The Bulls last played a meaningful basketball game on March 10th of this year. That was 269 days ago. After a long wait, we officially know when the Bulls will play their next meaningful game. The Bulls will open up the 2020-2021 season on December 23rd against the Atlanta Hawks.
Bulls don't have to wait long to see Kris Dunn. Atlanta at United Center for opener on Dec. 23.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 4, 2020
The Bulls will see their former guard Kris Dunn right away this season. This Hawks team should be a good test for the Bulls as they open the season. They are a solid team that should give the Bulls a good fight to start off the year.
The Bulls released the remainder of the schedule available shortly after finding out about the season opener.
Our season begins on 12/23 at our house.
Catch our games on @NBCSChicago: pic.twitter.com/iMnhOqwXuA
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 4, 2020
Beyond the first game of the year, the Bulls find themselves with a challenging first twelve games of the year.
Wow. Brutal start to the season for the Bulls: Hawks, Pacers, Warriors, Washington (x2), Bucks, Mavs, Blazers, Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Celtics … ARE YOU KIDDING!?
Gonna be crazy when they're 12-0. 😎
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) December 4, 2020
This stretch of games includes mainly playoff-caliber teams and will certainly put this young Bulls team to the test. Luckily for the Bulls, they are seeing this stretch of games early in the season. With the extended offseason for some teams and the altered training camp this year the Bulls may catch a break. There is sure to be some rust with most teams as they come back from an unorthodox offseason. One other positive for the Bull’s first twelve games is 2 of them come against the Washington Wizards. They just completely shifted their playstyle by adding PG Russell Westbrook and they will be coming off minimal practice with him leading the team.
Predicting the Bulls record after one month
In the first month of the season, the Bulls will play 17 games. They will be going up against some high-quality teams in those 17 games. The Bulls will meet some fierce competition over the first month with a few easy games sprinkled in. The better teams they will meet include Golden State, Washington (2x), Milwaukee, Dallas (2x), Boston, LAL (2x), LAC, and Houston. With it being early in the season and some of the moves that were made this offseason the Bulls will steal a couple. I’m predicting the Bulls will grab a couple of games early on that they may not win later on down the road and they find themselves sitting at 10-7 one month into the season.
Looking at the Bulls at the halfway point
When the Bulls reach the halfway point of the season they will have played 36 games. The back half of the schedule looks to be easier than the first stretch. However, at this stage teams will start to get into a rhythm. The Bulls will face teams that may be a bit too much for them compared to the start of the season. The Bulls will luckily get back to backs against the Knicks and the Magic which should be games that give them confidence boosts. They will still have some tough stretches in February that will require the group to rise to the occasion and win games they are supposed to win. New head coach Billy Donovan should help this team get to some more wins than last season but they haven’t changed a ton on this roster. The teams with superstars will still be tough to beat.
When all is said and done and the Bulls reach the halfway point I predict they will be sitting at 19-17.
The Bulls will be fighting for a playoff spot
Look for this team to be above .500 when they hit the midseason mark. The Bulls will find themselves fighting for a playoff spot at the midway point. They have some tough matchups but this offseason was anything but normal. The Bulls will steal a few games from good teams who simply haven’t had the time to practice with one another. The Bulls are bringing in basically the same roster as last year. That will be an advantage after the weird offseason that they’ve had. There are some winnable stretches in this schedule and there are some stretches where we may want to look away.
Either way, Bulls basketball is back!
