If you missed the Chicago Bulls schedule release earlier this month, I can’t blame you. After a second straight losing season and some rebuilding moves this summer, anticipation isn’t particularly high for the 2024-25 campaign.
That being said, any change is welcome at this point. The Bulls are finally prioritizing player development and looking to build for the future. This new direction still makes the looming timeline important, especially with the franchise’s 2025 first-round pick likely to end up in San Antonio.
For a full overview of the schedule, I encourage you to check out our initial article hereWe have also analyzed some of the most important games here. What I wanted to do today is tie up loose ends. There are a few other observations that caught my attention upon closer inspection, so I’ll list them below.
As always, a big thank you to Positive residual for some of their large databases, which you will see I mention below!
Notes on the calendar of various bulls
According to Positive Residual, the Bulls sit at No. 13 on the NBA’s toughest teams list this season. While that could of course change once the season starts and we have a better understanding of the league’s actual hierarchy, the site uses several factors (rest advantage, miles traveled, etc.) to come up with a preseason SOS.
Teams worth mentioning include Toronto, Washington, Detroit and Charlotte. Every win counts—in a bad way—when you’re in the thick of the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes. Theoretically, this SOS suggests the Bulls might have a slightly easier time of it than their fellow Eastern Conference competitors, who are at the back of the pack. Fingers crossed!
The Bulls enter the year tied for third with the most games with a rest advantage. In other words, they will start 13 games this year with more rest than their opponents. The only two teams with more rest are the Brooklyn Nets (15) and Golden State Warriors (14), according to Positive Residual.
Unsurprisingly, this also means the Bulls will have few games where they are at a rest disadvantage. Positive Residual puts the Bulls third in games (9) with a rest disadvantage. Only the Mavericks (8), Magic (8) and Pelicans (6) have fewer.
Another positive is the number of back-to-back games on the Bulls’ schedule this season. While they’ll quickly play one in their second and third games of the season, they only have 13 total this season. That puts them in a tie with five other teams for the fewest B2B games this season. In total, 11 teams will have at least 16 B2B games, which is the most in the league. In case you’re curious, I’ll drop the B2B games below…
October 25-26: @ MIL, vs OKC November 6-7: @ DAL, against MIN November 17-18: against HOU, @ DET November 22-23: against ATL, against MEM November 26-27: @ WAS, @ ORL December 5-6: @ SAN, against IND January 14-15: vs. NOP, vs. ATL February 4-5: vs MIA, @ MIN February 11-12: against DET, against DET March 12-13: @ ORL, against BRK March 19-20: @ PHX, @ SAC March 31-April 1: @ OKC, vs. TOR April 8 and 9: @ CLE, against MIA
The Bulls will play two “mini-series” this season, meaning two back-to-back games against the same opponent. They’ll play the Boston Celtics on December 19th and 20th, in a home-and-home format. Then, surprisingly, they’ll play the Pistons on February 11th and 12th, in a B2B mini-series! From what I can recall, since the league started doing this a few years ago, we’ve usually had at least a one-day break between these mini-series games.
The Bulls will play 16 games before a back-to-back home games (November 22-23). When I first noticed this, I thought it was extremely unusual. And it turns out I was right! Many thanks to Basketball-Reference for allowing me to take a trip down memory lane. This is the longest the Bulls have gone without two home games since the 1988-89 campaign (17 games).
Ten of the Bulls’ first 14 games will come against teams that finished the 2023-24 season with a record of .500 or better. The final month of the schedule looks just as daunting, as the team will embark on a six-game Western Conference road trip from March 14-24. Again, if draft position is a priority for this franchise (and it should be), this is good news!
