The Bulls’ most important asset is hiding in plain sight
Patrick Williams is the Bulls’ best building block and trade piece.
It’s been said time and time again, but it’ll continue to ring true until the Chicago Bulls front office decides on its ultimate direction—Chicago is stuck in purgatory. The Bulls don’t possess the talent to compete with the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics. However, Chicago’s roster trumps that of the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets.
The Bulls roster six players who average double-digit points, eight who average a three-pointer, and six who average 3.0 or more assists per game. The offensive potential is easily identifiable. Nevertheless, the Bulls’ defensive ceiling is extremely low. Chicago has allowed 110 or more points in eight consecutive contests capped off by allowing a 144-point outburst to the Cleveland Cavaliers in its first game of the NBA Cup.
The Cavs connected on 54.8 percent of its field goals and 48.8 percent of its triples. Chicago was unable to deter Cleveland from easy buckets and open looks, although it is worth noting Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland’s shotmaking transcended quality defense. Furthermore, the Bulls failed, once again, to record double-digit steals—the 11th such instance this season. Chicago ranks a paltry 24th in steals and 27th in blocks per game.
There’s no fix-all to reviving Chicago’s porous defensive unit. It starts from the interior, with Nikola Vucevic, but it doesn’t end there. The Bulls’ triumvirate on the perimeter has struggled to defend opposing backcourts this season. Chicago has been far better on the defensive end without Coby White, Josh Giddey, and Ayo Dosonmu on the floor. Zach LaVine has been an outlier thus far (-6.9 points per 100 possessions), but he’s been a net negative on the defensive end throughout his career.
