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Chicago Bulls: 5 Takeaways From Disappointing 2015-16 Season

By James D. Tillman III

Apr 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tim Frazier (2) goes up for a shot during the second half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at the Smoothie King Center. The Bulls won 121-116. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Tim Frazier (2) goes up for a shot during the second half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at the Smoothie King Center. The Bulls won 121-116. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 18, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) reacts on the court in front of teammates forward Taj Gibson (22) and center Joakim Noah (13) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Bulls won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) reacts on the court in front of teammates forward Taj Gibson (22) and center Joakim Noah (13) against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Bulls won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Defensive Slippage

Even for the casual Bulls fan, it was noticeable that this team didn’t play with the same defensive edge as they did in past seasons. For instance, in four of the five years under Thibodeau, the Bulls never ranked lower than third in points allowed per game and their highest opponent’s per-game average was 97.8.

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    • This season, the Bulls ranked 16th in this category, allowing 103.1 points per outing. It is also worth noting that the Bulls gave up 100 points in 16 consecutive games, marking the first time in 30 years that the franchise has endured such an abysmal stretch of defensive futility.

    But wait, the story doesn’t end there.

    In regards to defensive rating, Chicago’s worse mark under Thibodeau was 104.3 points per 100 possessions, which occurred during the 2014-15 campaign. In Hoiberg’s inaugural season, the Bulls finished at No. 15 with 106.5 points per 100 possessions, per Basketball-Reference.com.

    The defensive slippage across the board was something that was not lost on Bulls forward Taj Gibson.

    "“Our identity was defense and then we went offense,” Gibson said via ESPN. “But you got to look at it; we got a whole different group of guys from previous years. In previous years, we had a lot of defensive guys that [had] dog in them. Now we got a bunch of young guys [with an] offensive mentality. Now we’re just trying to figure out a new system.”"

    Although the Bulls never ranked higher than 15th in scoring under the previous coaching regime, the intensity they played with on defensive enabled them to exceed expectations even when key players were out of the lineup. This season, however, they took a step back in this area, which is a big reason why their season concluded earlier than most people expected.

    Next: Front Office Will Remain Intact

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