Watching the Chicago Bulls play defense has made me believe in ghosts.
When the ball ends up in the opponent’s hands, I know the Bulls are standing on the other side. But then why are players running straight through them? How can the entire lineup disappear at a moment’s notice!? It has to be paranormal!
Front office leader and head coach Billy Donovan knew this would be a problem coming into the 2025-26 campaign. It’s why all they talked about in the lead-up to training camp was the newfound emphasis on physcality. It’s also why they seemingly opted for another player-for-player swap, moving Lonzo Ball for the more durable and defensive-minded Isaac Okoro. Nevertheless, legitimately solving the root of the problem goes far beyond adding a single player or spewing some encouraging words. And they are learning that the hard way over this recent stretch.
Apr 16, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) defends Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn ImagesChicago Bulls Defensive Woes …
The Chicago Bulls’ defense is a problem … and, no, not in the cool way.
When they turned heads around the league with their 5-0 start, the team’s defensive rating sat sixth-highest in the league at 110.3. As quickly as some wanted to buy into what this was doing on both ends, the wins and small sample size masked what was really going on. More specifically, the Bulls were benefiting immensely from some ice-cold shooting by their opponents. Teams were converting a league-low 30.1 percent over the Bulls’ first five games.
If this number ever started to increase – and it was destined to – the Bulls were going to find themselves in some serious trouble. Why? Well, as teams bricked shots from downtown, they had zero problem converting at the rim. Even with this 5-0 start, the Bulls allowed the single-most points in the paint per game. I think it’s safe to say that’s not necessarily a stat you see associated with an above-average defense.
The same can be said about their forced turnovers. Once again, despite the winning ways, the Bulls’ defense was forcing a mere 11.6 turnovers a night. This ranked dead last in the NBA by nearly a full turnover. To be sure, forcing mistakes isn’t the only way to be a high-quality defense, but it sure doesn’t hurt!
The hope for Billy Donovan was almost surely that more time together on the court would iron out these wrinkles and keep Chicago in the upper half of the league defensively. Instead, the opposite has happened. As opponent shooting has evened out, the cracks have split wide open. The Bulls have quickly plummeted down the NBA standings and now rank among the worst units in the league.
Things have been particularly rancid in their last 10 games, where they have crashed back down to reality with a 3-7 record and a 25th-ranked defensive rating (120.9). During this stretch, they have allowed 130.3 points per game, which is behind only the Utah Jazz for the most in the NBA. Their fouling has also gotten completely out of hand. Teams are taking 28.4 trips to the free-throw line a night. The Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards are the only teams to allow more, and they have a combined ONE win over these last 10 games.
Chicago has continued to allow a league-high in points in the paint, and this issue reached new heights in their most recent loss. New Orleans dropped 78 points in the paint, which is tied for the third-most by any team in a game this season. There was little to no resistance at the rim. And, when there was, a whistle was blown.
This incredibly poor defense has also led to some serious problems cleaning the glass. Teams are scooping up offensive rebounds with ease and have averaged a league-high 20.2 second-chance points a night dating back to November 7. The Trail Blazers and Pelicans have each scored 30+ points by grabbing their own misses over the last week alone.
So … where the heck do they go from here? Well, getting healthy will be a start. The team has watched players like Isaac Okoro, Dalen Terry, and Kevin Huerter hit the injury report in recent days. They have also had Zach Collins on the sideline ever since the season tipped off.
With that said, this still isn’t a group that has many above-average defenders to throw on the court. This is going to have to be a team-wide effort to ramp up the physicality and play a tougher brand of basketball. Again, I highly doubt this roster is capable of being a Top 10 unit, but that doesn’t mean they can’t muck things up and exert more of a collective effort. The sooner they start to understand that, the sooner my existential crises can end. If ghosts are real … does that mean goblins are real!? What about witches and warlocks!?
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