Like the new car smell in your brand-new ride, the genesis of the 2026-27 Chicago Bulls is an experience to savor while it lasts.
Leonard Miller may be blossoming into a full-fledged Bulls rotation player. Noa Essengue’s preseason redemption as a Bulls bench player appears to be as rapid as his Las Vegas Summer League condemnation. More broadly, Bulls fans are witnessing the germination of a cohesive half-court offensive identity.
In the aftermath of the Bulls’ fourth installment of the 2026-27 preseason competition, a motivated 125-104 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Bulls’ defensive identity made a pronounced debut for the first time in their preseason campaign.
Whether the defensive performance that took place Wednesday, 90 minutes north of the United Center, is something that will persist throughout the 2026-27 NBA regular season is debatable. Yet Bulls fans should enjoy the effort and understand what elements of the Bulls’ defensive performance against the Bucks will translate to repeatable Bulls defense on a regular-season, nightly basis.
Veterans teaching the way
The Bulls’ rebuild value of adding well-traveled veteran guards in Norman Powell and Buddy Hield was realized posthaste in the first quarter against the Bucks. Powell and Hield set a defensive tone in the first frame of the game by establishing themselves as active help defenders, with each player collecting a steal in the quarter.
Buddy Hield finished the entire game with three steals. Surely Powell and Hield are providing defensive wisdom to their Bulls teammates in practice.
Yet, it can’t be overstated how important it is to see veteran players like Powell and Hield putting in strong defensive effort early in a preseason game to set a team standard for defense.
Emerging Bulls wing depth
What became evident in light of the aforementioned ascensions of Miller and Essengue throughout the Bulls’ 2026-27 preseason journey is that the Bulls are coalescing wing depth that should make gap defense, attacking opponents’ passes and drives to create turnovers, a signature element of the 2026-27 Chicago Bulls.
Fans already have that expectation for Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson, yet Essengue and Miller showed their prowess as a defensive wing tandem, combining for three steals for the entire game against the Bucks.
Unknown variables that need regular-season validation
Before Bulls fans get too excited about the Bulls’ defensive effort against the Bucks, some rationalization of the game is needed to separate signal from noise in the Bulls’ emerging defensive identity. It would be naive to think the Bulls’ defensive demonstration in Milwaukee wasn’t influenced by the Bucks’ equally rebuilding roster.
Ultimately, the Bulls’ defense needs to be stress-tested throughout the regular season to figure out what’s real and what’s a work in progress. What happens when the Bulls face better decision-makers who move the ball? What happens when the Bulls face a top-15 NBA player or an NBA All-Star?
What happens when there are legitimate shooters on the Bulls’ scouting report who require intentional closeout and rotation choices? If the Bulls defend like they did Wednesday against the Bucks, when the opponent variable becomes objectively more challenging, then it may be time to get excited about a new Bulls defensive identity.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow