The Chicago Bulls dropped their seventh straight game Sunday afternoon, falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 127-121. However, despite another loss, Chicago put together what was genuinely its best performance of the season against one of the NBA's best teams.

The Bulls came out with energy, made some much-needed rotational adjustments and competed for all four quarters. While there are still plenty of issues to address, Sunday's performance offered a glimpse of what this team can look like when its key players are producing.

Let's break down the good, the bad and the ugly from Chicago's latest loss.

Where do we even start?

Despite Norman Powell sitting out, Chicago's starting lineup got off to one of its best starts of the season, largely thanks to Josh Giddey.

The Australian point guard scored or assisted on eight of Chicago's first 11 baskets and looked completely in control of the offense. Giddey finished with 19 points and 15 assists in easily his best performance of the season.

More importantly, Giddey finally showed a better understanding of when to facilitate and when to look for his own shot.

The biggest difference was his willingness to attack the paint. Giddey's offensive impact depends heavily on his ability to collapse defenses and create opportunities for his teammates. When he's consistently getting downhill, the entire offense looks better.

That's exactly what happened Sunday.

Noa Essengue also deserves some recognition after putting together the best performance of his young NBA career.

The rookie finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in just 14 minutes, making his presence felt almost immediately. His activity on the offensive glass created extra possessions and his energy gave Chicago a much-needed boost during his limited minutes.

Speaking of players stepping up, Matas Buzelis finally looked like the player Bulls fans have been waiting to see.

Buzelis finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and played with an entirely different mentality. Rather than settling for passive possessions, the third-year forward was constantly looking to attack.

He even capped off his performance with an incredible eurostep dunk in transition.

This is the version of Buzelis Chicago needs every single night.

And then there's Jalen Smith.

You genuinely cannot say enough good things about the Bulls' big man right now.

With Nic Claxton making his season debut, Smith played like a man determined to keep his starting spot. He finished with 17 points and four blocks, protecting the rim throughout the afternoon.

Extend Jalen Smith right now!

Finally, Tiago Splitter deserves some credit for making his first meaningful rotational adjustments of the season.

Patrick Williams, Nic Claxton and Jordan Hawkins all received opportunities with the second unit and each made a positive impact.

Williams might genuinely be Chicago's best perimeter defender. His effort on the glass and willingness to attack offensively were encouraging signs.

Claxton, despite being on a minutes restriction, immediately demonstrated why Chicago brought him in. His defensive presence made life more difficult around the basket for Philadelphia and he flashed some of the passing ability that has become an intriguing part of his game.

Hawkins, meanwhile, simply brings more dynamism to the offense than Buddy Hield. He's an active player who isn't afraid to shoot from beyond the arc or pull up from the midrange.

Overall, Splitter's adjustments added some much-needed defense, activity and shooting to the rotation.

Hopefully, they're here to stay.

Chicago's defense still wasn't particularly sharp Sunday, although containing a Philadelphia offense featuring LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid was never going to be an easy assignment.

Giving Isaac Okoro and Patrick Williams more opportunities certainly made the perimeter defense more competitive, but the Bulls still lack a truly reliable lockdown point-of-attack defender.

Until that changes, opposing guards will continue creating problems for this team.

The other issue was Chicago's shot selection, particularly in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls put together an impressive run to close the gap, only to settle for four consecutive missed three-pointers that completely disrupted their offensive rhythm.

Chicago was doing a better job getting into the paint throughout the afternoon, which made the decision to start settling for outside shots even more frustrating.

The Bulls didn't attempt as many threes as they have in previous games, but another performance below 30% from beyond the arc is becoming a concerning trend.

In today's NBA, teams simply cannot afford to consistently shoot that poorly from deep.

There really wasn't much to complain about Sunday considering how well Chicago competed.

However, allowing 20 offensive rebounds is absolutely unacceptable.

It doesn't matter how well a team defends the initial possession if it continually allows opponents to grab offensive rebounds and generate second-chance opportunities.

Chicago's perimeter players have developed a bad habit of leaking out in transition before the defensive rebound is secured.

That might create the occasional easy basket, but it also leaves the Bulls vulnerable on the glass.

Rebounding is a five-man responsibility. The guards and wings need to contribute rather than relying entirely on the frontcourt to clean everything up.

Chicago needs to finish defensive possessions before worrying about getting out and running.

The Bulls will face another difficult test Wednesday when Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs come to town.

San Antonio presents another challenging matchup, particularly with its talented guard rotation and Wembanyama's ability to dominate the paint.

Chicago's priorities should be simple: continue building on Sunday's improved defensive effort, maintain the offensive aggression that made Giddey and Buzelis successful and, most importantly, keep Wembanyama off the offensive glass.

Seven straight losses certainly aren't anything to celebrate, but Sunday's performance was an encouraging step forward.

For the first time this season, the Bulls looked like a team capable of competing with some of the league's best.

Now they need to prove it wasn't a one-game exception.