In the five weeks since the NBA All-Star break, the Chicago Bulls have lost control of their consistent defense.
Washington Wizards’ Corey Kispert is fouled by Chicago Bulls’ Onuralp Bitim as Alex Caruso also defends during the first half on Monday, March 25, 2024, at the United Center. For the past two seasons, the Chicago Bulls have survived rough patches, poor shooting and injury misfortune with one thing — consistent defense.
But since the break, that shaky defense has plummeted to one of the worst in the league. The Bulls fielded the fourth-worst defensive rating over the last 16 games, holding only one team under 100 points in that span.despite this slippage. But with the play-in tournament looming, players know that returning to their defensive strengths will be key to competing in the postseason.
The fouling doesn’t necessarily jump off the stat sheet. The Bulls are in the middle of the league with an average of 17.4 fouls per game and give up 20.6 free throws per game since the break. But with minimal wiggle room due to injury absences, even being average isn’t enough for the Bulls. Although rebounding often seems like a big-man assignment, the Bulls identify their guards and wings as the key change-makers for this area.
“Our first-shot defense has been good,” guard Coby White said. “It’s just the offensive rebounds, which lead to the kick-out 3s and wide-open 3s and defensive breakdowns. We’ve just got to limit them to one shot.”On the surface, the Bulls are working with a similar personnel group as last season. But since the All-Star break, the team has been forced to rely more heavily on younger players for wing defense due to the season-ending injuries of Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams.
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