By a good margin, the biggest problem in the Chicago Bulls regular season opener loss to the Atlanta Hawks was the play on the defensive end of the floor.
Heading into the 2020-21 regular season slate, the Chicago Bulls looked to be putting together an improved team in the fourth year of the rebuild. The Bulls went out and hired Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley to replace John Paxson and Gar Forman as the lead voices in the front office over the offseason. And then Karnisovas and Eversley hired Billy Donovan to replace Jim Boylen as the Bulls head coach.
Tipping off their regular season schedule on Dec. 23 at home at the United Center against star point guard Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls didn’t come out with their best effort. Out of the gates, the Bulls did draw an underrated opponent in the improving Hawks. But Donovan and the Bulls wound up getting trounced from about the first three or five minutes of the game.
The Bulls ultimately fell short to the Hawks by the final score of 124-104 to notch their first loss of the regular season so far. They will get another tough test in an Eastern Conference foe in their second outing, which comes at home on Dec. 26 against the Indiana Pacers.
Last season, Boylen’s Bulls were at least improving a bit on defense. Their defensive rating got below 110 last season for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign. But their defensive rating from the regular season opener against the Hawks sat above 117.
There is no reason to panic over the long haul since the Bulls had one slow start to a dramatically altered season in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But they do have to focus on improving in spots where it’s most needed, namely on the defensive end right now.
Here’s a look into three defensive liabilities for the Bulls that must improve this season.