With Friday's 120-105 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the problem isn't just that the Chicago Bulls failed to avenge their earlier defeat, ended by Pascal Siakam's buzzer-beater. The breakdown continues as Chicago arguably downgrades into one of the NBA's worst teams.

The Bulls have slumped to 11th in the Eastern Conference. After Friday's loss, they plummeted to 21st in defensive rating — two spots worse than last season before stressing a defensive-minded identity. Despite flashes of hope that suggested they could wrap up losing stretches in previous games, the Bulls can't hold leads in the latter parts of games or execute quality closeouts.

Defensive breakdown has been the major culprit during this six-game losing streak. Diving into what's gone wrong, three-point defense has become a glaring concern. Chicago did an excellent job containing opponents' outside shooting during its 5-0 start, but the current status quo proves that early success was a fluke.

In the Pacers rematch, Indiana outshot the Bulls 39-35 from beyond the arc and connected on 18 threes compared to Chicago's 13 — despite the Bulls improving their three-point shooting after a dismal 7-of-30 performance against the Nets on Wednesday. Defensive matchups exposed critical weaknesses: Bennedict Mathurin poured in six threes on Friday, repeatedly catching fire on Josh Giddey on the perimeter. Siakam, leading Indiana with a game-high 36 points, drilled five of seven attempts from deep. The Bulls clearly didn't have a defensive plan for him.

This season, Chicago allows the third-most field-goal attempts in the league (94.0 per game). While attacking the Bulls from three isn't most teams' top priority — given Chicago's even-weaker interior defense — opponents still average 13.4 made threes against the Bulls in just 37.0 attempts per game, a troubling efficiency rate.

Several factors explain the Bulls' three-point defensive struggles. First, Chicago struggles with dealing with switches as opponents utilize screens to create mismatches. Nikola Vucevic, in particular, isn't good at widening his coverage or willing to step out of the paint to make stops on the perimeter.

Additionally, Chicago's zone defense creates problems. With probably no one on the roster, aside from the injured Isaac Okoro, who's been out since the devastating Heat loss on November 21, recognized as an elite defender, zone coverage provides opponents too much space to operate. Chicago doesn't close out tight enough on defensive positions, giving opponents room for comfortable contested threes or pump-fakes that develop other scoring options.

Billy Donovan acknowledged the switching coverage issue after Friday's loss, saying the team needs to be "cleaner and better in those areas." He's repeatedly mentioned that players must help each other defensively. But the Bulls remain far from accomplishing their head coach's expectations.

The numbers paint a bleak picture. The Bulls' 21st-ranked defensive rating represents regression from last season, when they finished 19th. Their inability to defend the three-point line without sacrificing interior defense creates a cascading problem: teams either bomb away from deep with open looks or attack the paint when Chicago overcompensates on closeouts.

The Bulls were rewarded with three consecutive home games after a brutal November schedule, but they've already dropped two before facing the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, a team that thrives on three-point volume and will ruthlessly exploit Chicago's perimeter defensive weaknesses.

If the Bulls can't find their rhythm against Golden State at home, this six-game losing streak could extend further. The Warriors won't hesitate to launch threes, and unless Chicago drastically improves its closeouts and willingness to help on switches, another blowout loss looms.

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