Chicago is 0-1 and 14th in the East, a game off sixth-place Charlotte, heading into Milwaukee. Six numbers explain how the Bulls got here, and what those numbers do not prove yet.
Ninety-two points. The opener in Toronto ended 135-92, and none of it was close. One result does not define an 82-game year, but it was a rough first night for Tiago Splitter. Next is Milwaukee, a team Chicago beat 125-104 in preseason. That exhibition score carries no weight now.
Minus 5.3 is the floor. Last season the Bulls scored 112.1 points per 100 possessions and allowed 117.4, good for a -5.3 net mark and a 31-51 finish. They played fast, at a 103.2 pace. The offense was ordinary and the defense was worse, and the defense is what a new coach has to fix first.
Nine assists a night. Josh Giddey averaged 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists last season, and his $25.0 million is the top salary on the books. His wrist came off the injury list on October 23. The number that matters more is 54, his games played. That contract pays for availability as much as for passing.
Payroll, $164.3 million. Chicago is under the cap, with the luxury tax line way up at $200.4 million. Giddey, Nic Claxton, Norman Powell, Patrick Williams and Isaac Okoro draw the five biggest checks. The room shows the front office kept its options open. It doesn't show they'll be used.
November 4. That is Claxton's estimated return from a hamstring injury, and at $23.1 million he is the second-biggest salary sitting out. He averaged 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season. Until he's back, the frontcourt minutes go to Jalen Smith and Zach Collins, who was cleared from a quadriceps issue on October 23.
From 23rd to 30th. One week of power rankings dropped Chicago from 23rd to 30th. That's a reaction to a blowout, not a standings fact: the Bulls are a game off sixth with 81 left. The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley wrote that the club hopes Toronto was rock bottom. The next four games will show whether it was.
When will Nic Claxton return for the Bulls?
Claxton is out with a hamstring injury, and his estimated return date is November 4.
Is Josh Giddey cleared to play against the Bucks?
Yes. Giddey was cleared from his wrist issue on October 23 and is no longer on the injury list.
