Chicago Bulls 2022-23 Season Preview
The Bulls 5-Out spacing allows 4-Guard lineups to thrive.
Welcome to the 2022-23 previews for every NBA team! These breakdowns are designed to look at stats, film & anything I found interesting in my preparation for the upcoming NBA season.
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Stats
Net Rating: -0.2 (19th)
Offensive Rating: 113.9 (14th)
Good
When you are the one of the better eFG% shooting team in the NBA, it is guaranteed your offense is going to be efficient and elite. The Bulls roster is full of efficient offensive players, mainly Lavine and Derozan - two players who complement each other well. Lavine does a great job shooting at the rim and from 3, while DeMar is an INSANE mid-range assassin.
Ok
The Bulls did not turn the ball over, ranking 7th in the NBA only turning it over on 13% of their possesions. Combine that with drawing fouls at a high rate, the Bulls offense overall will succeed if that sustains in the future.
Ugly
Offensive rebounding isn’t the most important stat when it comes to having an efficient offense, but it really helps when you can rebound your misses. The Bulls ranked 28th in the NBA in OREB%, only grabbing back 23% of their misses - an area Drummond can help in for sure.
Defense: 114.1 (22nd)
Good
On the flip side, the Bulls did a great job not allowing their opponents to rebound the ball - only allowing them to rebound 25% of their misses back. This is a great sign for a Bulls defense that struggled with the inconsistency of the roster available.
Bad
Limiting shots from 3, the Bulls did a good job keeping teams off the 3 point line by only allowing 33% of shots from 3. This could be an ideal philosophy for the Bulls since they don’t shoot any 3s themselves.
Ugly
The combination of not turning teams over and fouling teams leads to bad defensive results. Ranking both 23rd & 20th in the NBA respectively, areas the Bulls have to clean up next season.
Film
5-Out
Wide 2 Chase
Double ballscreens are one of the hardest actions to guard regardless of the players involved, but it becomes amplified when you have a guard set the first and a big set the second. The Bulls take this a step further by running the “Wide” action, but have the player coming off the screen be the first screener in a double ballscreen.
This is obviously a call, but it can be a read in their normal 5-Out offense.
Chin
I have discussed often the benefits of Chin ballscreens, with a backscreen into a ballscreen causing issues with defensive coverages - so I will keep this brief. This play is typically run for Demar & Lavine, allowing the two best playmakers to create.
Chin Empty
A variation on the normal Chin is to empty out one side of the floor so when the backscreen is set it creates more urgency from the help defender.
The Bulls can also look for a lob set for Lavine running this action:
Chin Nash
The Bulls combine the double ballscreen with Chin action by having the player who passed it to the wing initially become the first ballscreener.
I call this action”Nash” when the ball is passed and followed by a double ballscreen directly after.
Guard Guard Ballscreen
Often running 4 guard lineups, the Bulls use this to their advantage by finding weaker or mismatched defenders and putting them in ball screen action. They will run multiple combinations throughout the game depending on matchups.
Pin Cross
A set designed to get the ball to Vuc in the post, this is starts off with him setting a screen at the free throw line.
This simple decoy action will force his defender to react to free up the cross-screen and allow a better post position.
Horns Exchange
A set that Donovan took with him from the Thunder, this set is designed with lots of action and quick movement that throws off the defense’s timing and execution.
Designed to work great against modern defenses that either ICE or Switch as the common coverage, this set starts off with a fake ballscreen and the player rolling to clear.
Then it flows right into a handoff into a ballscreen almost at the same exact time, making this a nightmare for the defense to navigate.
If you liked this breakdown feel free to share it & if you have any other scenarios, plays, or thoughts on any future breakdowns let me know in the comments below!
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Outwork Yesterday.
Coach Pyper