Chicago Bulls preseason basketball has officially arrived.

The team is set to suit up against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night for their first of five exhibition meetings. Of course, the outcome of these games will hold little to no meaning, but what happens while the clock is running will be pretty darn important for this young group!

With that in mind, I listed the five big questions I have for the Bulls as they take the court over the next couple of weeks. If there is anything else major that you’ll have your eye on, be sure to drop it in the comments.

Burning Bulls Questions

Does Matas Buzelis Look Ready for a Breakout?

After stealing the starting spot from Patrick Williams during the second half of the 2024-25 season, expectations skyrocketed for Matas Buzelis. The No. 11 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft turned heads with his impressive two-way play. Whether it be his perfect 10-10 shooting display against the Mavericks, his career-high 31 points on the road against the Lakers, or his 4-block night against the Thunder, it’s hard to blame anyone for coming into this year optimistic.

Heck, the Bulls themselves have taken steps to make Buzelis their new face of the franchise. The six-foot-ten forward was all over the team’s social media this summer, and the plan appears to be for him to take on a significantly bigger workload this season.

At the same time … it’s only Year 2. Development isn’t always linear, and Buzelis is still only 20 years old! The last thing the organization wants to do is put too much pressure on his shoulders, especially as he moves up the scouting report for teams this season. At the end of the day, averaging 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks over 32 games is encouraging, but it’s not some kind of world-beating stat line.

Does this mean fans should ease up on the excitement for Buzelis’ sophomore campaign? I guess we’ll find out over the next couple of weeks! Particularly when we consider that Coby White will miss at least a few preseason games, we should get a great look at how much Buzelis improved during his first NBA offseason.

 

How Comfortable Does Noa Essengue Look?

Chicago Bulls fans are about to get a bigger taste of what Noa Essengue has to offer. The 18-year-old rookie enters his first NBA season with tons of question marks. A lesser-known prospect, Essengue slowly but surely climbed up draft boards as teams honed in on his raw talent. He’s an extremely mobile six-foot-ten forward with great length and versatility. While the current master of none skillset may scare some away, there is no question Essengue has room to become elite in more than one key category.

Nonetheless, fans and analysts alike were mentioning the G League from the moment Essengue’s name was called on draft night. Seen as one of the biggest project pieces in the draft, the assumption has been that he will spend the majority of his first few months as an NBA pro with the Windy City Bulls. We all know getting a feel for NBA-level speed and physcality can come with a harsh learning curve.

Still, can Essengue use this preseason to change some minds about his Year 1 development plan? For what it’s worth, the rookie only looked better and better over his three Summer League games in Las Vegas. He also spent the previous two years playing overseas as a professional in the German League. Of course, the NBA is another massive step up, but it’s not as if Essengue is showing up with zero feel for the game.

We know two things about the Bulls heading into this season: (1) They want to dominate in transition and (2) improve defensively. Those are two departments where Essengue could quickly prove to be of immediate use. He is at his best offensively when running in the open floor, and he even has a little bit of grab-and-go to his game. More importantly, he is one of the longest players on the team and can guard multiple positions. If he can defend and put up a couple of fastbreak highlights over the next five games, Bulls fans could be seeing a lot more of Essengue than initially expected this season. Add in some decision catch-and-shoot shotmaking from behind the arc … and we’re cooking!

 

Is the Defense All Talk?

Even before the 2025-26 league year began, the Chicago Bulls were talking about the steps they needed to take on the defensive end. They allowed the single-most points in the paint per game last year and were consistently overpowered by tougher squads. “Physicality” has become a big buzzword for the team, and this has come alongside some fun training camp footage that shows the team practicing charges and bumping bodies.

What happens at the Advocate Center and United Center can be two very different things, though. The truth is that – on paper – the Bulls are not built to be an above-average defensive team. The starting backcourt is made up of two subpar on-ball defenders in Coby White and Josh Giddey. Meanwhile, the interior is led by a veteran big man who has long been considered a defensive liability due to his lack of verticality. Backups bigs Zach Collins and Jalen Smith are also not necessarily known for their defensive chops

So do I believe the Bulls are working hard to be a better defensive unit? Absolutely. Lineups that feature at least two of Ayo Dosunmu, Isaac Okoro, and Matas Buzelis are also sure to help this team look slightly better on this side of the ball. However, I remain skeptical of this roster’s ability to improve in a meaningful way on that end of the floor. Maybe the preseason will change that!

 

 

Can the Offense Pick Up Where They Left Off?

Conversely, I’m very much in on what this Chicago Bulls team can do offensively. Many thought this group would take a step back with Zach LaVine shown the door last season, but they only seemed to get better and better. Coby White and Josh Giddey are a dynamic duo that can kill teams in transition with one of the fastest units in the NBA.

Likewise, they do seem to complement each other rather well. Whereas Giddey struggles to shoot off the bounce, White can scorch teams with his shotmaking versatility. Whereas White struggles to facilitate at a high level, Giddey sees passes that other players can’t make. On top of that, both showed the ability to provide a deadly one-two punch when driving to the basket last season. Only time will tell if they can keep that up, but they gave opponents real problems in the paint during their 15-5 finish.

Add in Matas Buzelis’ high-flying dunking, Vucevic’s ability to space the floor, Tre Jones’ savvy decision-making, Kevin Huerter’s sweet jumper, and Ayo Dosunmu’s lightning speed, and the Bulls could quickly become one of the top league pass teams!

With that said, I worry slightly about them regressing in this department. Could a more concerted effort defensively impact their energy level offensively? Will Josh Giddey be able to keep up the efficient scoring output we saw to end last season? What if Josh Giddey looks more like his first-half self than his second-half self? They’re all valid concerns that can be eased with a strong preseason.

 

Who is winning the starting SF battle?

The Chicago Bulls came into this season with a glaring hole in the starting lineup. The small forward spot is completely up for grabs as the team tries to create a better two-way identity. Head coach Billy Donovan was essentially asked if there was a frontrunner for the opening on Media Day, but he left the door open for training camp competition.

It’s worth noting that Kevin Huerter finished the 2024-25 season starting at the wing, and he did a darn good job! The sharpshooter bounced back from some struggles in Sacramento by averaging 14.7 points and 3.9 assists with a 39.4 percent success rate from downtown as a starter (15 games). The Bulls also went 12-3 in those outings. One has to imagine this is on Billy Donovan’s mind as he enters 2025-26, and I suspect he will start the preseason with Huerter in the starting lineup.

Still, I’m not sure this means Huerter owns the spot. Isaac Okoro has been the talk of training camp and feels like the right body if the team wants to get better defensively. The Bulls also went out of their way to re-sign Tre Jones this summer, and Donovan has shown an affinity for playing multiple ballhandlers. Even Ayo Dosunmu feels like he could be in the running, as the guard has the most experience next to the other starters and is among the team’s best players in transition.

At the end of the day, I expect to see Donovan try out multiple looks over the next few games. Keep an eye on who gets the final start against the Timberwolves on Oct. 16, as this should tell us who won the gig.