With all eyes on the Chicago Bulls this week as training camp tipped off, one theme kept coming out of head coach Billy Donovan’s mouth — physicality.

Now entering his fifth season in charge, Donovan is working to redefine the Bulls’ identity and search for a formula that can push them beyond the middle of the pack. The numbers told the story last year: a top-10 scoring offense at 117.8 points per game, but one of the league’s worst defenses, giving up 119.4 points (28th). Their offensive rating (114.1, 20th) and defensive rating (115.6, 18th) painted a picture of a team stuck in mediocrity — strong in stretches, but without a clear strength to lean on.

That’s the challenge Donovan says he wants to tackle in camp: finding a balance between offense and defense, and raising the Bulls’ overall physicality to be closer to real contention.

Tightening the Paint

For the Bulls, defense remains both a foundation and a work in progress. Statistically, Chicago wasn’t a disaster in terms of first-shot defense — they ranked 15th in opponent field-goal percentage (46.7%) and 11th in opponent effective field-goal percentage. The issue, however, came after the first stop. The Bulls allowed the most points in the paint last season and struggled to generate turnovers, which meant opponents consistently found extra possessions and more looks at the rim.

Donovan has recently stressed that rim protection and physicality above the three-point line are critical points of emphasis.

“The biggest issue in the battle is going to always be ‘how well can you protect the rim?’,” Donovan said. “And it’s not so much the rim protection, but how well and how good can we do above the three-point line at the point of the screen, pick and rolls, isolations, off-ball screens.”

There are reasons for optimism. After the All-Star break, Chicago made tangible improvements, becoming the seventh-best team in points allowed over the final 10 games. The Bulls also did well in transition defense and defensive rebounding, showing that the fundamentals are there. 

The next step is layering in more disruptive play, taking charges, creating deflections, and forcing turnovers without gambling, to prevent opponents from piling up shot attempts. That’s where the addition of Isaac Okoro could become pivotal. Known for his defensive toughness and ability to guard elite scorers one-on-one, Okoro brings a physical edge the Bulls lacked last season.

“We’ve got to get better in those areas, because what happens, when you don’t force turnovers, teams get way more shots than we do,” Donovan said.

A Highly-disciplined Offense

There's a common sense: when defense improves, offense often follows. If the Bulls can generate more stops — whether it’s through charges, hustle plays, or simply forcing turnovers — they’ll naturally create more transition opportunities.

That plays directly into Donovan’s high-tempo scheme. Last season, Chicago ranked as the second-fastest team in the NBA. More possessions won on defense translate to more chances to push the ball up the floor and score easy baskets before defenses can set.

And while the Bulls showed flashes of strong contested shooting last year, creating more space and capitalizing on wide-open chances will make their offense far more efficient. Wings like Okoro, Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter provide versatility. 

Second-year standout Matas Buzelis also adds another dimension: he’s shown the ability to beat defenders off the first step, use his size to attack the rim. Meanwhile, he looks more promising in leading the offense. After a summer dedicated to contested shot-making and adding muscle, he could emerge as another reliable offensive option.

However, playing faster with offensive options doesn’t fully hide the Bulls’ sloppy look on ball handling and decision-making. Last season, Chicago ranked 20th in turnovers per game (14.7), a weakness that often undercut their offensive rhythm.

“We’re playing fast. We’re trying to maintain the same pace…But as fatigue sets in, you’re going to have careless plays, careless mistakes,” Donovan said.

Being discipline with the ball would be the key for the Bulls to build on a successful offensive look. As Donovan emphasized, decision-making has to be smart and simple.

A Building Identity

In Donovan’s eyes, the Bulls’ identity has to start with physicality — but not in a single dimension. It means having the endurance to sustain pace deep into the shot clock, the stamina to keep cutting, moving, and generating looks when the transition game isn’t there. It also means embracing the grind: fighting through off-ball screens, crashing the glass on both ends, and holding ground at the rim with charges and verticality.

“I think all that stuff coupled is what's got to be the identity. Do we have the physicality, the endurance, the conditioning, the stamina to play?” Donovan said. “(which) this group is going to need to play.”

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