Watching the Chicago Bulls try to play defense this season feels like watching a ghost hunt gone wrong. You know the players are standing there… and yet opponents keep running straight through them like they’re invisible. Possessions disappear, drives vanish, and entire lineups seem to evaporate into thin air. If this keeps up, someone may need to call paranormal investigators to the United Center.
Billy Donovan and the Bulls’ front office knew defensive issues were coming long before Opening Night. That’s why the preseason was filled with talk of toughness, physicality, and “setting a new tone.” It’s also why they flipped Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro, a stronger defender built to withstand the grind of a long season. But plugging one hole in the dam doesn’t fix the flood. Chicago needed a system-wide recalibration, not a bandage—and the last 10 games have made that painfully clear.
Chicago’s early-season 5–0 start fooled a lot of people, but not the underlying data. Their defensive rating sat sixth in the league at 110.3, but that was thanks to one thing: opponents couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives. Teams shot an absurdly low 30.1% from three during that stretch—an unsustainable number that created a defensive illusion.
Behind that mirage, the problems were already there. The Bulls allowed the most points in the paint even during their undefeated run, and they forced a league-worst 11.6 turnovers per game. Nothing about that screams “elite defense.”
Predictably, once opponent shooting returned to normal, the bottom fell out. The cracks that were quietly forming now look more like a canyon.
Over their last 10 games, the Bulls have gone 3–7 and cratered to the 25th-ranked defense with a rating of 120.9. They’ve allowed 130.3 points per game, second worst in the league over that span. And the fouling? Out of control. Opponents are taking 28.4 free throws per night—more than almost every team except the Wizards and Pacers, who have managed just one combined win in their last 10.
The lowlights keep coming.
New Orleans recently torched Chicago for 78 points in the paint, the third-highest total for any team in a game this season. The Bulls barely contested shots at the rim, and when they did, whistles filled the air.
And the rebounding? A disaster. Chicago is allowing opponents to waltz to the offensive glass, giving up a league-high 20.2 second-chance points a night since November 7. Portland and New Orleans both dropped 30+ second-chance points in the last week alone. Every missed shot feels like a gift-wrapped extra possession.
Getting healthy will help—Isaac Okoro, Dalen Terry, Kevin Huerter, and Zach Collins have all spent time on the injury report. But even at full strength, this roster is not built with elite defenders. Chicago doesn’t have a single All-Defense caliber stopper. They don’t have a true rim-protector. They don’t even have the collective discipline to compensate for those weaknesses.
This will require a complete team effort: more physicality, better communication, and a commitment to making every possession difficult. Top 10 defense? Unlikely. But bottom five? Unacceptable.
The Bulls don’t need to become defensive juggernauts—just competent enough to prevent fans from questioning the laws of physics.
Because if opponents keep passing through Chicago’s defense like ghosts… we may need to ask the real questions:
If ghosts are real, what about goblins? Witches? Warlocks?
At this rate, the supernatural might be the Bulls’ only hope.
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