

Consequently, the Bulls never really found an offensive rhythm. Mike Dunleavy, although a gifted 3-point shooter, is not the kind of replacement that can lose defenders by flying around off-ball screens, and the alternative Nikola Mirotic small forward experiment fizzled because he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn from beyond the arc. Spacing was a major issue for the first completely Luol Deng-less iteration of the Bulls in a decade. This was hugely important for their success because the offense was oddly disjointed at times. That’s the beauty of unwavering implementation at the systemic level as long as everyone does their job well, a grind-it-out win is rarely out of sight. Nothing came easily for the Bulls last season, but they made their annual run at lasting prominence nonetheless.įor the most part, they buttered their bread with suffocating Thibodeau defense. When enervated by injuries (the official post-noughties equilibrium of the Chicago Bulls), they looked like… well, they still looked better than the average Eastern Conference team. When healthy (the official post-noughties caveat of the Chicago Bulls), they looked like real championship contenders a team of battle-worn veterans revitalized by Jimmy Butler’s meteoric rise to stardom. Nazr Mohammed (C) – Contemplating retirement 3 Eastern Conferenceīobby Portis (PF) – Drafted No. With a few offseason moves, Chicago fans can only hope they return to that dangerous team in the 2015 playoffs.2014-15 Record: 50-32, No. They ultimately finished the 2015-16 season with a 42-40 record and stood 9th in the Eastern Conference. This injury infected Chicago team continued to lose games against mediocre teams and won games against contenders. When a team as talented as the Chicago Bulls with star players such as Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, and Pau Gasol lose those games, you’d think changes would be made, but they weren’t.
2015 chicago bulls roster series#
If you’re a team that sweeps the season series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors who are two championship contenders, you shouldn’t be happy with losing to sub. Now, let’s take a look at pathetic losses that they should have capitalized on against not-so-playoff teams: The Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks (three times), Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic. Those are some impressive wins against some of the top teams in the league. The regular season series vs Cleveland 3-1 beat the Oklahoma City Thunder twice defeated the Spurs in their first matchup of the season the Raptors couldn’t beat them once. Let’s take a look at how inconsistent they truly were: Chicago Gongfu Tea Cup The inconsistent play of the entire Bulls team was embarrassing. Who would have guessed the team that challenged Cleveland one postseason ago would go on with almost the same roster to miss the playoffs the next season. You’d assume this team would easily make it to the playoffs. It looks like the Chicago Bulls are on pace for a big year they have team chemistry, and are off on the right foot. The first game of the season comes around and the Chicago Bulls start off the season with a big win against none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland went on to win the series 4-2 as the Bulls were defeated closely in Game 5 and then blown out in what would be their last game of the season in Game 6.įans think they need one more piece to make it to the Finals the front office is confident their squad-that just fell to Cleveland 4-2-will make extreme noise in 2015-2016 with almost no offseason moves. Game 4 goes to Cleveland after some controversial calls and a LeBron James game-winner.


After lots of hope to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, it goes down hill. Leading Cleveland 2-1 in a best of seven series, the Bulls are now in control, and the next round is in sight. The confidence of the Bulls players and fans is now high. Game 3 goes down to the wire with Derrick Rose nailing a game-winning three at the buzzer in front of his home town. After stealing game one in Cleveland, it’s looking like this year might be the year for Chicago to finally surpass “King James.” But, Cleveland evened up the series 1-1 as both teams were on the way to Chicago for Game 3. It’s the second round-after eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks-the Chicago Bulls come up against a tough Cleveland Cavaliers line up led by superstar LeBron James. Let’s flash back to the 2015 NBA Playoffs. The Inconsistency Of The 2015-16 Chicago Bulls
