From 6–1 to 6–5, the panic meter is rising fast in the Windy City. The Chicago Bulls haven’t tasted victory since November 4, a night when they stormed back from a 24-point deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 113–111.
Since then, the Bulls have dropped four straight—falling to the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Detroit Pistons. While losing to those teams isn’t necessarily shameful, a troubling trend is starting to take shape.
Chicago's defense is a sinking ship
The Bulls’ defense is reverting to old habits. Over their last four games, Chicago ranks 24th in defensive rating, 26th in points allowed, 27th in opponent field-goal percentage, and 29th in points allowed in the paint. Perhaps most concerning, opponents are shooting roughly league average from three, a trend that’s mirrored the Bulls’ steady collapse on the defensive end.
Through their first seven games, the Bulls still gave up plenty of points in the paint, ranking 26th in the league, but they held opponents to the ninth-lowest field-goal percentage and the seventh-lowest three-point percentage. So, even while getting blitzed at the rim, Chicago’s defensive steadiness on the perimeter helped them stay afloat and ultimately, win games.
Lately, the Bulls’ perimeter defense has sprung too many leaks, allowing opponents to reach the rim at will and generating a barrage of clean looks from the inside out. In their latest loss to Detroit, Chicago surrendered 66 points in the paint, as the unheralded duo of Daniss Jenkins and Paul Reed combined for 40 points inside the arc.
Jenkins hoisted plenty of mid-range shots against the Bulls—a look now widely regarded as the least efficient in basketball—but he still connected on 4-of-10 of those attempts and dished out 12 assists by slicing into the lane. Many of Reed’s buckets came directly from Jenkins’ drives, as Reed converted all but three of his 11 field goals from within the restricted area.
Letting Jenkins and Reed combine for 46 points isn’t a good look. The Bulls squandered a winnable game against a depleted Pistons squad, but, truthfully, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Chicago had just given up 41 points to Giannis Antetokounmpo, 29 to Donovan Mitchell, and 38 to Victor Wembanyama, a sharp turn from the start of the season, when the Bulls were actually containing opposing stars. Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, and Trae Young all failed to even reach 25 points against them earlier in the year.
Now, even end-of-the-rotation players are torching the Bulls—and not with extreme difficulty, but with surprising ease. The team’s regression wasn’t hard to predict, but the good news is that it can be reversed. Battening down on the perimeter, committing to defense with consistent effort, and, of course, the eventual return of Josh Giddey will go a long way toward righting the ship.