Tiago Splitter’s Breakneck Pace Collides With Chicago’s 1-8 Shooting Slump

Josh Giddey spent Sunday afternoon at the United Center threading one-handed lasers through traffic on his way to 19 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds, nearly willing the shorthanded Chicago Bulls back against a star-studded Philadelphia 76ers lineup before falling 127-121. For three quarters, Chicago's track-meet tempo forced scrambles and generated relentless rim trips; in the closing minutes, missed perimeter jumpers and porous half-court containment once again left the home locker room empty-handed.

Sitting 1-8 and fourth in the Central Division on a seven-game losing skid, first-year Chicago head coach Tiago Splitter has wasted zero time installing a modern, full-throttle identity. Yet as 9-2 San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama arrive in town Wednesday night with oddsmakers installing the San Antonio Spurs as massive -15.5 road favorites at the United Center, Chicago's opening month serves as a cautionary study in what happens when league-fastest pace outruns defensive discipline.

Tiago Splitter's Tempo Mandate Collides With a Seven-Game Skid

Handing the clipboard to Splitter signaled a clean philosophical break toward European-inspired ball movement, constant hit-ahead transition triggers, and developmental fearlessness. Through nine games, Chicago leads the entire NBA with a blistering 107.4 pace factor (possessions per 48 minutes), refusing to walk the ball across midcourt even after made baskets. Against Philadelphia on Sunday, that relentless push kept Chicago competitive until the final possessions despite facing 78 combined points from Philadelphia's star trio.

Across the broader nine-game sample, however, sprinting up and down the hardwood has magnified Chicago's defensive growing pains rather than hiding them. Four nights prior to Sunday's narrow defeat, Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks carved up Chicago's transition shell in a 135-105 rout. Surrendering an eye-popping 129.3 points per game has turned Splitter's early rotation decisions—including pointedly sitting reserves to demand sharper defensive accountability—into an urgent November teaching laboratory.

Giddey's Vision, Young Forward Length, and Nic Claxton at the Rim

Chicago's revamped starting unit pairs Giddey's elite open-floor passing with veteran bucket-getter Norman Powell, ascending wing Matas Buzelis, rookie power forward Caleb Wilson, and agile rim-runner Nic Claxton. Giddey thrives when surrounded by vertical athletes who sprint the lanes: Buzelis and Wilson bring rangy weak-side cutting and transition finishing, while Claxton supplies lob gravity and 5.4 team blocks per game (49 total swats across nine games).

Spacing that athletic core has proven far trickier whenever shots from deep rim out. Veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield, steady backup point guard Tre Jones, and movement shooter Jordan Hawkins were brought in to keep driving lanes open alongside frontcourt pieces Isaac Okoro, Patrick Williams, Jalen Smith, Leonard Miller, and Noa Essengue. When Powell or Hield sits, opposing defenses shamelessly pack the paint against Giddey, daring Chicago's young forwards to beat them over the top.

Top-Seven Two-Point Finishing Crushed by NBA-Worst 27.2 Percent Shooting From Deep

Chicago's offensive four-factors ledger reads like two completely different basketball teams stapled together. Inside the arc and at the foul line, the Bulls are highly productive: Chicago converts 55.6 percent of its two-point attempts (seventh in the NBA on 437 two-point tries, with 438 paint points), posts a 28.0 percent offensive rebound rate (13.6 offensive boards per game), and leads the Central Division while ranking fourth across the NBA in free throws attempted (291, 32.3 per contest) and eighth in free throws made (219) behind a massive 35.7 percent free-throw rate (75.3 percent FT accuracy).

Step behind the three-point line, though, and the floor caves in. Despite launching 46.4 percent of their shots from deep (42.1 attempts per game), the Bulls have connected on an NBA-worst 27.2 percent of their threes (103-of-379, 30th in the league), dragging their effective field-goal percentage (48.7 percent, 29th) and true shooting percentage (53.7 percent, 29th) down to a 104.9 offensive rating (ORTG, 28th). Long rebounds off those 30.7 missed threes per night ignite constant opponent runouts, fueling a 28th-ranked 120.4 defensive rating (DRTG) and 24.3 fouls per game (28th).

Monitoring Norman Powell's Shoulder and Frontcourt Depth Questionables

Chicago's perimeter shooting drought faced an extra hurdle Sunday when starting guard Norman Powell sat out his first contest of the 2026-27 season with shoulder soreness. Powell enters Wednesday night's home tilt against San Antonio listed questionable, alongside backup big Zach Collins (questionable, illness after missing Sunday's game) and reserve forward Tobe Awaka (questionable, nagging back issue).

In Powell's Sunday absence, Splitter inserted rugged defender Isaac Okoro into the starting backcourt to hound opposing ball-handlers while leaning heavier on Hield, Tre Jones, and Hawkins for bench creation. Should Collins miss a second straight outing against San Antonio's towering frontline, Jalen Smith and Leonard Miller are slated to absorb backup frontcourt minutes behind Claxton and Caleb Wilson—a daunting assignment with Wembanyama entering the United Center fresh off a 40-point performance.

Positive Shooting Regression Versus Defensive Reality Into 2027

No modern NBA roster featuring Norman Powell, Buddy Hield, and Jordan Hawkins will shoot 27.2 percent from three-point territory across an 82-game marathon. Positive perimeter regression is mathematically inevitable over the coming weeks, and pairing even league-average 35 percent outside shooting with Chicago's massive 35.7 percent free-throw rate and 55.6 percent two-point finishing will lift Splitter's offense well past 112 points per 100 possessions.

Even when jumpers begin falling, however, Chicago's 2026-27 trajectory toward the 2027 lottery won't budge unless Splitter's young wings master transition communication and stop fouling 24 times a night. Opponents cannot continue walking into uncontested trail threes or bonus free throws every time a Chicago perimeter jumper clanks off the back iron. Developing Buzelis and Caleb Wilson alongside Giddey and Claxton in meaningful half-court defensive possessions—learning when to throttle down tempo to protect a lead rather than living in pure track-meet chaos—is the franchise's true measuring stick between now and spring 2027.