A preseason that finished up with two wins for the Chicago Bulls had plenty of positive takeaways, despite the losing record through five games.
The Chicago Bulls wrapped up their 2019 preseason slate late last week with a convincing home win at the United Center over the rising Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 17 by the final score of 111-93. That gave the Bulls a 2-3 record to round out the preseason. Although their five preseason outings looked much better than the 2-3 record would indicate.
Moreover, the other of two wins for the Bulls in the preseason came over the Toronto Raptors on the road at the Air Canada Centre back on Oct. 13. And the three losses for the Bulls came at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks. That loss to the Bucks was at home in the preseason opener.
Although we shouldn’t necessarily toss all preseason records out the window this year, finding progress under head coach Jim Boylen after his contract extension during the offseason with this team is much more significant. And going undefeated in the preseason doesn’t count toward anything when it’s all said and done.
A solid offseason for John Paxson and Gar Forman and the coaching staff could launch the Bulls into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference and get closer to surpassing teams like the Bucks and Pacers in the Central Division standings. Acquisitions like former Washington Wizards sizable guard Tomas Satoransky and former Pacers forward Thaddeus Young gives head coach Jim Boylen a much deeper rotation at his disposal.
Yet, here’s a look deeper into the five biggest takeaways from the encouraging five-game Chicago Bulls preseason slate.