While most other young teams on the playoff bubble were gearing up to tank for a lottery pick, the Chicago Bulls went left. Instead of packing it in, they sizzled to finish the year.
Their late-season push means they not only made the Play-In tournament, but as the No. 9 seed, they get a home game against the No. 10 Miami Heat, who they swept 3-0 during the season series. The winner of this matchup between the Bulls and Heat will then head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks, who lost to the Orlando Magic in the 7-8 game on Tuesday.
The winner of that game with the Hawks will emerge with the East's No. 8 seed and a first round date with the No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers. Here's why Bulls fans should be confident their team will make it to the ATL on Friday.
Bulls are a top 5 team in the NBA over the last month
Since the All-Star break, the Bulls' offense has been especially spicy. They're scoring over 121 points over that 27-game span, second only to the OKC Thunder. Over the past 15 games, their 11-4 record is the fifth-best in the NBA as well. They're also top 10 in field goal, three-point, and free-throw percentage during that time.
When you pair the exuberance and energy of a young team with that kind of shooting efficiency, you get the run Chicago has had over the last month-plus. They've been especially good at home, winning seven of their last eight in the Windy City. A big reason for that is the blistering pace at which the Bulls have been playing lately.
The running of the Bulls of Chicago
We're not in Spain, but these young Bulls are doing their best impression of Pamplona's annual Running of the Bulls. Over the last 15 games, Chicago is operating at a 104.40 pace, which would be the highest since the Indiana Pacers in 2021 if stretched across an entire season.
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That pace is the product of a lot of things, the most important of which is Chicago's ability to get out and score in transition. They are top 10 in points per possession in transition (1.15, ninth) and they are second on the year for overall transition points per game (31.9).
Miami has actually been one of the better defensive teams in transition this year—but not against Chicago. A big reason for their trio of losses to the Bulls this year has been the transition game. The Heat lost the fastbreak points battle 13-6, 18-15, and 24-15. However, the biggest factor in Chicago's dominance over Miami this year has been burgeoning star Josh Giddey.
Josh Giddey can handle the Heat
Josh Giddey finished the season strong with three triple-doubles in his final seven games. That gave him seven on the year, which is the second-most in franchise history. One of those triple-doubles—and arguably the most impressive—was the one that came against the Heat in his regular season finale.
Chicago's win that day secured the No. 9 seed for them, and it was keyed by Giddey, who pitched in 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. In the March meeting, Giddey was again the catalyst for a Bulls win, putting up 26-10-12. He also had 24-5-7 against the Miami in the first matchup of the season.
Giddey has shown that he can take the heat in the kitchen, whether its Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, or Davion Mitchell in there with him. No matter who the Heat throw at him, he's taken care of business. We expect him and the Bulls to do it for a fourth and final time this season when they converge on the United Center in the East Play-In tournament on Wednesday night.
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