The Bulls are 1-3, 11th in the conference and a half game behind 10th-place Orlando. There is a real case for a play-in team, but the defense says this roster is not there yet.
The case for. Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick, is averaging 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds, and he put up 30 and 14 against Washington. Norman Powell is scoring 19.5 a night. The Bulls won 132-125 in Milwaukee, and 78 games remain. Half a game is no gap at all.
The case against. Toronto scored 135. Washington scored 124 in the home opener. Boston scored 134, led by 40 and never trailed. Even the win came while giving up 125. At this rate the Bulls project to 21-61. That is not a play-in defense, and nothing about the first four games suggests otherwise.
The shooting hole. The young core cannot make threes yet. Wilson is shooting 17.9 percent from deep, Matas Buzelis 21.1, Josh Giddey 15.4. Giddey's 7.3 assists a night lose value when defenses can sag. Buzelis hit 2 of 4 from three in Boston and still finished minus-27 in 22 minutes.
Help is coming. Patrick Williams was upgraded from out with a right groin issue and carries an estimated return of Oct. 28 against the Knicks. Nic Claxton, out with a hamstring issue, has an estimated return of Nov. 4. At $23.1 million, the second-biggest contract on the books, Claxton has yet to debut for Chicago.
The schedule test. The next five go Knicks, Celtics, 76ers, Knicks, 76ers. New York comes in 0-3 and without Jose Alvarado. Boston, which just put 134 on the Bulls, gets them again Oct. 30. The Chicago Sun-Times flagged 'right-now' issues as the schedule toughens, and the next five games will show how serious they are.
The answer. Not yet. Until the defense proves otherwise, this is a lottery team, and that can be survived: Chicago owns its first-round picks from 2027 through 2030, and payroll sits at $164.3 million, under the cap. The play-in comes into reach only if Claxton returns healthy and the young forwards start getting stops.
When will Nic Claxton return for the Bulls?
Claxton is out with a hamstring issue and has an estimated return of Nov. 4. That is the date of the Bulls' game at New York.
Are the Bulls a play-in team in 2026-27?
Not yet. At 1-3 they are 11th, a half game behind 10th, but they have allowed at least 124 points in every game.
