Chicago Bulls: Defensive struggles early on in regular season

The Chicago Bulls are one from three early on but have struggled on the defensive end. With a relatively easy schedule to start the month why have they been unable to contain the opposition in the first few games?

The Chicago Bulls were expected to be better defensively this season, why have they struggled so much and what can they do to remedy this? Frankly, the Bulls defense has been terrible so far. They have conceded a lot of threes of which many have been wide open looks. Their defense around the rim hasn’t been terrible but they are fouling too often in the open court. What do they need to do straight away to remedy these issues?

Three Point defense

This has been the biggest problem defensively to start the season. They have allowed 48 three pointers in only three games. Not making the right rotations and not closing out strongly to shooters has meant that the corners are often left open. Worryingly the Bulls haven’t played a top offense yet either. Though the Raptors aren’t easy beats they are without Kawhi Leonard now, and the Grizzlies and Hornets wont be playoff teams this year.

Simple ball movement combined with drive and kicks passes have split the Bulls wide open. By closing out late they have succumbed to pump fakes and or fouled when they were overly aggressive once they got to their assignment eventually.

If they can’t fix these issues immediately the top teams in both conferences will torch them. The defensive leaders need to be the first to stand up and lead the way. Otto Porter having his minutes managed and then taking a head knock hasn’t helped.

But between him, Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky they need to lead this team to defensive parity. Lauri Markkanen has shown hes able to defend well down low and out on the perimeter. Markkanen is a good example of the ample personnel the Bulls have to defend with. The key to establishing strong perimeter defense is making the right rotations and closing out strongly to the shooting threats.

Zach LaVine especially needs to stick like glue to his man on the perimeter. The Bulls guards need to fight through screens and be dogs when tracking their assignment around the arc.

Stopping penetration

Allowing penetration is also of importance for this team. Trusting that your teammate will cover their assignment needs to be more of a focus.

On multiple occasions a rotation has been missed so two players will run out late to cover a shooter, leaving other threats open on the floor. In the below tweet this is a classic example of late reactions to what should be a straight forward assignment.

The Bulls rim protection hasn’t been bad but they have allowed drives to the rim far too often. After their third game they have allowed the third most attempts at the rim in the league. Only some good deterring around the rim and missed attempts from weaker teams have stopped them conceding a lot more in the paint.

As mentioned above in the three-point defense, recovering quickly and reacting to ball movement will stop the open driving lanes that have been the issue in the first three games.

This Bulls team has enough capable players to be at least an average defensive team. Effort needs to be the first thing to be improved and then sticking to a defensive plan set by coach Jim Boylen. With tougher defensive assignments upcoming its imperative that they get this right. The Bulls have the offense to take a big jump this year, but they need the defense to match up if they want to take the next step and be a playoff team.