Crafting The Chicago Bulls' Best Defensive Lineup

The Chicago Bulls struggled on both sides of the ball last season. This is the result of being both a young team, and a squad that underwent a ton of change at the previous NBA trade deadline. 

Despite what you would think on paper of a team led by Josh Giddey, the Bulls actually finished as a slightly better defensive than offensive team. Chicago was 22nd in defensive rating and 25th in offensive rating per NBA.com. 

Out of the most used Bulls' lineups last year, the lineup of N. Vučević - K. Huerter - I. Okoro - J. Giddey - M. Buzelis produced by far the best defensive efficiency, allowing 102.1 points per 100 possessions. What immediately stands out about that lineup is that 6-foot-4 Isaac Okoro--who is a great on-ball defender--is the shortest player in the lineup. It is conceivable that Chicago could craft a better version of that very same lineup for the 2026-27 season. 

Giddey, Buzelis, and Okoro could reprise their roles, with No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson and Nic Claxton filling in the roles of Vucevic and Huerter, who are now with the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons respectively. 

Okoro is an excellent point of attack defender, the main reason he was brought to Chicago in the first place. Okoro allows a coach to slide Giddey over to a less-on-ball-oriented wing assignment on defense, while the other lanky wings on the floor can chase shooters around screens and provide secondary rim protection.

Vucevic was not a strong defender or shot-blocker by any means, but his ability to end possessions as a strong defensive rebounder was valuable. 

Claxton isn't nearly the defensive rebounder that Vucevic is. In fact, rebounding has been one of the main concerns with Claxton's game as he has declined a bit over the past several seasons.

All of that being said, even at his worse, Claxton is a massive upgrade over Vucevic in terms of shot-blocking. Claxton posted a 3.7% block rate last season per Basketball-Reference.com, compared to 1.8% for Vucevic. 

The 3.7% block rate posted by Claxton, while solid, was the lowest block rate he has posted since his rookie year. Despite playing for one of the worst teams in the league in the Brooklyn Nets, Claxton posted three-straight seasons with at least 2.5 defensive win shares prior to last season (1.5). 

A lineup of 6-foot-7 Giddey, 6-foot-8 Buzelis, 6-foot-9 Wilson and 6-foot-11 Claxton, with the aforementioned Okoro, would give the Bulls a solid defensive group when a stop is needed. I think that group can be elevated even more if you sub-out Okoro for 6-foot-10 Leonard Miller. 

Taking Okoro out of the lineup takes away some of the point of attack ability needed in this group, but balances out by adding a much better rebounder and finisher in his place in Miller. While we are talking about defense, it is too closely connected to the Bulls transition offense to not factor in Miller being a superior athlete. 

I believe a lineup of Giddey-Buzelis-Wilson-Miller-Claxton would give the Bulls enough coverage to deny easy looks for long stretches. In my hypothetical defense-first lineup, Giddey is clearly the weakest defender. Giddey would also be the shortest defender at 6-foot-7.

You also have some valuable versatility with the Giddey-Buzelis-Wilson-Miller-Claxton lineup, as you could play straight up and have Wilson and Buzelis chase players around screens, or you could use a switch-heavy strategy to deny open looks from deep. Splitter will have plenty of options at his disposal, but utilizing the Bulls' lankiest defenders in tandem with Giddey allows the Bulls to have at least one lineup that generates the stops necessary to power Chicago's fastbreak offense.