November 8, 2024: Back to Earth
No Bull Bulls returns this issue with a look at the Bulls’s recent slide. Also, Matas Buzelis and his development, the new City Edition jersey, and Mike Prada’s “Spaced Out.”
Can the Real Bulls Please Stand Up?
Ayo Dosunmu (left) guards Jalen Wilson (right) in the Bulls loss to the Brooklyn Nets on November 1 | Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images via nba.com/nets/photos
The honeymoon is over.
After a surprising 3-2 start to the season, including impressive wins over Memphis and Orlando, the Bulls have lost three straight, sinking to 3-5.
Their latest loss was a blowout to the Dallas Mavericks, which is easy to digest considering the Mavs are coming off a Finals appearance and have one of the best players in the world in Luka Dončić.
The two losses prior to the Dallas game are less understandable. Last Friday, the Bulls fell to the Brooklyn Nets 120-112. While the Nets do currently sit at a solid 4-4 and are surprising quite a few pundits, they entered the 2024-25 season projected as one of the worst teams in the league. Then there was the 135-126 loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday. Utah was 0-6 going into that game and the Bulls handed them their first win of the season. Not great.
So what happened? How did the Bulls go from being over .500 for the first time in nearly two years to losing three straight including two losses to projected standing bottom-dwellers?
First, let us look at shooting percentage. The Bulls were shooting extremely well up to their little skid. But maybe those early shooting stats were flukey and the Bulls came back down to Earth starting with Brooklyn. Below is the shooting percentage through their first eight games of the season:
So there were really no major dropoffs in the shooting numbers, besides the three-point percentage plummeting versus Dallas. But before Dallas, the three-point shooting was stable between the Orlando win and Utah loss.
With shooting not being the culprit, by mind jumped to the turnover game. In their early losses to New Orleans and Oklahoma City, turnovers were a big issue. So I charted their total turnovers and:
Nothing concrete here either. Again, the Dallas game is a bit of an outlier because the Bulls lost so decisively, but the two losses before that did not show any major difference from the game prior to the. The Utah game was even an improvement.
The offense was not the issue. Beside that outlying Dallas loss, the Bulls scored at least 112 points in both of those tough losses to Brooklyn and Utah. That means it had to be the defense, right? Here are the points allowed by the Bulls through the Dallas loss:
Here, the Utah game is the outlier as they let up the most points they did all year to a team averaging the least amount of points-per–game in the league. But other than that and the very low-scoring game against Orlando, who scores the second least points-per-game, the Bulls have been pretty consistent in the amount of points they let up: usually somewhere between 112 and 123 points. But points allowed do not tell the whole story. My next option was to look at opponent field goal percentage to see how well teams were shooting versus the Bulls and here is what we got:
And there we go. Over that three-game losing streak, teams were shooting substantially better against the Bulls than they had been all season (besides the Bucks, who the Bulls still somehow beat). But shooting percentage goes both ways, so are these inflated numbers due to the teams the Bulls were playing shooting well or because of the Bulls’s defense?
I lean towards the defense being the issue. Of those three teams, only Brooklyn is top-15 in the NBA this season for shooting percentage. Dallas is 16th, and Utah is last in the league. If those three teams shot all season like they did against the Bulls, they would rank first (Utah), third (Brooklyn), and seventh (Dallas) in the league for field goal percentage, all well above where they are currently ranked.
One team having an outlandishly good shooting night against you is a blip - a bad game. But three straight teams doing it against you — especially three teams who are not exceptional shooting teams to start — says more about your defense than their offense.
Lucky for us, the Bulls played another game while I was writing this. On Thursday night they blew a fourth quarter lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves to lose 135-119 at the United Center. With this fourth straight loss, I quickly wondered if the trends I already established continued in this game. And what do you know? They did.
The Bulls still shot well, hitting 53.4% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc to score 119 points. Nothing unusual there. Turnovers were not terrible either with 13 on the Bulls’s part.
But once more, it was the opponent’s offense who had a field day. Minnesota’s 135 points tied Utah for the most points given up by the Bulls this season, and the Wolves shot 54.3%. At least Minnesota was already averaging a 48.7% field goal percentage this season for the fourth best number in the league. But their number against the Bulls is about six points higher than their season average. Once again, a team shoots above average versus the Bulls.
I was so fascinated by the Bulls’s new-look offense this year that I have ignored a defense that I just assumed would be bad. And, granted, it has been bad; their 121.1 points-allowed-per-game is the fourth worst mark in the league. Still, any game I watch moving forward, I am going to pay a bit more attention to what exactly they are (or are not) doing on their own end and why teams have gone nuclear shooting against them since the Orlando game where they only allowed 99 points.
For now, I will just say that the Bulls offense has improved from the last few seasons, but is still middle of the NBA in terms of points-per-game. Having a bottom-five defense, however, is gonna result in a lot more losing. Unless the offense takes another step in the right direction or the defense sees some drastic improvements, a mediocre offense and terrible defense is not a recipe for success and could quickly erase any optimism present after their 3-2 start.
Developing Worries
Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has had a tumultuous start to his rookie campaign | Photo via nba.com/bulls/photos
Before the season started, head coach Billy Donovan floated the idea of sending 2024 11th overall pick Matas Buzelis down to the G-League (the NBA’s minor league) for some fine tuning. This plan was met by backlash from the fans who wanted to see the lottery pick and Chicago native play for the Bulls. All this discourse turned out to be for naught as Buzelis did indeed start the season on the Bulls’s roster.
Funny enough though, Buzelis ended up in the G-League after all when the Bulls demoted him this past Saturday. This lasted for roughly 24 hours as Buzelis was recalled to the big league club on Sunday and appeared in Monday’s loss to Utah.
Now, Buzelis’s demotion, as brief as it was, made sense on paper. Through the first five games in the season, Buzelis never scored more than three points and made more than one field goal. He also amassed just three total rebounds, three assists, and one steal. These lackluster stats culminated on Friday net versus the Nets when Buzelis did not play any minutes.
Things did not improve much his first game after the send down/call up, as he put up a goose egg in the points column versus the Jazz. But there is another key stat I have not mentioned yet, which is minutes played. Through his first six career games, Buzelis averaged just over five minutes a game.
You do not have to be a coaching expert to know that no player is going to develop when they barely see any court time. This is where the argument to send Buzelis to the G-League has merit. Buzelis is going to have an increased opportunity to play with the Windy City Bulls (the Bulls’s G-League affiliate) than he will with the big league squad. More reps in the G-League would hopefully translate to a more polished game in the NBA.
But I have two counters to this argument:
Buzelis already spent plenty of time in the G-League. The season leading into his draft, Buzelis played for the G-League Ignite, a developmental team focused on giving draft prospects a place to play and gain experience in the G-League before they were drafted. Essentially, it is an alternative option to college. Or at least it was until the team ceased operations after the 2023-24 season. Buzelis played 26 games for Ignite, averaging 32 minutes-per-game and 14.3 points-per-game. Sending him down to the G-League now feels like been there, done that. How much would Buzelis really develop going back to the league he played all season in last year? He needs more NBA minutes to continue his development.
He has proven when given the opportunity, he can produce. Versus Dallas, Buzelis appeared in 23 minutes, by far his season-high, and scored 13 points on 4/9 shooting and three three-pointers. Granted, he then played 17 minutes versus Minnesota and only scored two, but he also only shot three field goals, two of which were from beyond the arc. Three-point shooting is not his specialty (he only shot 27.3% from three for Ignite), so while the minutes were there, the opportunities fitting Buzelis’s style were not. Give him more minutes and use him in an effective way and Buzelis might actually start producing the way he should.
Part of Buzelis’s failure so far this year has to go to Donovan. Yes, Buzelis has stuff to improve on, but I do not believe Donovan is putting him in the best position to succeed. And sending him down to the G-League for a second straight year is not the answer. Like I said before the season started, the Bulls are not playing for much. Maybe their decent start to the year instilled some false confidence into the team, but they have come back to Earth hard over their last four games. What is the harm in letting Buzelis go out onto the court more? He will make mistakes for sure. But that is part of the learning experience for young players and Buzelis is not getting that experience at the moment.
City Edition Jersey Rankings
Last Saturday, the Bulls unveiled their new City Edition jerseys. The Bulls will wear these alternate jerseys eight times throughout the regular season with the first “City Edition Night” coming on November 23 versus Memphis. This is the seventh City Edition jersey the Bulls have unveiled since the NBA rolled them out across the league in 2017, so how about we take a look at the seven Bulls City Edition jerseys and how I think they stack up with each other?
No. 7: 2022-23 (The Municipal Y)
A running theme through these rankings will be my disdain for jerseys that do not look particularly different from the usual jerseys. I mean, what is the point of an alternative jersey if it does not do something special and unusual?
I do like the use of the rust red stripes, which are supposed to resemble the color of the bridges crossing the Chicago River. But those stripes are really the only thing unique about this jersey. The waistband of the shorts feature the “Municipal Y,” which represents the branches of the Chicago River. Cool idea, I just wish it was more prevalent than a small logo on the waistband.
At first glance, this just looks like another white Bulls jersey with slightly different red coloring. It is just boring for an alternative jersey. Maybe if the jersey’s primary color was that rust red and the Municipal Y was used more, they would have had something here.
No. 6: 2019-20 (The Chicago River/Lake Michigan)
Well, at least this jersey is not mostly white. I will say, the blue used, the same found in the stripes on the Chicago flag, is easy on the eyes and definitely provides a different look than their usual jerseys. The stars down the shorts are also a great detail.
My issue with this jersey is that other than that color change, I just do not find this jersey too interesting. I wish it had a little more too it. Alternate jerseys present a chance to go crazy with all the details you can throw in. Simply changing the color and using the logo on the front rather than wordscript is not enough for me.
Also, apparently all the blue is supposed to reference Chicago’s major water features (the Chicago River and Lake Michigan), and I do not see it. If that is supposed to be the special detail about this jersey, it is a bit of a stretch.
No. 5: 2024-25 (United Center)
This year’s jersey is up next and it is another mostly white jersey.
This jersey gets some love from me because of how much detail goes into this design. The whole jersey honors the United Center, home of the Bulls, for its 30th birthday. Details like the belt buckle resembling the windows of the UC, the spotlight streaks on the jersey, the color pallet matching the UC, and the font and numbering copying the signage around the Center are neat to pick apart.
While I have my qualms, I have to give credit to the designers for all the little homages they packed in.
Where I believe this jersey stumbles is from a distance, it is hard to make out all those special details I mentioned above. Without seeing those details, this looks like yet another white jersey with some slight beige shading.
I think this jersey will be one of those that looks great up close but you lose the idea of it as you zoom out. This ranking could change once I see it in action, but I am not too optimistic that will happen.
No. 4: 2017-18 (The Chicago Flag)
The first City Edition jersey for the Bulls is still a really strong one. This jersey is essentially like someone took the Chicago flag and just reshaped it into a jersey.
I prefer the stars down the side of the jersey over 2019-20’s use of them down the shorts as they are a little more prevalent. That “Chicago” script across the front looks beautiful and outlining the openings of the jersey with the blue and red is a nice touch.
My problem with it is, and say it with me now, it is another predominantly white jersey. All the details are really well done, but it is overshadowed by using a very white jersey. Like I said for the last entry in the ranking, it can be difficult to make out all those details from a distance.
No. 3: 2021-22 (Moments Mixtape)
Alright. We are officially out of the white jersey brigade. And we start this section of the rankings with one of my favorite red looking jerseys the Bulls have rolled out.
The idea with this jersey is to mix together ideas from Bulls history. The side taping and numbering is from the inaugural Bulls team in 1966, and the wordmark across the front is from Michael Jordan’s rookie year in 1984. There are pinstripes from the 1990s teams, and the belt buckle was introduced in 2017.
To be honest, I think this may be one of the weakest themes we have seen in these rankings. You get what they are doing when it is explained to you, but it is not one of those themes where you can look at this jersey and go, “Oh yeah! That jersey is a combination of multiple Bulls jerseys!”
So with such a weak theme, why do I like this jersey so much? As I alluded to, it is that red. It really jumps out at you, and accenting it mostly with white rather than the normal black stands out too. The “Chicago” wordmark also looks sweet. In the end, it is a lackluster theme, but it is executed extremely well.
No. 2: 2020-21 (Chicago Architecture)
Now we are talking. I really enjoy this jersey and even owned one. It is a great combination of execution and theme.
Chicago architecture is the theme here. All the gold is a tribute to the buildings in The Loop that have gold on them. And the signage from the United Center makes a second appearance on this list, but is done even better here with the red shadowing behind it adding some nice depth.
The whole jersey has an art deco look to it, and I am all here for it. Part of me wishes there was a little more to it than just the gold lines down the sides, but sometimes simplicity is best.
No. 1: 2018-2019 (The Chicago Flag Again)
The Chicago flag makes its return in this 2018-19 jersey, and it is easily an improvement over its 2017-18 predecessor and remains my favorite City Edition jersey.
I am a sucker for black jerseys, especially black jerseys highlighted by strong colors like red and blue. Like I mentioned with the last entry of this ranking, it is simple, but it works so well. The jersey just screams Chicago with the flag front and center. Being black also separates it from the Bulls’s usual white and red jerseys, truly making this one feel like an alternate jersey and not just a slight modification to one of the original jerseys.
It might be one of the simplest ideas on this list, but when it is done so well I have to put it number one.
Bulls Upcoming Schedule (All times CST)
Saturday, Nov. 9 - @ Atlanta Hawks (6:30 p.m.)
Monday, Nov. 11 - vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (7 p.m.)
Wednesday, Nov. 13 - @ New York Knicks (6:30 p.m.)
Recommendation of the Week: “Spaced Out” by Mike Prada
There has not been a more glaring trend in the NBA than the rise of the three-pointer over the past 15 years or so. The arrival of stars like Steph Curry and James Harden (among others) has turned the NBA into a shooter’s league. Now, if your team can not reliably cash in from beyond the arc, you have no business competing for the championship.
Since the rise of the three-ball has been so impactful in the NBA world, it has been heavily studied and talked about, but maybe nowhere has it been dissected so well than in Mike Prada’s 2022 book, “Spaced Out.”
Yes, Prada’s book looks at the impact of increased three-point shooting, but it also dives deep into aspects of today’s NBA that are not as well-known as the three-ball. This includes topics like the reemergence of zone defense, stricter contact rules, and the spacing out (get it?) of offenses.
For a book that covers a lot of ground in NBA history, Prada does a remarkable job condensing it into just under 400 pages. He never lingers on one topic too long, but it never feels like he is skimming over things either. Prada also does good work in tying ideas together. Because of this, the reader understands the full scope of how one shift in the NBA leads to another which leads to another. Helping the pacing out is a ton of court charts that beautifully illustrate the ideas Prada is discussing.
Contrary to outside belief, there is so much more to today’s NBA than just guys chucking up a ton of threes and playing zero defense. Prada really drives this point home in “Spaced Out” and meticulously maps out how we got to this point. I can almost guarantee that this book will change how you view modern basketball.
About Me
That’s me holding the microphone
Hey all. Thanks for taking a gander at my newsletter. My name is Peter Borkowski, and I am currently a senior at Concordia University Chicago who is graduating this December. Sports journalism is one of my true passions in life, and there is no aspect of sports journalism I enjoy as much as the NBA media world. So here is my attempt at entering that world, and what better way than by covering my favorite NBA team, the Bulls? So thanks for stopping by. If you like what you saw, consider subscribing to get more content like this weekly.