Chicago Bulls showing signs of playing smarter basketball

The Golden State Warriors built a dynasty by playing smarter basketball. Watching the Chicago Bulls attempt to replicate their success is a promising sign.

Entering the 2018-19 season, the Chicago Bulls were meant to be an offensive powerhouse that struggled on defense. At least, that’s what the talent on their roster suggested. Instead, they ended up hosting one of the NBA’s worst offenses.

The Bulls hit the fewest 3-point shots of any team in the league last year. Of all the field goals they did hit, 45.0 percent came unassisted — the sixth highest mark of any team. In comparison, only 33.2 percent of the Warriors’ field goals came unassisted. Since they were such a poor passing and shooting team, Chicago ended up scoring the fourth least points per game of any team in spite of all their talent.

Something was very clearly wrong with not only the offensive scheme, but the on-court mentality of the team. That is why this preseason has been so uplifting in regards to the team’s development.

Across four preseason games, the Bulls have gotten their percentage of unassisted baskets down to 35.4, a positive sign indicating the team has been much more willing to pass the ball freely and find open looks. They are also attempting 37.8 shots from beyond the arc (up from 25.9 last year) per game — good for the ninth highest in preseason play.

Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors was the first time the core roster has been together all preseason, and it gave us our first look at what to expect this season.

In a dominate victory, the Bulls launched an incredible 49 shots from deep. For some context, the Houston Rockets led the league last year in 3-point shots by a wide margin, and still only took 45 attempts on average. Granted, this did come against Toronto’s bench unit while all the starters rested, but hitting 36.7 percent on a sample size that large against players desperate to make an NBA roster is impressive nonetheless.

When Jim Boylen first assumed command as the Chicago Bulls head coach last season, many people lamented the decision because he seemed intent on bringing “old school” basketball back to town. As we saw first-hand with the fall of Tom Thibodeau, that just won’t cut it anymore.

Even without a true playmaker on the roster, the Bulls are still doing their best to distribute the ball and find good looks for their shooters. By doing so, franchise stars Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen should have much more room to operate and dissect opposing defenses.

This more team-oriented style of play will hopefully help groom Coby White to become the point guard the Bulls need, and the playmaker Kris Dunn never was.

For the first time in a long time, the Chicago seems to have a positive trajectory and look to be building something special here in the Windy City. The process may require a little bit more patience (and a high tolerance for questionable front office decisions), but we’re getting there. The Chicago Bulls are going to party like it’s 2020.