The Bulls are seven games into a rebuilding season, so a 1-6 start isn’t exactly a shock to the system. The schedule has been rough, the roster is young, and this whole setup is built for evaluation as much as results. Even so, the early numbers are ugly enough to tell a pretty clear story: Chicago is playing fast, sharing the ball, and launching threes - and still not getting much out of any of it.
Tiago Splitter made his preseason intentions plain. He wanted pace, open-floor pressure and a style that leans into athleticism.
Chicago has embraced that vision in a big way. At 105.6, the Bulls lead the NBA in pace, meaning no team is getting up and down the floor more often.
That should fit a youthful roster that isn’t going to win many talent battles on paper.
But speed alone hasn’t turned into offense. The Bulls are averaging 112.6 points, which sits right in the middle of the league.
More possessions haven’t translated into a real scoring edge, and some of the extra tempo has only exposed the rough edges. Chicago is coughing it up 17.3 times per game and giving up 23.6 points off turnovers, the second-most in the NBA.
Some of that comes with the territory for a team short on ball-handling depth, but plenty of those mistakes are happening in transition, where the Bulls are supposed to be at their best.
Splitter has also been open about the lack of true isolation scorers on this roster, which is why the offense has been built around movement and quick decisions. Chicago has been one of the league’s most pass-heavy teams, and the ball is moving plenty.
The problem is what happens after the pass. The Bulls are averaging the fifth-most passes in the NBA, but they’re also sitting at just 24.6 assists per game, the fourth-fewest in the league.
That gap says a lot about the current state of the offense: plenty of sharing, not nearly enough finishing.
The three-point volume tells a similar story. Chicago is taking 42.6 threes per night, the fifth-most in the NBA, despite hitting just 27.9 percent of them - the worst mark in the league by a comfortable margin. The Bulls are getting some open looks because of the ball movement, but the roster simply doesn’t have enough reliable shooting to make that diet work right now.
There’s still a developmental case for letting young players keep firing, and the Bulls did try to patch the issue with the late addition of Buddy Hield. But one role player isn’t enough to solve a structural problem.
Chicago can expect the shooting to improve some, because it’s unlikely to stay under 30 percent all season. Even so, this is a team that looks ill-equipped to live off this many attempts from deep, and the current offensive shape may need to change if the Bulls want to be more than a nightly experiment.
In Other News...
Bulls Had No Answer For A 76ers Team Looking Unstoppable
The Bulls ran into a Philadelphia team that has quickly started to look like one of the leagues early problems, with the 76ers winning again to stretch their streak to four and move to 7-1 on the season. Chicago could not keep pace with the way Philadelphia moved the ball and kept pressure on the defense, as Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown set the tone and Joel Embiid, LeBron James and V.J. Edgecombe all chipped in to keep the offense humming.
For the Bulls, the frustration was less about one hot hand than the overall rhythm Philadelphia found and sustained. The 76ers were getting quality looks, sharing the ball and forcing Chicago to chase for long stretches, which is exactly the kind of night that can make a good defensive plan look thin. If this is the version of Philadelphia the Bulls are going to see again, they will need a much cleaner answer than the one they came up with here. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Wilson Is Giving Bulls Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Even in a loss to the 76ers, Caleb Wilson kept giving the Bulls something to hang onto. The rookie put up 24 points and seven rebounds, another steady night in a start that has quickly turned him into one of the most watchable young players in Chicago.
Wilsons early production has already put him in rare company, and the numbers are starting to pile up fast. He is averaging 21.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, a pace that has Bulls fans looking past the disappointment of one loss and toward what this stretch might mean if he keeps it up. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Visit To New York Suddenly Centers On Nic Claxton
The Bulls trip to New York on Wednesday has taken on a different feel because of the injury report, with Nic Claxton suddenly in the mix for the Knicks after being listed as questionable with a left hamstring strain. Claxton has yet to appear in a game this season or in the preseason, so his status matters not just for New Yorks frontcourt plans but for the way Chicago has to prepare on the road.
Jalen Smith has been handling the center duties in Claxtons absence and is listed as probable despite a left finger sprain. If Claxton is able to go, it would change the look of the matchup quickly, but for now the Bulls are left waiting on a decision that could shape how the game is played inside. [Read more 🡒]