The Chicago Bulls finished sixth in the NBA in points per game during the 2024-25 regular season. They both attempted and made the third-most threes. They led the league in possessions and were second in pace. They went 17-10 after the All-Star break and 15-5 in their last 20 games. Only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves won more during that stretch.
Those four teams are competing for an NBA championship. The Bulls lost by 19 points in the first round of the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.
There's a clear chasm between where Chicago is as a franchise and where teams like the Thunder, Wolves, Clippers and Celtics are. Was that 15-5 stretch to end the season a fluke? Perhaps, but the Bulls showed growth over the last few months. Now, the goal is to carry that momentum into 2025-26.
But a run-and-gun, three-point-chucking offense can only get you so far. The NBA playoffs are a different kind of basketball, and Chicago doesn't have what it takes to compete at that level. Fortunately, it's clear and obvious what they need. Unfortunately, there's no easy path to getting it.
Bulls can't rely on just a pace-and-space offense
As Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times wisely points out, a high-powered offense can't win in the postseason if it's not partnered with at least an above-average defense.
Chicago may have scored the sixth-most points per game in the league, but it also gave up the third-most. Only the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards were worse, and those teams combined to win 35 games.
Meanwhile, the top 10 teams in fewest points allowed are in the playoffs. The top 14 teams in defensive rating were all playoff teams. (Thirteen are still alive after the Thunder dusted the Memphis Grizzlies in four games.)
Aside from playing at a slower pace, there's something almost all those teams have in common, something the Bulls significantly, significantly, significantly lack: a defensive anchor.
- Oklahoma City: Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein
- Boston: Kristaps Porzingis
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Evan Mobley (2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year) and Jarrett Allen
- Clippers: Ivica Zubac
- Timberwolves: Rudy Gobert
- Heat: Bam Adebayo
- Detroit Pistons: Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart
- New York Knicks: Karl-Anthony Towns
- Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner
- Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez
- Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey
- Chicago Bulls: Nikola Vucevic? Matas Buzelis?
The Houston Rockets may not have an ideal rim protector, but Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith and Tari Eason are three of the league's best defenders. The Golden State Warriors have Draymond Green as their maestro. If Towns isn't your cup of tea as a shot blocker, the Knicks have OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.
Buzelis led Chicago in blocks this season with 75. That ranked 26th in the league. Despite his explosiveness and aggression, Buzelis is 20 years old and listed at 209 pounds. He's not ready, and may never be, the anchor of a playoff-caliber defense. Neither are Vucevic, Zach Collins or Jalen Smith, the Bulls' other options up front.
Chicago could attack the issue through the draft with someone like Duke's Khaman Maluach, a strong, bouncy, athletic 7-foot-2 big man with a 7-6 wingspan. The crop of free agent centers isn't exactly alluring, but Lopez, Clint Capela, Turner and Steven Adams could potentially be available and all would be upgrades over Vucevic.
The Bulls aren't one piece away from title contention. Not even two or three. But whatever path they take during this rebuild, finding someone to anchor their defense is a non-negotiable.
