Playoffs highlighting the flaws in Bulls' roster and philosophy
The Bulls’ sails catch wind at seemingly meaningless times. Their entire ship may be built poorly.
And Arturas Karnisovas, their executive vice president of basketball operations, might be steering them into the rocks, failing to understand what has worked for past NBA championship teams and what’s working for the current contenders in the first round of the playoffs this spring.
In fairness, Karnisovas and the front office have gotten some things right, such as changing the Bulls’ shot profile from last season, shifting from a mid-range-heavy offense to one that shoots more three-pointers, including from the corners. The Bulls went from 26th in the league last season with 32.1 three-point attempts per game to an astounding third this season with 42 attempts per game. They also finished tied for fifth with 10.8 corner three attempts per game.
The other major change was pace of play. The Bulls’ run-and-gun approach put them second in pace of play at 102.8, behind only the Grizzlies at 103.3.
But although that’s a nice identity to have during the regular season, it can be used to cover up serious flaws, and it hasn’t translated to basketball in late April. Of the top six teams in pace of play during the regular season, only the Thunder (fifth) seem to be a serious contender. The Grizzlies trail the Thunder 3-0 in their first-round series after a 114-108 loss Thursday night, while the other four top pace-of-play teams — the Bulls, Hawks, Wizards and Jazz — are draft lottery teams. The second-seeded Celtics were last in pace of play, and six other playoff teams were in the bottom nine. Getting up and down the court quickly doesn’t mean anything if the efficiency isn’t there and the defense is shoddy.
And this is the area of Karnisovas’s biggest oversight — defense.
This isn’t a knock on last summer’s trade of veteran defensive specialist Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for ultra-talented but defensively challenged Josh Giddey, which may end up being remembered as a win-win exchange. But if Karnisovas wants to build around a backcourt of Giddey and Coby White, he might want to start building a frontcourt that can defend the rim, rebound and play complementary basketball at the fast pace the Bulls want.
Among the top NBA teams in defensive efficiency, the Thunder were the leaders this season, followed by the Magic, Clippers, Celtics, Rockets, Timberwolves and Cavaliers. The Pistons, Heat, Bucks, Pacers and Lakers also were in the top 14. All reached the playoffs, with the Cavs, Celtics and Thunder the biggest threats to win it all.
The Bulls, on the other hand, slipped to No. 18 in defensive efficiency this season after they finished fifth in 2022-23, and were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament for a third straight year.
It’s as if Karnisovas jammed a thumb into a crack in the dam, only for another to appear. Until he and the front office can figure this out, positives such as a 15-5 finish to the regular season mean little. The Bulls aren’t as close as their executives may think.