The 2024-25 NBA season was always going to be different for the Chicago Bulls.
The most obvious changes came via the roster. No more DeMar DeRozan. No more Alex Caruso. Enter Josh Giddey, Jalen Smith and Matas Buzelis, along with healthy versions of Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams.
Those roster alterations called for a different kind of system. Giddey, the off-season's most significant acquisition, was brought in to help move things from the half-court, iso-ball offense run by DeRozan to a fast-paced, up-tempo system.
That style of play was also a more logical fit with players like LaVine, Williams, Coby White and Buzelis. It was a natural transition for head coach Billy Donovan to make.
It was clear from the jump that Donovan was going to lean heavily into that new system, and the Bulls haven't slowed down.
It's been that run-and-gun, 3-point-heavy style that's propelled Chicago to several upsets this season. The team has the talent to outrun and outshoot any opponent on a given night.
The flip side is also true. When the Bulls turn the ball over and threes are bricking left and right, they can get blown out by any opponent on a given night.
After one of those upset victories—a 117-108 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Dec. 19—Chicago shockingly moved within 1.5 games of sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The system was working.
The law of averages always seemed destined to hit, though; where the Bulls were finding success, they're beginning to see failure and, with that, watching wins become losses.
The Bulls' hot 3-point shooting is cooling off quickly
"Live by the three, die by the three," goes the saying.
Well, Chicago's season has been alive and well because of the three.
Heading into a Dec. 30 game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Bulls are still firing off the second-most shots from deep in the NBA at 43.7 per game. Their efficiency, however, has dipped dramatically of late.
On the season, Chicago is seventh in the league in 3-point percentage, shooting 37.5 percent. Over their last eight games, however, the Bulls have hit just 34.5 percent from deep, good for 23rd in the NBA.
That includes a 14-for-36 performance in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Unsurprisingly, since nearly half of the team's shots come from behind the 3-point line, Chicago went from scoring 119.9 points per game (fourth in the NBA) to averaging 110.8 points in that eight-game stretch, which is 19th in the league.
In fairness to Donovan's squad, Chicago is 4-4 in those eight games, but two of the three wins came against the Hornets and Washington Wizards, and one came at home over a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks team.
If the Bulls' 3-point shooting continues to dip, or even stay where it has been the last few weeks, any hopes of a playoff push will go out the door. Not that that's the worst thing in the world, though.