The Bulls capped off their best start in 25 years with a win against the Raptors last night. The team now sits at 4-0 with the best record in the Eastern Conference. No other team in the Eastern Conference remains undefeated at this point. As a team and fanbase, we should all be very excited about this start. While the Bull’s opponents in the first four games have a combined record of 2-9 there’s still reason to be very pleased with this start. In previous seasons we would have likely lost 1-2 of these games. There were moments in these games when the Bulls of the past would have folded and lost. We didn’t see that in the first four games and the Bulls are off to their best start in a long time.
The Chicago Bulls mean business 👀 pic.twitter.com/2vlyUAkzF0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 26, 2021
There are a lot of naysayers out there who want to diminish the Bull’s start. They want to focus on the opponent’s record instead of the Bull’s play. The Bulls still had to go into those games and come out with wins. Nothing is given to you in professional sports but when it comes to the Bulls it seems like people want to forget that. Regardless of what the doubters say the Bulls are 4-0. This team did exactly what they needed to do in winning these games. They put themselves in a strong position as they head into quite a tough stretch of games. It’s exactly what they needed to do to create confidence within the locker room.
This team knows what’s ahead
This Bull’s locker room hasn’t had much to be confident about in seasons past. There weren’t a lot of games they could go into confidently and every single matchup seemed to be a fight. Well after starting the season 4-0 one might assume this team is feeling on top of the world. Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan was asked about his thoughts on the team starting 4-0 and he was anything but cocky.
DeMar DeRozan on Bulls being only unbeaten team in East: "It don't mean nothing. We got a lot to clean up, a lot to learn."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 26, 2021
Being in his 13th season in the NBA certainly helps with this mentality. He knows that starting 4-0 means nothing if you can’t maintain that level of play. The Bulls have won each game to start this season but still have had quite a few mistakes. This team sees that and isn’t naive to it. This is the main reason they are more likely to succeed. The leadership DeRozan shows will need to be on full display during this next chunk of games for the Bulls. The Bulls are likely going to lose some games over that stretch. This will be a defining moment to see just how this team will bounce back from a loss.
Get ready for some tough matchups
The next 14 games for the Bulls are going to be tough. There’s no other way of putting it. They will match up against a lot of last year’s playoff teams as well as some teams that are likely to make the playoffs this year.
If you thought the first four Bulls games were fun …
Buckle up. pic.twitter.com/nr2uJzgM7q
— Elias Schuster (@Schuster_Elias) October 26, 2021
It’s certainly going to be a true test for this team especially with 7 of those games on the road. The biggest test will be in mid-November when the Bulls will head out west. They will be taking on some high-caliber offenses and will need to show just how much this team’s defense has improved. This team is going to be tested early which might be exactly what they need. There are a few key things that need to happen if the Bulls want to come out looking good after this 14 game stretch.
Minor adjustments can keep this team at the top
We can’t be blind to the mistakes the Bulls have made in the first four games. They have come together in the end to get the win but they still have made mistakes. The first thing the Bulls need to clean up is the turnovers. The Bulls have the fourth most turnovers per game in the league at 17.8. If they plan to compete with some of the other top teams in the league they need to cut down the turnovers. Head coach Billy Donovan thinks this group is too talented to be turning the ball over like they are.
Billy Donovan on Bulls’ fourth-quarter turnovers (they had 7): “With the ball-handling and the skill that we have, we have to be better in those situations.”
Said Raptors were the aggressors, had them on their heels
— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) October 26, 2021
If the Raptors were able to be aggressive and force 7 turnovers in a quarter imagine how other teams will scheme up their defense. If the Bulls can knock off 4-5 turnovers per game they will be in a great position to succeed as they face off against some tough competition.
The next area that needs to be improved is specific to one player. That player is forward Patrick Williams. He wasn’t expected to be ready for the season opener after an ankle injury and it’s hard to tell if that’s something that is holding him back. In his first four games, he hasn’t looked aggressive and it’s showing on the stat sheet. Williams is only averaging 2.3 RPG & 6.8 PPG all while playing 27 minutes per game. While his offensive game hasn’t been his biggest weapon it’s the lack of aggressiveness that has been concerning.
Patrick Williams doesn't have a rebound tonight, and he just got beat to a key one by a Raptor.
For all the talk about aggressiveness or lack thereof on offensive end, that's not as important as his defense/rebounding.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) October 26, 2021
We need Williams to bring that energy and aggressiveness like he did last season. The Bulls will be facing off against teams who have high-caliber players and we need a defensive force like Williams to help manage that. He absolutely needs to step up for this team and bring the aggression he had last year.
If the Bulls can get those two things and continue building as a unit they will come out of this stretch looking good. They already sit atop the Eastern Conference and want to keep their place towards the top. This team has the talent to do just that and it will require adapting. Billy Donovan will need to scheme up the right gameplan and be prepared for some tough fought battles.
This bulls team is different from years past and will look to prove that over this next stretch of games. Buckle up Bulls fans this season is about to get exciting.
