Very few expected a team with DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic to be elite on defense, but that happened last season with the Bulls. Behind some great coaching, Chicago was ranked #5 on defense last season as they were elite at creating turnovers, grabbing the defensive boards and avoiding to send their opponents to the FT line. Chicago complemented their big 3 with sound defensive players on the perimeter that did an amazing job, especially Alex Caruso who was by a wide margin the team’s best +/- ON/OFF player.
On offense, Chicago had basically the same offensive rating that they had had the previous season, but the league was much more efficient last season so the Bulls went from being the #14 offense to the #24. The Bulls refused to shoot from three, did not grab enough offensive rebounds and were just #20 in FT rate. It’s very hard to succeed on offense while struggling in these three areas.
2023/24 OUTLOOK:
Chicago decided to practically keep the whole team’s structure from last season, so it seems like they think they can win with this group. Patrick Beverley was lost in free agency but the Bulls did a good job by signing Jevon Carter, another defensive minded guard. They also signed Torrey Craig, a 3&D player that will give the team some nice depth. Chicago’s three best offensive players (DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic) missed a total of 13 games last season, so they were healthy pretty much the whole year. Will they be able to repeat that this season?
