The Bulls Hit 20-Game Mark: Patience Is Wearing Thin, and So Is the Defense
As the Chicago Bulls hit the 20-game mark of the 2025-26 season, they find themselves in a familiar spot-hovering just below .500, sitting on the edge of relevance and irrelevance in the Eastern Conference. At 9-10 heading into their matchup with the Orlando Magic, the Bulls are once again staring down a question that’s haunted them for the better part of two seasons: What exactly is this team trying to be?
Vice President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas has consistently urged patience since the franchise pivoted away from the DeMar DeRozan-Zach LaVine-Lonzo Ball core. He pointed to last season’s final 20-game stretch as a reason for optimism, highlighting the emergence of an offensive identity and improved team cohesion.
“We were 14th on offense and 9th on defense,” he said at Media Day. “Those numbers are encouraging.”
Fast forward to now, and those encouraging signs have all but vanished.
Through 19 games, the Bulls rank 23rd in Defensive Rating (116.8) and 21st in Offensive Rating (113.5). That’s a steep drop from last year’s late-season surge, and while it’s still early, these aren’t the kind of numbers that suggest a team on the rise. Instead, they point to a group that’s still struggling to find its footing on both ends of the court.
The Bulls are also 20th in Net Rating (-3.3), which places them squarely in the back half of the lottery picture-13th, to be exact. And that brings us back to the central dilemma: Was that late-season run in 2024-25 a glimpse of the future, or just a mirage?
The truth probably lies somewhere in between. This version of the Bulls still has flashes of promise, but they’re buried under inconsistency, defensive lapses, and a roster that hasn’t quite figured out how to win together. Patience might still be the message from the front office, but the clock is ticking-especially with key frontcourt pieces like Nikola Vučević and Zach Collins set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer.
Vučević has had his moments offensively, but there’s no question that his presence has contributed to the team’s defensive struggles. Collins, meanwhile, has shown flashes as a backup but hasn’t done enough to solidify the position long-term. So, if the Bulls want to keep building around this core-or pivot to something new-decisions are coming, and fast.
The recent three-game skid, all against teams expected to finish near the bottom of the standings, didn’t do much to inspire confidence. And with no major trades looming on the horizon, the Bulls seem stuck in neutral. That’s a tough place to be for a franchise that’s spent the last few years bouncing between the Play-In Tournament and the lottery.
Last season, the Bulls landed the 12th overall pick and used it on Noa Essengue-a talented but raw prospect who’s yet to crack the rotation in any meaningful way. That pick was the result of a late-season push that produced some fun wins and a brief spark of belief in Josh Giddey’s potential as a long-term piece. But in terms of moving the rebuild forward, it didn’t change much.
Now, the Bulls face another fork in the road. Do they continue trying to win with this group, hoping for internal growth and a few lucky breaks?
Do they lean into the lottery and prioritize draft position? Or do they swing big again, as they did with the original Vučević trade, and try to bring in a veteran star to accelerate the timeline?
Whatever path they choose, it’s clear that just treading water won’t cut it anymore. The fanbase is looking for direction.
The roster needs clarity. And if the Bulls want to avoid another season of being stuck in the NBA’s middle ground, they’ll have to make some tough calls-and soon.