Back to Reality for the Chicago Bulls

The Bulls started the season 6-1, ranked second in the Eastern Conference and were on their way to surprise the whole league, but reality looks like it set in, and the Bulls have been sent back to earth.

At the time of writing, the Bulls are 3-7 in their last 10 games and now sit in 9th place in the Eastern Conference Standings.

A lot comes into play with the Bulls playing at a 500 level of basketball now. A huge part of it is the Josh Giddey Injury. In the Nov. 8t game against the Cavs, Giddey went down with an ankle sprain that took him out for the rest of the game and the next two games.

In those two games, the Bulls went 0-2.

It may not seem like much, but those 2 games showed how valuable Giddey is to this team. The Bulls’ offense was way out of rhythm, and the ball movement was terrible. The assist totals dropped as a team from 31 a game to 24.

Starting with center Nikola Vučević also took a dip. With Giddey on the floor, Vučević turns into a ball movement center and runs the offense with ease. Without Giddey, he looks lost at times, and it shows. His points per game (PPG) dropped from 19.6 to 9.6 without Giddey there to support him.

Another factor of the Bulls’ troubles is the interior defense. It wasn’t great to start the year, but the high-powered offense and fast ball movement covered up the bad defense overall.

In the Nov. 24 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, who sat at 2-15 and in last place, the Bulls gave up 147 points and 20 offensive rebounds. Vučević was out of this game, but to give up 147 points to a team that only averages 108 PPG is unacceptable.

The Bulls started Patrick Williams at center that night instead of backup center Jalen Smith. Williams got bodied most of the game and was terrible in the paint.

Giddey plays such a huge role overall, not only because he averages a near triple-double at 20-9-10, but he has the offense moving transaction-wise as one of the best teams in the league. And he plays unselfish basketball. The Bulls play better with him on the floor and need to run the offense through him.

Now there is a positive with this roller coaster of a season, and that positive is the play of Chicago native point guard Ayo Dosunmo.

Drafted in 2021 in the 2nd round. Dosunmo was looking to have a career year coming off his impressive 2024 season, averaging 12 PPG, great defense, and a steal a game.

This year so far, Ayo looks like the “6th Man Of The Year,” averaging 16 PPG on 56% from the field overall and 48% from the three. Dosunmo’s secret weapon is his outside shooting. If he can maintain the 16% increase from last year to this, Dosunmo may be able to claw his way back to the season he was hoping for.

Another bright spot is the return of guard Coby White, coming off a career year of 20 PPG and a span of 12 straight games of scoring 20 or more points. White was sidelined for the first 13 games of the year with a calf injury he suffered during a workout in August.

In his first game back, in an OT loss to the Jazz, he dropped 28 points and 8 assists. The very next game dropped 30 points in a win over the Trail Blazers. He has so far played four games and is averaging 28 PPG. It’s just a small sample size, but it shows how much offense White brings to this team.

White’s fast translation offense plays like Giddey and has a great catch-and-shoot game that keeps the defense on their toes. With Coby back, the offense adds another high-end sorcerer and a guy who can make the big shot in the last moments of the game.

If the Bulls want to return to their old ways of the beginning of the year and start winning again, they have to move the ball as they did before and play an offense at a fast level. They have to step up their defense and be quicker when other teams are in transition.

I believe the Bulls can turn it around, but it starts with a whole team effort first. Everyone has to commit to this team.