Reasons for optimism/concern about Bulls season after schedule release

09/16/2024 12:04 PM

The NBA season is right around the corner as preseason begins in just a couple of weeks, and the regular season will tip off in a little over the month. The Chicago Bulls will start preseason action on October 8th, and they will start the regular season on October 23rd. This is a big season for the Bulls as the fan base hasn’t been satisfied with the team’s performance in recent years, so this year is important. Chicago has to find some way to have some success.

We know what the Bulls are looking at for this season as their schedule has been out for awhile now. With an 82 game schedule, it’s hard for there to be a ton of arguments about one team having a harder schedule than other teams. We see this more in football where there aren’t very many games in a season. However, everyone is playing everyone in the NBA, so things are pretty equal. The big differences come with what division you are in as teams play their divisional opponents more than anyone else. Here is the 2024-25 Bulls schedule:

Wed. Oct. 23 at New Orleans 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Oct. 25 at Milwaukee 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Oct. 26 Oklahoma City 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Oct. 28 at Memphis 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Oct. 30 Orlando 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 1 at Brooklyn 6:30 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 4 Utah 7:30 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 6 at Dallas 7:30 p.m.
Thur. Nov. 7 Minnesota 7:00 p.m. NBA TV
Sat. Nov. 9 at Atlanta 6:30 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 11 Cleveland 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 13 at New York 6:30 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 15 at Cleveland 6:30 p.m. $
Sun. Nov. 17 Houston 6:00 p.m.
Mon. Nov. 18 at Detroit 6:00 p.m.
Wed. Nov. 20 at Milwaukee 6:30 p.m. ESPN
Fri. Nov. 22 Atlanta 7:00 p.m. $
Sat. Nov. 23 Memphis 7:00 p.m. NBA TV
Tues. Nov. 26 at Washington 6:00 p.m. $
Wed. Nov. 27 at Orlando 6:00 p.m.
Fri. Nov. 29 Boston 7:00 p.m. $
Mon. Dec. 2 Brooklyn 7:00 p.m.
Thur. Dec. 5 at San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Dec. 6 Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Dec. 8 Philadelphia 12:00 p.m.
GAME 26 (NBA Cup Game TBA)
GAME 27 (NBA Cup Game TBA)
Thur. Dec. 19 at Boston 6:30 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 21 Boston 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 23 Milwaukee 7:00 p.m.
Thur. Dec. 26 at Atlanta 6:30 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 28 Milwaukee 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Dec. 30 at Charlotte 6:00 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 1 at Washington 6:00 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 4 New York 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Jan. 6 San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 8 at Indiana 6:00 p.m.
Fri. Jan. 10 Washington 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 12 Sacramento 2:30 p.m.
Tues. Jan. 14 New Orleans 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 15 Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Jan. 17 Charlotte 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Sun. Jan. 19 at Portland 8:00 p.m.
Tues. Jan. 21 at L.A. Clippers 9:30 p.m.
Thur. Jan. 23 at Golden State 9:00 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 25 Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Jan. 27 Denver 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Jan. 29 at Boston 6:30 p.m.
Fri. Jan. 31 at Toronto 6:30 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 2 at Detroit 2:00 p.m.
Tues. Feb. 4 Miami 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 5 at Minnesota 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 8 Golden State 7:00 p.m.
Tues. Feb. 11 Detroit 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 12 Detroit 7:00 p.m.
Thur. Feb. 20 at New York 6:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 22 Phoenix 4:00 p.m.
Mon. Feb. 24 at Philadelphia 6:00 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 26 L.A. Clippers 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 28 Toronto 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Mar. 2 at Indiana 4:00 p.m.
Tues. Mar. 4 Cleveland 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 8 at Miami 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Mar. 10 Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Wed. Mar. 12 at Orlando 6:00 p.m.
Thur. Mar. 13 Brooklyn 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 15 at Houston 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Mar. 17 at Utah 8:00 p.m.
Wed. Mar. 19 at Phoenix 9:00 p.m.
Thur. Mar. 20 at Sacramento 9:00 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 22 at L.A. Lakers 9:30 p.m.
Mon. Mar. 24 at Denver 8:00 p.m.
Thur. Mar. 27 L.A. Lakers 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 29 Dallas 7:00 p.m.
Mon. Mar. 31 at Oklahoma City 7:00 p.m.
Tues. Apr. 1 Toronto 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Apr. 4 Portland 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Apr. 6 at Charlotte 12:00 p.m. NBA TV
Tues. Apr. 8 at Cleveland 6:00 p.m.
Wed. Apr. 9 Miami 7:00 p.m.
Fri. Apr. 11 Washington 7:00 p.m.
Sun. Apr. 13 at Philadelphia 12:00 p.m.

This is a big season for the Bulls for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is because of how this team has struggled in recent years. Chicago needs to show signs of life, or there will probably be major shakeup with the coaching staff after this season. The current staff has had time to implement the necessary changes for a turnaround, and they need to start showing signs of that this year.

Another reason why this year is such a big one for the Bulls is because of the changes that they made this offseason. The organization made it clear at the beginning of the offseason that they are aware that some changes need to be made, and they did make some moves. Bulls fans were expecting more, and they weren’t too happy with some of the moves that the team made, but moves were made. Because of the fact that fans didn’t like some of those choices, it makes this year crucial. Perhaps those changes will prove to be good ones, and it will please the fan base.

The season is almost here, so we won’t have to wait too much longer before we find out what this 2024-25 version of the Bulls is going to look like. Before the season gets here, let’s take a look at one reason for optimism and one reason for concern based on the Bulls schedule:

Reason for optimism after seeing Bulls schedule

One reason for optimism for the Bulls is how their NBA Cup group works out. The Bulls are paired up with the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards. The Celtics and the Cavaliers were both very good teams last year, so it’s not like it’s going to be easy for the Bulls to get out of the group stage, but there is definitely a lot of potential for them to finish in second and make it out.

This tournament is early in the season, so if the Bulls can find a way to make it out of the group stage, it will give them a lot of momentum, and also experience in games that have a postseason feel. Chicago should be able to take care of the Hawks and Wizards, and if they bring their A-game against the Celtics and Cavaliers, they can find a way to finish in second.

Reason for concern after seeing schedule

One tough aspect of this season for the Bulls is that they play in a very good division. The central division saw three teams finish in the top-six in the East last year as the Milwaukee Bucks, Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers all earned playoff spots. The Bulls likely aren’t going to have to worry about the Pistons again this season, but the rest of the division is very tough, and they play those teams a lot. There are a lot of tough divisional matchups for this team.

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