The Chicago Bulls emphasized better defensive effort this season, but did not show it on the court against the Denver Nuggets in Tuesday's preseason action. The Bulls had an abysmal defensive showing, surrendering 124 points (104 in the first three quarters) to the Nuggets, including 41 free throws. As a whole, the team's physicality and hustle were not strong enough to slow down the Nuggets in any meaningful way.
A standout weakness for the Bulls was screen navigation. Perimeter players did an exceptionally poor job of getting around screens, which often put slow-footed center Nikola Vucevic in inopportune positions.