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The Bulls’ preseason, step by step: 3-2, 30 assists a night and a question at center
Chicago went 3-2 in the preseason, averaged 122.0 points and 30.4 assists, and found a bench scorer in Leonard Miller. A step-by-step look at the numbers before Wednesday's opener in Toronto.
In this article
The Chicago Bulls finished the preseason 3-2, averaged 122.0 points and handed out more than 30 assists a night, an encouraging October for a team that won 31 games and finished 12th in the East last season.
Exhibition results do not count in the standings, and coach Tiago Splitter spread minutes across 19 players in five games. Still, the box scores point to a few things that matter for Wednesday. Josh Giddey ran an offense that kept the ball moving. Leonard Miller scored more efficiently than anyone on the roster without making a single start. Rookie Caleb Wilson started every game and played the most minutes on the team.
The concern sits in the middle. Nic Claxton, the center Chicago brought in from Brooklyn this offseason, did not play in any of the five games because of a hamstring strain and has a re-check on Monday. Jalen Smith held the spot in the meantime.
Scroll through the five games step by step below: the results, the passing, Miller’s bench scoring, Wilson’s minutes and the frontcourt question, ending with the opener at Toronto on Wednesday, October 21.
What comes next
The Bulls open the regular season at the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Follow it in the Game Center.
The United Center in Chicago. File photo: Alacoolwiki · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.WhyNBA Interactive
The Bulls’ October, step by step
A 31-51 team went 3-2 in the preseason, scored 122 points a night and passed like a different club. Here is what the five games showed, and what is still missing before Wednesday in Toronto.
The United Center in Chicago. File photo: Alacoolwiki · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.Step 1
Three wins, two close losses
Chicago opened at home with a 124-117 win over Phoenix on Wednesday, October 7, then dropped a 104-100 game to Memphis two nights later. The Bulls lost 133-128 in Denver, won 125-104 in Milwaukee and closed with a 133-116 win over Minnesota.
The two losses came by a combined nine points. The three wins came by a combined 45.
- W 124-117 vs. Phoenix
- L 100-104 vs. Memphis
- L 128-133 at Denver
- W 125-104 at Milwaukee
- W 133-116 vs. Minnesota
122.0points per game
114.8points allowed per game
3wins in five games
Step 2
The ball kept moving
The clearest change was the passing. Chicago averaged 30.4 assists across the five games and reached 30 four times, with 35 in Milwaukee and 34 in both Denver and the finale.
Josh Giddey ran it, averaging 6.2 assists in 22.5 minutes a night, among the top five in the league this preseason. Tre Jones added 5.7 assists in 13.5 minutes off the bench.
Bulls assists, game by game
30.4assists per game
77threes made in five games
37.9%three-point shooting
Josh Giddey in 2022. File photo: Erik Drost / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0.Step 3
Leonard Miller, off the bench
Leonard Miller did not start once and still led the Bulls in scoring at 16.4 points a game. He made 31 of 50 shots, 62.0 percent, and 10 of 18 threes.
Chicago acquired him from Minnesota in February. In 19.7 minutes a night he also averaged 6.4 rebounds and finished the preseason plus-22.
Miller, preseason per game
62.0%field-goal shooting
55.6%from three (10 of 18)
+22plus-minus, five games
Step 4
Caleb Wilson starts every game
The rookie started all five games and played a team-high 26.5 minutes a night. Caleb Wilson averaged 15.8 points and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 30 of 68 from the field.
His best night came last: 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in under 23 minutes against Minnesota, a plus-12 in a game Chicago led for more than 42 minutes.
Wilson, preseason per game
5starts in five games
15.8points per game
26.5minutes, most on the team
The United Center in Chicago. File photo: Alacoolwiki · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.Step 5
The middle without Claxton
Nic Claxton, brought in from Brooklyn to anchor the defense, did not play a preseason game because of a hamstring strain. He has a re-check on Monday, October 19.
Jalen Smith started the four games he played and averaged 11.0 points and 5.8 rebounds. In the finale the Bulls outrebounded Minnesota 54-37 and blocked 10 shots to two.
Finale vs. Minnesota
0preseason games for Claxton
11.0Jalen Smith points per game
5.8Jalen Smith rebounds per game
Step 6
Toronto on Wednesday
The real season starts at Toronto on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Last season the Bulls finished 31-51 and 12th in the East.
Norman Powell, added for spacing, made 8 of 16 threes in four starts and was plus-32, the best mark on the roster.
- Claxton hamstring re-check
- Opener at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. ET
31wins last season
+32Norman Powell plus-minus
8Powell threes in 16 tries
Preseason numbers come with a warning label: rotations stretch deep and starters sit early. Still, Chicago showed a shape it did not have last season, with more passing, a bench scorer in Miller and a rookie trusted with real minutes. Whether the middle holds until Claxton is ready is the question Toronto will start to answer.
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