The Chicago Bulls lose to the Denver Nuggets in the preseason, but strong performances from Buzelis and Dosunmu shine through.

The Chicago Bulls fell short in the Mile High City, losing 124 to 117 against the Denver Nuggets. Make no mistake, there are positives to take away from this loss. Matas Buzelis and Ayo Dosunmu continue their strong preseason, while Josh Giddey is finally emerging as the player he was in the latter half of this past season. Buzelis is averaging roughly 17 points per game throughout the four preseason games, and Dosunmu is just under Buzelis’s averages with about 15 points per game of his own. Nevertheless, it wasn’t the preseason loss in itself that was alarming; instead, it was the lack of physicality and the disappointing stretch of newcomer Isaac Okoro.

Growing Concerns

Okoro only played slightly over nine minutes this game, and six of those minutes were in the first quarter. He is trying to bring the physicality to the Bulls, but it consistently results in Okoro getting into early foul trouble. Typically, a game like this wouldn’t be alarming in the preseason, but Okoro has not shown any promise. Even Patrick Williams had a better outing, taking Nugget forward Cam Johnson off the dribble for an easy layup at the rim.

In addition, the point of attack defense seems to be questionable as Jamal Murray finished the first half with an efficient 21 points. The Chicago Bulls’ quest to be more physical might be doomed from the start if they cannot simply assign defensive responsibilities and stay on the court. This experiment has the potential to hurt the Bulls on offense due to the demanding nature of taking charges and flying down the court during the regular season.

Bright Spots

Although not an impressive box score, Noa Essengue is proving he can hold his own on the NBA court. His only points came from an offensive rebound put back. He’ll likely need to be on the Matas Buzelis development plan, and hopefully can benefit similarly. With heavy-minute players like Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, and Coby White all out, Dalen Terry and Jevon Carter seized their opportunity primarily in the fourth quarter.

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Their rally back might be chalked up to garbage time minutes, considering Nikola Jokic did not play, but not waving the white flag, no matter what skill itself, Chicago fans have not seen in a while.

What’s On Tap Next

The Chicago Bulls head home for their final preseason game to face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, October 16th, 2025. Tip-off is at 7 pm CT and will air on CHSN.