby White. He was the most consistent and dependable Bull over the last two seasons, but whether it’s random or a direct correlation, since he joined the team this year, things have gone south. In his five games on the floor, the Bulls are 2-3. Two buzzer-beating shots to beat the Portland Trail Blazers and the Washington Wizards are saving his record from being 0-5, all against teams that had six or fewer wins coming into the matchup. Chicago has been losing to the worst teams in the league since White returned from injury.
Reverting To The Starting Product
How do the Bulls fix the problem, and what did they do so well to begin the year? First, their assist numbers are down. This is due to the lack of transition, resulting from a lack of defensive stops and defensive rebounds, as well as the addition of White, who is the most ball-dominant player on the roster. The passing quantity and quality have dropped over the past two weeks. Secondly, teams have fully exposed Vucevic’s inability to protect the paint, and the perimeter defense has taken a massive dip. The opposition is consistently beating guards off the dribble and meeting a non-existent intimidator once they reach the rim. Adding White into the rotation, as an undersized and below-average defender, did not help this. Many of the contributors through the first portion of the year have regressed to their respective means, and what was once thought to be improvements across the board turned into a flash in the pan start for the lowly bunch.
Chicago Bulls:
— 5-0
— 1 seed
— 6th in offense
— 8th in defenseTheir best start since 1996-97. pic.twitter.com/kKw0gBHUZD
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Billy Donovan’s group has seemingly given up on his system and message. Does he retain his job throughout the season if things continue to slide? Luckily for him, help is on the way. Dalen Terry and Zach Collins, two of the team’s better defenders, are rapidly approaching a return.
