The Bulls are heading into the NBA Cup opener in Boston with a fresh memory they’d probably rather forget.
Friday’s game at TD Garden will mark the start of the 2026-27 NBA Cup for both teams, and the court will be a bright green as the league rolls out another round of In-Season Tournament play. The concept drew skepticism when it launched, and that hasn’t vanished completely, but it has settled in as a regular part of the NBA calendar. The games come with a little more edge than the typical early-season matchup, even if they still don’t quite match postseason stakes.
For Chicago, there’s at least a path worth watching in Group C. The Bulls have yet to reach the knockout round since the tournament began, but their draw includes the Celtics, Hornets, Wizards, and Hawks. It could definitely have been worse.
Still, Boston is a rough place to open this thing up, especially with what just happened a couple of days ago. The Celtics rolled past the Bulls, 134-99, hitting nearly 50.0 percent of their shots and knocking down 21 three-pointers. Chicago was careless with the ball, finishing with 24 turnovers, and Boston also beat them in transition, 17-8.
A single loss won’t end the Bulls’ Cup run, but the format brings another wrinkle that matters a lot: point differential. Because group play is round robin, ties in the standings are common, and the league’s tiebreakers put a premium on every possession. That has led teams over the years to keep their starters on the floor and keep pushing when the margin gets big.
That’s where this gets uncomfortable for Chicago. Boston already handled the Bulls by 35 points, and it did so while easing off the gas. Jayson Tatum and Paul George both played well under 30 minutes, and not a single Celtics starter got to 28 minutes.
The Bulls could certainly respond better this time, especially after a nice outing against the Knicks. But this is a veteran, talented Celtics team with a real reason to press its advantage again. And if Chicago is without Jalen Smith, the warning signs only get louder.
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The bigger concern was how quickly the game tilted away from the Bulls, who were forced to chase from the opening stretch after Boston came out with pace and purpose. Shooting, defense and turnovers all worked against Chicago, and the margin only grew as the Celtics kept pressure on every possession. By the time the Bulls tried to settle in, the game had already started to slip into the kind of one-sided loss that leaves a team searching for answers. [Read more 🡒]
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Splitter has also been careful not to close the door on anything, saying Williams has been performing well in training camp and will have chances to play as the season moves along. For a Bulls team still sorting out its rotation, that leaves Williams in a familiar spot: healthy enough to be in the conversation, but still waiting for the first real opportunity to turn camp progress into game minutes. [Read more 🡒]