The strength of the schedule says the Chicago Bulls are right where they need to be

The Chicago Bulls have had one of the hardest schedules to start the season.

© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Through 14 games, the Chicago Bulls have played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA. ESPN ranks the Bulls as having the second-hardest strength of schedule behind the 76ers. TeamRankings, on the other hand, ranks the Bulls’ schedule as the third-hardest behind the Trail Blazers and Rockets, while Power Rankings Guru has the Bulls as the team with the hardest strength of schedule played.

At the time of this writing, PowerRankingsGuru ranks the Bulls 22nd in the strength of schedule remaining. Bulls fans have dealt with bad news and their team having a tough schedule to start the season, but there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful.

The road so far

The Bulls are two games under .500 after 14 contests, and they have not shown the defensive intensity or offensive consistency that helped them make the playoffs after a five-year drought last season. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic are all doing their part statistically, but this has not translated into consistent efforts.

Lonzo Ball should return at some point this season, and LaVine is close to being 100 percent coming off left knee surgery. Ball’s court vision and elite perimeter defense can make a big difference, just like last season.

The Bulls have time to bounce back

The Bulls are off to a disappointing start; no one can deny that. However, there is still plenty of time to bounce back and prove that last year’s return to the playoffs was not a fluke.

Ayo Dosunmu is making strides, and Patrick Williams is showing continued improvement, even if it’s not the massive jump many expected. The bench has proved that it can keep the team in the game while the starters are resting, and surprisingly, the defense ranks 12th in the NBA, allowing 110.9 points per game. 

If the regular season ended today, the Bulls would miss the play-in tournament, but, as mentioned before, there is still time for the team to turn things around. There’s a lot of optimism, even after this underperforming start.