The Chicago Bulls are the most surprising team in the NBA at the moment, with a 6-1 record through their first seven games and the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. How long that remains the case is a legitimate question, but a win over a division rival like the Milwaukee Bucks would quell a lot of concerns -- and the Bucks seem willing to give Chicago an advantage it was built for.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing at an MVP level (so is Josh Giddey). The Bulls will have to find a way to go point-for-point with one of the most dominant interior scorers in the league, despite consistently being one of the worst teams at defending the paint.
But the Bulls' biggest strength so far in 2025-26 matches up well with one of Milwaukee's most glaring weaknesses, and head coach Billy Donovan must capitalize on it.
The Chicago Bulls bench should dominate Milwaukee's
Eric Nehm, the Bucks' beat reporter for The Athletic, wrote an intriguing story about Milwaukee Head Coach Doc Rivers' odd preference to play all-bench lineups through the early part of this season. Per Nehm, the Bucks have played "units that feature no starters against lineups with at least one starter from the other team" for 45 minutes. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, that strategy has failed quite miserably.
The Bucks' bench units have a defensive rating of 67.1, which ranks 29th, per NBA.com. Their net rating of -3.0 is 21st. Chicago's bench is scoring more than 44 points per game.
The Bulls' reserves are shooting 48.7 percent from the field, good for fourth in the league, and are outscoring teams by 2.5 points per 100 possessions, which ranks second behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter have been two of the most productive non-starters in the league. Dosunmu is third on the Bulls in points per game (16.2), while Huerter is fifth at 12.9. Backup center Jalen Smith is averaging 9.1 points in fewer than 15 minutes.
The Bulls have played much slower than they would prefer -- they're just 10th in the league in pace. But Donovan's team runs at every opportunity, and the ability to play multiple shooters, playmakers and high-level athletes at all times has flummoxed opposing teams.
If Rivers and the Bucks expect to outlast the Bulls by digging deep into their bench, they'll be in for a rude awakening -- especially with lineups that bleed points at such a rapid pace and can't score efficiently.