Don't look now, but the Chicago Bulls are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. After holding steady in 10th place for 75 days, Chicago has surpassed the downtrodden Miami Heat, who have lost eight straight games. The Bulls are tied with the Heat record-wise, however, they hold the tiebreaker.
Chicago is 2.5 games behind the eighth seeded Orlando Magic and three games back from the seventh seeded Atlanta Hawks. While it appeared the Bulls were on a collision course with the 10th seed, that ideology has shifted in recent days. Between Chicago's impressive, post-All-Star break play and the middle third of the Eastern Conference's struggles, the Bulls are a Play-In Tournament lock with ample room to improve their seeding.
Over Chicago's last 10 games, its net rating is 1.3, 14th-best in the association. The Hawks, Magic, and Heat rank 20th, 22nd, and 27th in net rating over the same span. Surprisingly enough, the Bulls don't rank first among this play-in grouping in offensive rating—that title goes Atlanta. Chicago instead ranks first in defensive rating among the foursome, placing 11th in the NBA with a 112.2 defensive rating over the past 10 contests.
The Bulls' improved defense is key in a late-season playoff push
Although 11th isn't elite, it's a drastic improvement from the Bulls' pre-All-Star break defensive performances. Prior to the midseason festivities, Chicago ranked 27th in the NBA in defensive rating. The Bulls' rating of 116.4 only bested the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, and Washington Wizards, three of the four worst teams in the NBA.
The Bulls' mediocre offensive rating of 111.6 wasn't enough to remedy a shoddy defense. Thus, Chicago's record was 11 games under .500 at the All-Star break. Don't get it twisted; the Bulls are 10 games below .500 now and 7-6 since the break. The Bulls' improvement in win percentage isn't extreme. Nevertheless, the improvement on the defensive end is.
The 11th placement in defensive rating over the previous 10 games is great, but on a larger scope, the Bulls' defense is even better since the All-Star break, at 8th in the association. Despite a continued insistence to play at a rapid pace (third in the NBA before and after the break, Chicago's defense has performed much better in limiting opponents' efficiency.
Chicago still allows around 95 field goal attempts per game. However, opponents are shooting 44.8 percent (6th in the NBA), as opposed to 47.3 percent (21st in the NBA) before the All-Star break. Chicago's opponents' effective field goal percentage is even better. The Bulls hold their competition to an effective field goal percentage of 51.3 percent, 3rd best in the association, and a 3.5 percent decrease since the break.
Chicago's post-All-Star break defense is no illusion
The Bulls' defensive breakthrough isn't linked to an influx of post-trade deadline talent or even a schematic change. Chicago still isn't a turnover-forcing machine. The difference lies in a concerted effort to remain engaged on the less glamorous end while escalating physicality.
The increased physicality is evidenced in the Bulls' improvement in opponents' paint points. Before the All-Star break, Chicago ranked dead last, allowing 55.9 points in the paint per game. In 13 games since the break, the Bulls allow 48.5 points in the paint per game—the highest pre-to-post All-Star decrease in the NBA.
While the scheme remains similar, lineup changes have played a part in the Bulls' defensive improvement. As opposed to earlier in the season, Head Coach Billy Donovan has routinely trotted out a true center, such as Nikola Vucevic and Zach Collins, alongside Matas Buzelis, Patrick Williams, or Julian Phillips. This comes after the Bulls operated with a four-guard lineup in place.
A much-improved defense is an unlikely facet of the Bulls' post-All-Star break success. Following a loss to the Phoenix Suns on February 22, which happened to be a sixth consecutive defeat, the Bulls appeared destined to land in the lottery. Now, 6-4 in their last 10 games behind a solid defense, a top-7 finish isn't out of the question.