Why Bulls' 2024-25 got a lot harder than other teams

09/17/2024 12:02 PM

The long NBA offseason is almost over as fans will be able to watch their favorite teams hit the court in less than a month. The Chicago Bulls will get their 2024-25 season started on October 23rd, but we will see the team in action before that as their first preseason game will take place on October 8th.

NBA schedules came out for every team earlier in the summer, so we know what the Bulls have ahead of them for this very important season. Chicago is desperate for success as it’s been awhile since they have really done anything worth noting in terms of postseason play. The fan base is hungry for a big year, and here is what the Bulls have on their 2024-25 schedule:

Bulls 2024-25 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.

That’s what the Bulls have to go through this season to accomplish their goals. In those games, this team has to find a way to put themselves into a position to succeed in the postseason. That doesn’t mean just finding a way to get into the play-in tournament. You don’t have to be that good to make the play-in tournament, and Bulls fans wouldn’t be satisfied with that.

The Bulls have made the play-in tournament each of the past two years, but they haven’t actually made it into the playoffs. Chicago also had a losing record last year and was able to get in. Their fans don’t want to see another losing season followed by a play-in tournament exit. They want to see their team finish in the top-six in the East and actually make the playoffs, and a series win or two would be a step in the right direction as well.

There’s no doubt about it, this is a crucial season for the Bulls. The fact that the team desperately needs success is a big reason why, but it’s also important because of the changes that have been made this offseason. This Bulls team is going to look different as they have lost some of their key players and they have added a lot of new faces. The fan base doesn’t exactly love all of the moves that were made this offseason, so the team is hoping that they can show that the moves made were smart ones.

Looking at the schedule, it seems like the Bulls are going to have a pretty difficult time finding a lot of success. Obviously, it’s hard to say that one team got an easier draw than other teams with an NBA schedule as every team plays every team at least once, but there are other things that go into it. Here is why the Bulls have a tough draw:

The Bulls have a tough division

The teams that the Bulls will play the most this season are the teams that are in their division, and the Central division was one of the best in basketball last year. The Central consists of the Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were the only team that didn’t play postseason basketball last year. The Bulls made the play-in tournament, and the other three teams all finished in the top-six of the Eastern Conference to punch a ticket to the playoffs.

Only one other division had more teams get into the postseason last year as all five teams from the Pacific division qualified. However, only two finished in the top-six in the West and three were in the play-in tournament.

Because the Bulls are going to be playing these divisional opponents more than other teams, they have a pretty difficult draw. Still, their schedule is on par with everyone else in the league, and there really isn’t any excuse for this team to not find success. They have had a lot of time to build the roster that they want, and now it’s time to actually do something with it.

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