Look away. The team with the league’s worst defensive rating in February is none other than the Chicago Bulls. Through five games, Chicago owns a 127.5 defensive rating—the worst in the NBA by a wide margin, 3.6 points worse than the 29th-ranked Washington Wizards. The Bulls also sit last in opponents’ points per game, allowing 129.4 during a 0–5 stretch.
Bulls’ defensive woes persist
The Bulls’ lackluster defense is nothing new. Through January 31, Chicago ranked 23rd in the NBA in defensive rating at 116.4 and 26th in opponents’ points per game at 119.7. A year ago, the Bulls weren’t much better, finishing 19th in defensive rating and 28th in opponents’ points per game.
So, one would assume the Bulls would prioritize adding quality defenders at the trade deadline, right? Especially considering Chicago brought in a league-high seven players. Instead, the opposite has unfolded, with the Bulls turning in the league’s worst defensive showing in February.
Of course, it’s not entirely fair to place the blame on Chicago’s influx of new faces. There’s a lack of cohesion, players are adjusting to new roles, and continuity takes time. There are valid explanations for the early defensive struggles.
Nonetheless, it’s fair to place some blame on Chicago’s lead decision-maker, Artūras Karnišovas. Credit to Karnišovas for going all in on a roster shake-up and acquiring eight second-round picks in the process, but there’s little excuse for not adding at least one defensive difference-maker.
Deadline frenzy leaves defense lacking
Using CraftedNBA’s CraftedDBPM, a terrific all-encompassing defensive metric, here’s where Chicago’s newest additions rank among the 375 players to log at least 250 minutes this season: Nick Richards (281st), Rob Dillingham (292nd), Jaden Ivey (293rd), Guerschon Yabusele (299th), Anfernee Simons (355th), and Collin Sexton (361st). Leonard Miller does not qualify under that threshold, having played just 98 minutes, but when the minimum is lowered to 90 minutes, he ranks 356th out of 430 players.
To be fair, Chicago’s departed players didn’t fare much better under CraftedNBA’s metric, aside from reserves Dalen Terry (84th) and Julian Phillips (127th). Still, it’s concerning that not one league-average defender was added at the trade deadline.
Again, an argument could be made that the Bulls weren’t necessarily looking to add impact players, but were focused on acquiring draft capital while maintaining salary cap flexibility, and that’s true. Even so, a capable defender could and should have been added.
Chicago could have targeted players like Jaylen Clark (88th in CraftedDBPM) from Minnesota or Josh Green (158th) from Charlotte. There were also ascending young bigs, such as Moussa Diabate (75th) from Charlotte or Joan Beringer (157th) from Minnesota. Not suggesting either team would willingly part with these players (namely the latter two). Still, Chicago could have at least explored the possibility, especially considering they sent significant assets in return (Coby White to the Hornets and Ayo Dosunmu to the Wolves). Those aren’t minimal pieces.
It’s as apparent as ever. The Bulls need defense. Chicago has dropped five straight games, allowing at least 123 points in each loss. While tanking some games to improve draft position makes sense, even a glimpse of defensive resistance would go a long way.