The Chicago Bulls open their 2025-26 season hosting the Detroit Pistons. It will be a big test for a Bulls team that has preached the importance of defense and physicality, going up against one of the league's most physical teams. The Pistons shockingly surpassed the Bulls last season in the Eastern Conference pecking order, but Chicago is hoping to reestablish itself in the East's hierarchy this year.
Gone are the days of writing off a matchup against the Pistons as an automatic win. Detroit had a historic turnaround last season and won the season series 3-1 against the Bulls after losing their first matchup of the campaign. The Pistons also made the playoffs as the sixth seed in the East and played a very competitive first-round series against the New York Knicks, while the Bulls were bounced in the play-in tournament.
The Pistons are a tough opponent for any team
In many ways, the Pistons have followed the rebuild model that the Bulls hope to emulate. They have established a team identity primarily based on defense, which the Bulls are trying to do now, albeit with varying success. Congruent with the Bulls' desires, the Pistons have also predicated that defense on toughness and paint protection, which the Bulls still lack.
The Pistons were also lucky enough to win the 2021 draft lottery and take Cade Cunningham No. 1 overall. Cade has blossomed into a true superstar, including his first All-Star and All-NBA selection a season ago. It's nearly impossible to build a proper contender without a superstar player, and the Bulls' lackluster lottery positions have made it harder for them to draft one. Still, they have found a budding talent in Matas Buzelis, who seems poised for a breakout season and could develop into the franchise's star one day.
Even if the Bulls aren't able to keep up with the Pistons in their season opener, it'll be a good litmus test to see how the team's culture change is coming along. The Pistons bring physicality at just about every position on the court, so the Bulls will need to show toughness to stay comfortable in their game plan. The offensive growth shown by Buzelis and Josh Giddey during the preseason will be challenged by the Pistons' team defense and disruptive defender Ausar Thompson, who will likely guard Buzelis.
Defensively, the Bulls will have their hands full trying to slow down Cunningham. The young guard looked absolutely unstoppable in preseason and seems to have his aim set even higher for the regular season. However, the Pistons will be extremely reliant on him after losing Jaden Ivey to an injury for the time being. It will be a great chance for the Bulls to see how they can stop a dominant isolation star, a setup shared by many other NBA teams.
In just a couple of seasons, the Bulls have found themselves playing catch-up with the Pistons. The Pistons now seem like the better team in the present and future, but the Bulls can learn a lot from the Pistons' remarkable turnaround. On Wednesday night, they'll have the chance to see first-hand how far the Pistons have progressed.