The Chicago Bulls are truly an enigma during this 2015-16 NBA season. They've had several stretches where awful basketball has been played on their part; they've also had tremendous runs where they look like a contender. So who are they? Honestly, this team cannot be judged purely on their 25-18 record alone, and there are a couple of major reasons why.
First off, let's set the table for what this season has been like. As mentioned in the above paragraph, the Bulls have had certain stretches this season where the same roster looks completely different.
A four-game win streak here; followed by a three-game losing streak; followed by a four-game win streak; followed by three-game losing streak; followed by a six-game winning streak; followed by a three-game losing streak.
You see the pattern?
They're inconsistent, yes. But, Chicago is still winning more than its losing, as evidenced by the record. But also by the fact that the Bulls really only have three three-game losing streaks on the year; and they only have one two-game losing streak. Other than those 11 games where you could say they had a stretch of poor play, they've been winning. That's encouraging for sure, but there are many who still can't get past the poor play and inconsistencies.
If you're one of those people, please consider the following:
The Bulls are 11-4 against the top-five teams in each conference. In fact, the only two teams they have a losing record against are the Golden State Warriors (0-2) and Atlanta Hawks (0-1). They have a winning record playing against the San Antonio Spurs (1-0), Cleveland Cavaliers (2-0), Oklahoma City Thunder (2-0), Toronto Raptors (2-0), Los Angeles Clippers (1-0), Memphis Grizzlies (1-0) and Indiana Pacers (2-1).
Suffice to say, the Bulls play well against the best competition, winning 73.3 percent of their games against the top-10 teams in the league record-wise (well, nine teams, since they're one of the 10).
There is a downside to this thought, and it's that it means the Bulls are just 14-14 against the other 20 teams in the NBA.
On the surface, that's a pretty depressing number all its own, but let's dig a bit deeper.
Let's take a look at their record against teams they absolutely should beat, the worst seven teams in the league that all have under a .380 winning percentage: the New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. Chicago is 7-3 against those teams, and they lost to: the Timberwolves in overtime early in the year on a night where Andrew Wiggins put up 31 and Ricky Rubio dished 10 assists; the Nets by three where Brooklyn didn't play like a dysfunctional bunch and their "best players" such as Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson and Thad Young actually played like it; and the Suns by two, before everything went to hell and this team was still expected to be one of the decent low-seed playoff contenders in the West.
What does all of that say?
It's the regular season. We don't need to freak out about a game where a good team looks bad and a bad team looks good. It's a marathon, not a sprint -- as cliche as that sounds. Quite simply, it's the truth, though. If every night what we thought would happen did happen, there'd be no point to watch; the 76ers would have zero wins instead of six; the Warriors wouldn't have lost yet. All of the worry and angst over a couple of games here or there isn't worth it in January.
So no, this team isn't the Warriors or Spurs. But they are still a talented group. And sure, they're missing a couple of pieces, but a trade somewhere and the return of Mike Dunleavy Jr. will help that a bit.
Finally, I have one question for anyone who read this:
Would you rather the Bulls be a team that always feasted on the lesser teams in the NBA, but couldn't compete with the best; or, would you rather the Bulls be who they are now where they sometimes play down to their competition, but are still able to bring it and beat the top teams in the league?
It's not a perfect scenario either way, but personally? I'd rather the Bulls show how talented they are against the NBA's elite, because that's who they have to beat in the playoffs. And remember, you only have to be better than the other team four out of seven times then -- and right now, their record is better than the equivalent of 4-3, especially against the best teams in the Association.
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