Bulls Roll Out Chaotic Small-Ball Lineup to Stop the Bleeding

The Chicago Bulls are rolling out a starting five on Monday that looks like it was drawn out of a hat by a panicked fantasy basketball manager. According to Underdog NBA, Chicago is officially starting Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, Jalen Wilson, and Jalen Smith.

This is the kind of lineup you throw out there when you accidentally simulate a month in MyNBA and the computer makes three trades while you are in the kitchen. You have two natural small forwards in Buzelis and Wilson trying to figure out who has to bang in the paint, while Smith is left to anchor whatever remains of the frontcourt.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup change."

The real engine here is Giddey, who is trying to justify that four-year, $100 million contract he signed. He was putting up a ridiculous 21.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game before getting his ankles snatched so hard by De'Andre Hunter that he actually ended up on the injury report.

Chicago desperately needs this chaotic combination to click. They just dropped back-to-back games, giving up 133 points to the New York Knicks and 125 to the Boston Celtics. If you are looking at the totals for Monday's matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, you have to factor in a Bulls defense that is currently bleeding points and starting a makeshift rotation.

Throwing Powell into the mix adds some much-needed scoring punch, but the spacing and defensive assignments are going to be a very public experiment. Wilson is going to have to play up a size, which is a massive ask for a guy who is naturally a wing.

We will see if this small-ball fever dream can actually get stops when they tip off against Philadelphia. If they get run off the floor again, expect the coaching staff to shuffle the deck before they head back to New York on Thursday.