Reacting to the Chicago Bulls Hot Start to the Season

Reacting to the Chicago Bulls Hot Start to the Season

All right, ladies and gentlemen, I am back from Vegas. Spent too much money, but whatever. That’s what Vegas is for. And boy, do we have a lot to talk about with this Bulls team. One of the four undefeated teams in the entire league right now, going for win number four in a row against the Sacramento Kings tonight. Zack Lavine returns to the United Center for the first time. Demard Roza will be back as well. That’ll be an interesting game to see. The Bulls 2.0 versus this new Bulls team. But we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to talk about this young Bulls team, the great performances we’ve seen thus far, what I like, what I don’t like, what’s real, what’s not, and the answer to that question. Are the Bulls actually good this year? Are they back? So, what’s going on everyone? You’re listening to Bulls Central here. Hope you’re all doing well. Good to be back, guys. Apologies for the lack of content over the past few days. Not the best time when it’s the start of the season. The Bulls are doing well, but we’re back now. Now, and while I didn’t do my usual postgame videos, I did watch the games, the two games while I was gone versus the Magic and the Hawks. And boy, did I want to do some postgame videos for those, especially for the game against the Magic, given, I’m sure most of you know, my beef with Magic fans, everyone hyping up that team this season. Me saying all offseason long, this team does not move me. Why I could never understand why some people believe they’re title contenders in a year of an Open Eastern Conference. Yeah, I was really ready to go allin on that game. But it wasn’t just that game because the Bulls actually played incredibly well against the Hawks, showing that resiliency, fighting through adversity and having an incredible second half. Modus showed amazing poise and bouncing back from that bad game he had in Orlando where he got in early foul trouble and ultimately fouled out of the game only playing in 12 minutes and was a non-factor in that win. He started off the game okay in Atlanta, but quickly got into foul trouble yet again, but came through for the Bulls in the clutch when they needed him most on both ends of the floor and rallying to get the team back over the top against the Hawks in those final minutes. But anyway, I won’t get too sidetracked on each of the games themselves, but rather calling out and trying to identify some of the early trends we’re seeing and how much of this is real and what isn’t. Considering this is still a very small sample size, we are still very early on in the season. And that’s one thing I always have to preface when talking about this. I mentioned this after the Bullse opener win over the Pistons that I’m going to try and take all of this cautiously and understand that things can change quickly. In other words, I’m going to try and not overreact, but also it’s hard not to when you’ve seen a complete turnaround, or I shouldn’t say a complete turnaround because we saw some of this in terms of what the team could do on offense at the end of last season. But then everyone downplayed talking about how that was an illusion because it’s March and April basketball. But what has changed, and I’ll start with that in terms of what are some of the biggest positives we’ve seen thus far in the early going, and that’s the Bulls defense. Like everybody expected this team going into the season for all the things we talked about and what they would do well or better at, it was always offensive related. They’re going to play fast. They’re going to play with pace, ball movement, get everyone involved, scoring by committee. But there was always this expectation that the Bulls defense was still going to be bad, myself included. I was very much worried about the Bulls defense this season, knowing that having a strategy of getting out and running and wearing down your opponents and just trying to outscore everyone is only going to get you so far if your defense is non-existent. And shockingly, the Bulls effort and execution on the defensive end of the ball has been so far anyway leaps and bounds better than their offense. At the time of this recording, the Bulls are ranked third in the league on defense, but 21st in the league on offense. 16th in the league in points scored per game, but fourth in terms of points allowed by their opponent. The Bulls are first in the NBA right now and by a wide margin in opponent’s three-point percentage and in three-pointers attempted by their opponent. Now, some of that is a bit skewed because the Magic in particular are not a good three-point shooting team. And actually, neither are the Pistons or the Hawks, but the Magic are especially bad, finishing dead last in the league last season in three-point percentage. So, it’ll be interesting to see how the Bulls do against some of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA. And I do think some of this can be attributed to just poor shooting nights from the Bulls opponents thus far. But what’s telling to me is that the Bulls are also first in terms of limiting their opponent to the fewest threes attempted. And why? Well, because they’ve been incredibly locked in on their perimeter defense, moving through screens, making the right switches, rotating when teams are passing the ball along the perimeter. The help defense has been on point, and teams are just having difficulty getting off good looks from behind the ark against the Bulls. That said, a stat that is a little concerning is the Bulls have allowed the most points in the paint in the league at nearly 65 points per game. Teams are going more inside because of the Bulls lack of interior defense and rim protection, which some of that can be attributed to the Bulls not having Zack Collins right now. And also the fact that the Bulls have had to at times play small ball five with Patrick Williams of the five. But the Bulls got to be able to shore up their interior defense. They have to defend the pick and roll better. Porzingis was getting whatever he wanted in that game. And the Bulls have to be better at forcing players out of the paint and bringing over the weak side help defense to help deter shots. That’s one of my main concerns in terms of how sustainable this strong defense is going to be over the course of the whole season when there are still some obvious weaknesses. The perimeter defense has been solid on point, but some of that again might not be a situation where it’s going to be sustainable over time when the Bulls have just been the benefactor of teams having poor shooting nights to start the season. Other things that I’ve liked though, and I cannot stress this enough, something I’ve been dying to see from this team, effort, hustle, and team chemistry. I know it’s early, but unlike what we saw probably over the last four years or so is that it’s clear this team actually enjoys playing together. There’s a sense of camaraderie, mutual respect, trust towards the guys, every single guy on this roster. Like, I know it sounds weird to say, but these guys actually seem to like each other. Just a couple of seasons ago, guys were checked out. They weren’t on the same page. It was always your turn, my turn on offense. I’m not saying it was a toxic situation like the three alpha season, but it was clear in the players body language, their demeanor that they didn’t really enjoy playing together. It’s the complete opposite with this group of guys. Like, hell, even Vuch looks happy and is extra motivated than he ever has been in his entire tenure in Chicago. Yes, this team is not perfect. Yes, the overall talent on this roster is less than what a lot of other teams have, but I’ve said before, you cannot replace fit and team chemistry. It is so incredibly important. And this team is actually fun to watch. Like I knew they were going to be fun to watch and more exciting in years past, but I figured it was going to be more fun bad sloppy basketball style. Not they’re fun to watch, but they’re actually playing really good basketball. And unlike what I talked about with the defense and questioning whether that’s sustainable for the whole season, the chemistry, the identity, the effort, that’s going to stay. That’s sustainable. And that has me excited about what to expect from this team going forward. Other things that have really impressed me, the Bulls ability to drive to the basket and focusing more on scoring inside. They’re number one in the league right now in drives. They’re not just hoisting a bunch of threes and hoping to win that way. They’re actually 19th in the league in three-point volume. No, they’re figuring out ways to be more dynamic on offense and getting to the basket before the opposing team’s defense gets set in transition. And it helps that they’ve been one of the best passing teams in the league, top five in assists per game, second in overall assist rate. And it’s not because of Josh Giddy, who is one of the more gifted passers in the league. It’s also Trey Jones, who has been incredible for the Bulls. I seriously need to do a dedicated video on this guy. But it’s also Vuch. It’s also IO. It’s also Kevin Herder. The ball movement has been so on point for the Bulls. No single player controls the ball for a long period of time. And that’s largely due to the fact that for the first time in a while, Bulls haven’t been in a situation where there’s one guy or two guys who needs to get his shots up. Everything is done by committee. And you saw that in that Hawks game where you had eight players in double figures, all starters in double figures. And IO leading the scoring for the whole team with 21 points off the bench. I love the passing. I love the pace and speed at which they play. It’s just great allound basketball. The other thing I’ll say is Patrick Williams is a new man. Well, all right. Hold up. I promised I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself here, but in these first three games, Pat has looked like a different player. And that’s mainly when it comes to his aggression, his assertiveness, and getting to the basket, moving off the ball, and making cuts, fighting for rebounds. Again, I’m not going to hold my breath. But is it possible Pat suddenly has a breakout year in year six? I mean, he is only 24 after all. He’s hitting those prime years. It’s not out of the realm of possibility. What a massive bonus that would be for the Bulls, even if it just means Pat is a highlevel role player at this point. How about IO? dude is making a case for being sixman of the year. Nearly 17 points per game so far, shooting 55% and 60% from a three. Are you kidding me? Here’s the other thing. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Billy Donovan has really coached this team well in the early going. Sometimes we haven’t been kind to Billy Donovan. We’ve questioned the continued extensions that he keeps getting, but he’s really been able to get the most out of this team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. And he’s doing all this without arguably the team’s best player in Kobe White, a young team, a young team that doesn’t have a single all-star. Not yet anyway. And he’s out coaching some of the better coaches in the league in the early going in. JB Picker Staff, Jamal Mosley, Quinn Snder, having his team, a team that was projected to win around 32 games this season and finished 12th in the Eastern Conference by most analysts, has already beaten up what are supposed to be some of the top teams in the East. It’s not like the Bulls got off to a 3-0 start, beating the Wizards, Jazz, and Hornets. No, they beat teams that most people thought would finish in the top five in the East. Give the players credit, but Billy Donovan has really gotten the most out of these guys and has been able to execute the offense well and get the guys bought into his system. Now, to temper expectations just a bit, when we ask this question, hey, are the Bulls actually good? Now, aside from the it’s too early piece, the turnovers are a concern. They’re second to last in the league in turnovers. I know they move the ball a lot, top three in the league in passes overall. So, naturally, you’re going to see more turnovers, but they cannot be one of the worst teams in the league in turnovers. And then, despite also doing an excellent job at limiting opponents from taking so many threes and having their opponent only shoot 26% on said threes, they also give up way too many shots inside the ark. And really, possessions in general. Like, despite the Bulls winning their first three games, they’ve done so taking less shots than their opponent has. And I’ve said this so many times, but it’s really hard to win basketball games consistently when you’re getting up fewer shots than your opponent does. The Bulls are averaging 87 shots per game while their opponent is getting up 94. Some of that is due to the fact that the Bulls turn the ball over a lot, but they’ve also got to be better at getting offensive rebounds to get more second chance points. So, I’ll close with this. The Bulls team, this Bulls team is not perfect. There is still so much they need to be working on. some of their success and the things they’ve done well so far this year might regress a bit to the mean. And yeah, maybe I won’t say the Bulls are suddenly a great team, but as I’ve said before, the Bulls are going to be better than expected. I predicted they would finish six in the Eastern Conference. And even though they may not be a top tier team, a contending team, they are playing some great fun and entertaining basketball, and they are making strides in the right direction. So, we’ll see where things go from here. I am very much looking forward to this season, but you guys let me know what your thoughts are on the early going of the Bulls this so far this season. Let me know in the comments. As always, be sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next

Discussing the Bulls hot start to the season and how real and sustainable it is

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