The Chicago Bulls' two-game winning streak indicates a need for consistency

The Chicago Bulls’ results often seem contradictory.

Eighteen games into the season, the Chicago Bulls are 8-10, sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls’ results often seem contradictory; they recently lost to the 5-13 Magic and beat the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, the two best teams in the league.

The defense has improved

The inconsistent start caused many fans to call for the team to blow it up, trade either DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine, and rebuild. And despite their recent two-game stretch, there are still reasons for concern. 

The Bulls rank 29th in the league with 29.3 three-point field goals attempted and 26th with 10.7 three-point field goals made. These were some of the same issues the team had last season.

Defensively, the Bulls found a comfort zone, unlike at the end of last season. Chicago ranks 10th in defensive rating at 111.1, a significant improvement from last year when they ranked 22nd at 113.6. The Bulls had a top-10 defense in 2021-22 before losing Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso to injuries.

Defensive pressure has to be the Bulls’ priority if they want to climb in the Eastern Conference standings, but the offense has to show up regularly.

The offense has regressed

The Bulls will always rely heavily on DeRozan, LaVine, and Vucevic, but the Big Three’s scoring has decreased. DeRozan is averaging 25.9 points per game (27.9 last season), LaVine 20.6 (24.4 last season), and Vucevic 15.7 (17.6).

With no timeline on when Ball is set to return, the Bulls need to aim for consistency with their lineups by staying healthy and building off their wins against the Celtics and Bucks.

The Bulls went 22-13 with Ball last season, and if they find consistency by the time he is back, they can build off last season’s success and make a deep playoff run.