Tiago Splitter Breaks Down Chicago Bulls' Critical Weakness in Preseason

The Chicago Bulls are 1-1 in preseason play, and although preseason records don't matter, there's a troubling trend emerging so far.

In both the 121-117 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and the 104-100 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the Bulls fell into a double-digit hole in the opening quarter. The former was due to a slow start by Chicago's bench, while the latter was the result of sluggish play from the Bulls' starting lineup.

Following Friday night's defeat, Tiago Splitter said it felt like Chicago was stuck in the mud. The Bulls' first-year head coach used the phrase "slow thinking, slow feet, not aggressive enough" to describe his team's performance in the first quarter.

Splitter has been without several anticipated key contributors through two preseason games. Centers Nic Claxton (hamstring) and Zach Collins (quad) have missed both contests, while Jalen Smith — the Bulls' starter against Phoenix — was inactive with left foot soreness on Friday.

The backcourt has been impacted as well. Point guard Tre Jones (left hip) and undrafted rookie guard Jaylin Sellers (lower back soreness) have been absent twice, putting No. 15 overall pick Dailyn Swain in an unfamiliar position as the secondary ball-handler behind Josh Giddey.

Chicago's offensive stagnancy boils down to those factors, and Splitter believes his team needs to be faster at thinking on their feet. However, he also acknowledged that the coaching staff can better position the players to succeed.

"We don't have iso players on our team," Splitter said. "We've gotta move it. This is how we want to play. We've got to involve more players and create ghost actions, pick-and-roll, flares, whatever we need to create action. That's what we've got to improve."

In Splitter's eyes, the Bulls need to be better at what happens after the set. When Chicago runs a play and can't find an open shot, the team hasn't been able to improvise and initiate its next action.

Experience will likely change that as Swain gets more on-ball reps and Caleb Wilson adapts to the NBA game. Jones and Sellers becoming healthy again should help too, as well as the returns of Claxton, Collins and Smith.

The Bulls have three more preseason games to make the necessary changes before the regular season begins on Oct. 21. They'll head to Denver on Sunday and Milwaukee on Oct. 14 before returning home for their preseason finale against the Timberwolves on Oct. 16.

Through two games, Wilson is the Bulls' leading preseason scorer at 18.0 points per game. The No. 4 overall pick scored 15 points in the opener and 21 points against the Suns, most of which came in the second half.