The Chicago Bulls have dropped four straight games after Wednesday's loss to Detroit, and while the offense has shown flashes, the defense simply isn't doing enough.

"We're not talented enough not to play desperate," Billy Donovan said, reflecting his disappointment after the Pistons defeat.

The identity work still remains a work in progress. Chicago built early-season success on drawing charges, but they haven't matched that effort in other hustling categories: deflections, turnover control, and defensive rotations. Those woes were exposed against Detroit, a defense-first team that dominated despite missing key players like Cade Cunningham.

The Pistons weren't particularly impressive offensively on paper, especially without their stars, yet they controlled the game throughout. Even when the Bulls rallied, Detroit calmly put them away. This season, the Pistons are generating 18.2 points per game off screen assists compared to Chicago's 12.9—a telling gap that highlights the Bulls' struggles navigating pick-and-roll actions.

Pick-and-roll defense has become a glaring concern. Against Detroit, the Pistons repeatedly used ball screens to create mismatches, particularly forcing Nikola Vučević to step away from the rim and defend space he's not equipped to cover. The veteran center lacks the lateral quickness to provide that wide of a coverage area, leaving Chicago vulnerable.

But Donovan believes pick-and-roll defense is just part of a larger problem. He's emphasized other defensive breakdowns—poor transition positioning and perimeter defense. After earning a reputation for shutting down three-point shooting early in the season, the Bulls have allowed 14 threes per game during the four-game skid.

The issue, according to Donovan, is a lack of collective help and communication. 

"It's running back in transition and understanding that when a guy's on an island in a one-on-one situation with a guy coming full speed at him, there needs to be fills and shifts and helps and loads in there," Donovan said.

He also stressed that without elite shot-blocking, the Bulls must rely on positioning and other defensive categories, aligning with his expectation of “playing desperate.” 

"We're not going to have a lot of shot blocking back there, which is fine, but we need to have guys back there that are going to be able to meet those roles a little bit earlier than we did," he said.

The 6-0 start followed by a 0-4 slide represents early-season volatility. The fluctuation comes to test if the Bulls can translate Donovan's emphasis back onto the court in the rest of the season. But there's encouraging news: Josh Giddey and Coby White participated in on-ball drills together for the first time since last season, and Zach Collins' wrist scan came back positive. Everyone's back on track physically.

"I just think that's the test of the NBA. Never get too high, never get too low," Ayo Dosunmu said Friday. "I know we had a pretty tough schedule, and it's all about the next game, and we have to find ways to get better."

Next up, the Bulls will have another back-to-back road trip to Utah and Denver on Sunday and Monday before hitting a West Coast visit to Portland on November 19.

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