The Bulls are BACK and the league has been put on NOTICE!

[Dan Z]

Didnt they finish strong last year? I think they are real in that they can be at leaat a tier better than last seaaon.

It helps that the East is weak this year with Boston and Indiana dealing with injuries to their teams.

[Jadoogar]

Too early to say, obviously, but this pessimistic Bulls fan is cautiously optimistic. We've won 18 of our last 25 games dating back to last season and have brought back basically the same team. We theoretically have another gear to play when White and Collins return.

The vibe in the locker room feels different, IMO and that also seems to be translating on the court which is something that the players have mentioned::

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i think the continuity bump is underrated. Like you said, they brought back the same team so they have a leg up on teams trying to integrate new players like Bane and Porzingis (2 teams that have looked bad so far). Once we get further into the season, the other teams should build more chemistry.

That said, these wins count the same as the one in February so it's good for them to build up their record now.

[cupcakesnake]

I enjoyed reading the OP, but I think talking about their offense looking good is missing the point. The Bulls are winning due to defense, which is top 3 throughout these 3 games. The offense hasn't actually been very good (-2 rOrtg). They've been solid at most things, and they pass the ball a lot, but that's been a double edged sword because they are brutally losing the turnover battle every night.

The main source of their success is that their opponents are missing shots.

I never underestimate Billy Donovan when it comes to making a mediocre defensive personnel play good defense.

[MavsDirk41]

I watched them play Orlando the other night and Jalen Smith and P Williams were both great. Active on the glass, in control offensively, solid defensively. They are a fun team to watch.

[gavran]

Yes, they exist.

[HotelVitale]

Yes, they exist.

Prove it

[Ferulci]

They'll end up somewhere between 33 and 42 wins and miss on a very top talented draft. Maybe get a playoff berth since Indiana and Boston will throw the towel as some point, but treadmill as usual.
That being said, the group is well prepared (which helps performing early), the rotation is deep and Buzelis/Giddey are awesome.

[pipfan]

Forty+ year Bulls' fan here-this is a fun team. They play hard, share the ball and go very deep. I think they crush the expected win total Vegas had (33) and maybe be above .500

Obviously not a contender but this lineup will win a lot of games
White/Jones
Okoro/Ayo
Giddey/Huerter
Matas/PWill (looks like a real player this year)
Vuc (playing great so far)/Collins
JSmith/JCarter/DTerry/Phillips/Noa as deep bench-that's a deep team that will run a bunch of clubs to death over the season

[Handlez]

Giddey underpaid.

What a superstar.

[mcmurphy]

Have we seen a team this "selfless" before?

Nuggets 2012-2013 won 57 games

[UcanUwill]

Its 3 games, This is a team thats best player is Josh Giddey.

[Amare_1_Knicks]

I would bank on them not being real. A play-in team at best. I do think Giddey is/has been underrated though.

[ChuckChilly]

The dunk contest is back baby!

[dawhizz]

They are kind of fun but I suspect it will be less fun in the upcoming NY/NY/Philly/Mil/Cle/SA stretch.

[marthafokker]

At least not as bad now without their 2 worst and most expensive stat padders.

[tsherkin]

Too early to say, obviously, but this pessimistic Bulls fan is cautiously optimistic. We've won 18 of our last 25 games dating back to last season and have brought back basically the same team. We theoretically have another gear to play when White and Collins return.

Coming to the Gen Board and declaring a team "back" after 3 games is a little bonkers. Nothing wrong with a little cautious optimism, though. They've played well to open. It'll calm down a lot on D. We'll see what happens with their O. Dunno how much I want to trust their close to last season, what with everyone tanking, but it's a nice stretch of games they've played to this point, for sure!

[NZB2323]

On the one hand, it’s only 3 games in. On the other hand, the Bulls are 20-10 in their last 30 regular season games. Can we go beyond the play-in tournament and finish top 6 in the East? Only time will tell.

[JustBuzzin]

Back like MJ in 95.

[kane0801]

Its 3 games, This is a team thats best player is Josh Giddey.

Not Coby White?

[meekrab]

I enjoyed reading the OP, but I think talking about their offense looking good is missing the point. The Bulls are winning due to defense, which is top 3 throughout these 3 games. The offense hasn't actually been very good (-2 rOrtg). They've been solid at most things, and they pass the ball a lot, but that's been a double edged sword because they are brutally losing the turnover battle every night.

The main source of their success is that their opponents are missing shots.

I never underestimate Billy Donovan when it comes to making a mediocre defensive personnel play good defense.

Yeah the problem the Bulls have is eventually opposing teams will get back to shooting ~35% on three pointers rather than the 26% they have so far. Those 7 or 8 missed triples are the entirety of their point differential so far.

Being basically tied with the Hawks Magic and Pistons after compensating for shooting luck isn't that bad, but it's really only the kind of thing that strikes fear into the hearts of Under 32.5 bettors, doesn't mean anybody is "back."

The good news is they're young and play fast so they're fun to watch and should steal some extra wins from older teams in the middle of the season.