Season of mediocrity
Following a disappointing loss on April 16th, 2025 to the Miami Heat in the Play-In Tournament, all Bulls fans could do was put their heads down. The Bulls ended the season 39-43 and for the third straight season the Bulls had made the play in. And for the third straight season they failed to win their way to the postseason. Head coach Billy Donovan has had great success in his career at both the pro and collegiate levels, but he has only made the playoffs once in his five seasons as head coach of Chicago.
Photo Cred: SI
Going into the offseason, Chicago didn’t make many moves to bolster their roster. They drafted Noa Essegue with the 12th pick of the 2025 draft, but he is viewed as a long term, raw prospect. Otherwise, the Bulls traded Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro, and re-signed Josh Giddey and Tre Jones and waived roster fillers. That’s about it. They didn’t get rid of any of their bad contracts: Patrick Williams, Zach Collins, and others. While also failing for the third summer in a row to move Nikola Vucevic. The one promising part of the roster is incoming second-year player Matas Buzelis. The rookie averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, but had a strong second half after the All-Star break, averaging 13 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Strong Start Going into this season, the Bulls were ranked 24th by ESPN. The Bulls didn’t make any improvements and were expected to start losing right away. But to start the season, the Bulls have been playing in another gear. The season and home opener against the Detroit Pistons was as fun of a first game as Bulls fans could have hoped for. The Bulls started the game up 16 in the first quarter, and ultimately won 115-111. Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey had double-doubles and Matas Buzelis had 21 points. But going into Orlando last Saturday, the Bulls were expected to lose to the Magic, as they were six point underdogs. But the Bulls fought, holding a two point lead at halftime. After a tightly fought third quarter, the Bulls pulled away. The Bulls outscored the Magic by nine in the fourth quarter and won 110-98 overall. Against all odds, the Bulls are 2-0.
How Did This Happen?
Although the Chicago Bulls didn’t make many changes to their roster, the media overlooked the consistency and quality of role players getting minutes for Chicago. What they lack in starpower, they make up for with depth. Nikola Vucevic and Josh Giddey are both leading the offense like they did last year. While Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter have started the season with hot hands. Matas Buzelis had an impressive 21 points in the first game before fouling out early on Saturday.
But if there was a major reason for them to be 2-0 to start the season. It would be because of their defense. The Bulls allowed teams to score 119.7 points per game last year, and to begin this season they have only allowed 104.5 points per game. The overall team defense and rotations are better. Isaac Okoro and Patrick Williams have provided some great defense on
some physical wings the last two games and Tre Jones currently leads the team in assists. Overall, everybody is doing their share.
Photo Cred: Chicago Tribune
Is This Sustainable?
To Keep it Short, No. The Bulls have had a lot of promise to start this season. Not to mention they are still without Coby White who is the best scorer on the team. But the Bulls shouldn’t and aren’t in win now mode yet. This season is about seeing what fits the Bulls core and who to keep moving forward. Nikola Vucevic is in the last year of his contract and won’t be re-signed, while Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins are on expiring contracts. I expect the Bulls to even out to right around where they were last year, ending around the 8-10 range, but this time in a different position. I believe they will have shown promise all throughout the year, and it will be clear the team is destined to piece it together soon. I think they will finally have an all star this year and it will be clear Chicago is back.
