Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Bulls’ defensive shortcomings have become more obvious during their recent slide.
Their lack of size and physical presence showed up clearly in matchups against Washington and New Orleans, where opponents repeatedly exploited those weaknesses.
Head coach Billy Donovan acknowledged that the roster doesn’t feature a natural shutdown defender and that the only way to compensate is through a collective effort.
“For our team, maybe outside Isaac Okoro, we don’t have one guy right now where you can say, ‘This guy is a defensive stopper, this is what this guy hangs his hat on.’ We don’t have that,” Donovan said.
“So we have to do it collectively. It’s not one guy’s fault; it’s all of us. It’s the coaches, the players, we all have to do it. We just don’t have the type of guys that you’re going to put on a guy, and he’s going to shut them down.”
Bulls Notes: Expiring Contracts, Defensive Issues, Queen, Essengue, Collins https://t.co/nVTBfvMiq2 pic.twitter.com/0pjLQoBhb6
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) November 27, 2025
