Chicago Bulls: 5 most surprising quotes from 2019 Media Day
“We want to be known as a defensive team. Bringing that toughness, that grit, protecting home court — it starts on defense and in training camp we’re going to emphasize this.”
– Otto Porter Jr.
The Chicago Bulls, a defensive team? Is this 2012? Of course not, but if this iteration of the Bulls can get even half the production on defense they had back then, Chicago should be sitting pretty in the playoff picture this upcoming season.
But let’s break down if this is truly a feasible goal.
When looking at the roster on paper, you’d think this would be a high-powered offense that struggles on the other end. But in fact, the Bulls had the second-worst offensive rating of any team in the league last year.
While pushing the tempo at approximately a league average pace of play, the Bulls scored 104.9 points (27th in the NBA) and allowed 113.4 points (20th) per game. Clearly, the defense was pulling its own weight for a team that finished with the fourth worst record in the league.
But do the Bulls have the personnel to become a true “defensive team” like the glory days of the Joakim Noah years?
Wendell Carter will be the anchor that holds this defense down. Without him, everything else falls apart. He averaged 1.3 blocks in just 25.2 minutes played per game last year, and achieved a very impressive 1.8 Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DPBM) for a rookie.
Assuming Kris Dunn still holds the starting spot to kick off the season, his defensive ability will be incredibly important. He has averaged 1.8 steals per game and a 0.8 DBPM in his two years in Chicago. Otto Porter is also an above average defender on the wing, grabbing 1.5 steals with a 0.7 DBPM. That rounds out the starting lineup with three impressive defenders.
A good start, but depth is what will make or break you on defense. Luckily, Shaq Harrison is a defensive savant that can fill a Tony Allen-esque role for the Bulls. Harrison finished with the second most steals per 100 possessions (right behind Marcus Smart) in the league last year. Newly added Thaddeus Young also earned a reputation as the only player who could stop Giannis Antetokounmpo, and finished last year with an incredible 2.1 DBPM.
Believe it or not, the prospect of the Bulls being a good defensive team next year is looking pretty healthy. With Jim Boylen trying to enforce a bruiser’s mentality on the court, and a team loaded with defensive specialists, I can confidently project Chicago to have a top ten defense in the NBA next year.