Will the Chicago Bulls Defense Bounce Back?

Michael Walton

Nov 28, 2025, 06:33

Michael Walton

Nov 28, 2025, 06:33

Updated at: Nov 28, 2025, 06:33

After starting the season off strong in terms of limiting opponents 3-pointers, the Bulls have allowed opponents to hit 13.8 3-pointers per game, and score 130.8 points per game.

The Chicago Bulls started the season off strong, with their defense surprisingly able to keep up with their up-tempo offense, resulting in the perfect storm sans Coby White, and a 5-0 record, their first the championship-winning 1996-97 Bulls. Chicago was playing hard, legitimately forcing opponents to miss shots with plenty of contests and a strong emphasis on everyone crashing the defensive glass to spark fastbreak opportunities. But something changed as the Bulls--who started off so hot--found themselves in the midst of a five-game losing streak.

Since the low point of the season--the aforementioned five-game losing streak--the Bulls have went 3-2, with the defense still giving plenty of reason for concern despite the winning record over the stretch. Over those five games, the Bulls are allowing 130.8 points and 13.8 3-pointers made per game. This includes a pair of games in which Chicago gave up exactly 143 points.

In Chicago's most recent game, a 143-130 loss the Pelicans, Zion Williams dropped 29 points on 8-14 shooting, including a whopping 16 free throw attempts on the night.

In the Bulls defense--no pun intended--they didn't have starting center Nikola Vucevic or backup center Zach Collins. But in my defense of the Bulls lack of defense--pun intended--we have seen plenty of evidence that Vucevic is not a sufficient rim deterrent despite Billy Donovan being able to craft solid defensive units with him as the starter.

So the Bulls sit at a bit of an early-season crossroads. Will the Bulls defense bounce-back?

It's complicated.

Chicago's defense hasn't exactly been bleeding 3-pointers, as opponents making 13.8 3-pointers per game over this five-game stretch isn't the worst mark in the league (19th) but is higher than their season average (12.9). The bigger issue for the Bulls has been a lack of discipline when it comes to being physical on defense without fouling. Chicago is allowing a whopping 31.2 free throw attempts per game over the last five games, dead-last in the league over that stretch. And while I don't exactly support it, to defend Donovan playing rookie Noa Essengue a combined six minutes over the last two games, the rook wasn't likely to provide much help in the "defending without fouling" department.

The Bulls are fouling too much, they are also allowing opponents to get behind them too much, whether it be ball handlers beating their man off the dribble, or bigs getting caught flat-footed in pick-and-roll coverage as bigs get behind them for easy lobs.

The amount of penetration the Bulls allow forces the help defenders to commit hard and early, allowing easy drive-and-kick 3-pointers, or high percentage looks at the rim when that help defense doesn't commit. It's a lose-lose proposition for the Bulls, one that the top teams don't face often as they are usually able to take away at least one thing the opponent wants to do on offense.

The injuries are mounting up for Chicago just as it looked like there were starting to get back to 100%. The eventual returns of Vucevic, and later Collins, will help the Bulls defense look a bit better, allowing them to prevent players like Yves Missi from grabbing 10 (!!) offensive rebounds in a single game. But with the Bulls perimeter defense allowing so many breakdowns while core players like Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Matas Buzelis are on the floor, I think it is fair to admit that the early-season success of the Bulls defense was built on opponents trying to figure out Chicago's Coby White-less rotation, and the natural rust that comes with players getting into the flow of the NBA season.

Will the Chicago Bulls Defense Bounce Back?