The Chicago Bulls Must Change Their Shot-Profile

The Chicago Bulls have become a paradox.

In 2021, the team decided to pivot towards winning – or at least being competitive. They did so by acquiring Nikola Vučević at the 2021 trade deadline, and later acquiring DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade, pairing those two with the already present Zach LaVine.

It should come as no surprise then, that the Bulls were expected to be a high-octane offensive team, that would struggle defensively.

Yet, the opposite has proven true.

The addition of Alex Caruso, the evolution of Patrick Williams, and a system spearheaded by head coach Billy Donovan, has allowed the Bulls to sneak into the upper tier of NBA defenses, ranking fifth last season.

Offensively, they ranked just 24th, despite the fact that their three best players are overwhelmingly more occupied with offense.

Essentially, nothing makes sense with these Bulls, and given that they added both Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig this summer, Chicago could be looking at yet another season with a Top 10 defense, and middling offense.

Except.. There might be a solution to balance things out.

It’s easy to just say “Team X should shoot more three-pointers”. It’s overly simplistic, and it ignores the layers associated with three-point shooting, such as playmaking, personnel, and paint touches that allows defenses to collapse.

So instead, let’s rephrase it to “The Bulls should build a system that allows them to take a larger percentage of their shots from behind the three-point arc, without abandoning their individual strengths”.

Yes, that’s quite the mouthful, isn’t it?

Nevertheless, it’s true. The Bulls do need more three-pointers, as they ranked 30th in attempts, 30th in makes, and 16th in efficiency.

As such, building a sustainable three-point attack needs to start by acknowledging what certain players does best, and work around that. Vučević loves to play in the post, and needs touches in that area to feel comfortable, and find rhythm. DeRozan, obviously, is a mid-range assassin who only shoots the three sporadically.

But what the two have in common is the ability to pass the ball. DeRozan is now 34, and it’s fair to expect him to tune down his shot levels slightly, and instead morph some of his attempts into potential assists. With his ability to force double teams when he asserts himself in the 12-15 feet area, leveraging that space could be a crucial tool to get the ball out behind the long line, and allow players to shoot.

For Vučević, the logic is similar, but the execution differs. He loves setting screens, and rolling to the free throw line area for small push shots. Mixing that play up, so Vučević more often uses the middle as a passing hub would allow him to send the ball outside.

Of course, both DeRozan and Vučević should each balance these responsibilities. If defenses know they’re swinging the ball out, they’ll already have their players ready to make quick rotations. The key is to have defenses guessing, which the Bulls currently are failing at given their reluctance to space the floor.

That has to change this coming season, if the Bulls wish to make a push in the playoffs.

Even if it doesn’t come natural to them, using DeRozan and Vučević to generate more outside shots (especially with LaVine as the most frequent recipient) will give the Bulls a much-needed alternative to the mid-to-close shots that every defense in the league is already anticipating.

It’s all about making reads, and being willing to give defenses something new to adapt to.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.