The Bulls offense needs more than a few fixes to get off life support

Everything looks hard for the Bulls offense.

That’s because it is.

Tiago Splitter’s gang will enter the Sunday afternoon brunch with Philadelphia with the third-lowest offensive efficiency in the league, the second-worst field goal percentage (41.2%), and the lowest three-point percentage (27.2%).

Well, the pace is good. The only statistic the Bulls sit atop the league in. But all that means is Splitter has a roster that is really fast at getting off bad shots.

No wonder players are starting to have those “I got to get mine” moments.

“My game is in transition so I’m going to take occasional transition threes just to see what it’s like, but really it’s just working the game and trying to be aggressive, pick my spots and try to get everyone involved,” veteran Norman Powell said when asked about his coach publicly not loving some of the threes he’s taken early in the shot clock. “I don’t see myself shooting on like five-straight possessions. That’s not good basketball either. If I’m getting downhill, getting to the basket, getting the shots we want, it's fine.”

Even rookie Caleb Wilson came out of the loss in New York wanting the ball in his hands more than it was on his way to easily his worst game of the season – a 2-for-12, five-point performance.

“(Against the Knicks) I didn’t really get the ball much to start the game so I couldn’t really do anything to be aggressive, but when I get the chance to, hopefully I can be aggressive and start opportunities for myself and the others,” the No. 4 overall pick said, trying to be politically correct after a soft benching midway through the third quarter by his coach.

So what are the immediate answers for the Bulls to start fixing an offense that appears broken?

One, play better on the defensive end.

As bad as the offense has looked, the Bulls have the worst defensive efficiency in the Association through their first eight games. It’s not easy to play up-tempo when they are constantly inbounding the ball because they can’t get stops.

“It’s hard when we’re taking the ball out of the basket every possession, having to play in the halfcourt and try and manufacture things that way,” Powell reiterated. “We need to get stops, get in transition and find easy ways to put the ball in the basket.”

That’s why it might be time for Splitter to start re-thinking the starting lineup. Nic Claxton (hamstring) will change things a bit, scheduled to make his season debut on Sunday after a hamstring sidelined him early in training camp.

That will give Splitter another rim protector, more so than Jalen Smith, but Claxton doesn’t stretch the floor like Smith and isn’t much of a difference in the rebound department.

Splitter has been staggering Josh Giddey with the second unit and Tre Jones a bit more the last few games and that’s had some moments but doesn’t fix the issues with the starters.

Option No. 1 should be starting Isaac Okoro along with Claxton, Wilson, Powell and Giddey, moving Matas Buzelis with the second unit.

Okoro will help in the defensive stops department, but more importantly it will allow Buzelis to be a primary scorer with the reserves, getting back to the actions he was in last year – specifically pick-and-rolls – that have often now been given to Wilson this season.

For most NBA players, it’s a higher priority to close, and Splitter can figure out that group from game-to-game. Plus, maybe it gets Buzelis finding a rhythm and getting into a much-needed flow.

Whatever Splitter decides he might want to do it quickly. It does feel like the Bulls offense is at rock bottom and can’t get any worse … or can it?