For the first time since Michael Jordan ruled the National Basketball Association in the nineties, the Bulls have opened a season with five straight victories. In and of itself, the remarkable streak invites nostalgia. That said, these Bulls — built more on cohesion than celebrity — are not simply basking in a hot start. They have clearly turned a presumed transition year into a showcase of precision, balance, and purpose. Their 118-108 win over the Knicks the other day preserved an unbeaten record and, perhaps more importantly, underscored the presence of a foundation that could well lead to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
To be sure, the win mattered more than typical early-season matchups. The Knicks, battle-tested and rarely outworked, opened the Cup as the favorites in East Group C. And still, the Bulls confidently dictated tempo and tone, collecting 31 assists on 45 made field goals. They played fast but under control, boasting of an offense built more on timing than on isolation. Not for nothing did six stalwarts of the red and white finish in double figures, proof of their discipline in motion.
Creditably, Josh Giddey has belied scouting reports questioning his shooting touch. The 32 points he put up against the Knicks were a career high, and featured four three-pointers in the first half alone. He orchestrated from the wings, cut decisively to and through the paint, and absorbed contact without fear and as needed. Hitherto measured by his passing, he showed all and sundry that he could be a go-to scorer as well.
NBA annals are littered with fast starts that give way to sudden swoons once the schedule hardens, but the Bulls’ early success appears formative. Four of their half-dozen triumphs have been against playoff-caliber teams. And, tellingly, they dispatched the Pistons, Hawks, Magic, and Knicks by leaning on communal rhythm rather than All-Star brilliance. Every possession has been a small act of trust and, at the same time, a firm reinforcement of a larger principle: that ball movement can still prevail in a league obsessed with one-on-one mastery.
It’s too early to say if the Bulls will hold steady once the grind sets in, but they have, if nothing else, earned the right to be taken seriously. They may be without a dominant scorer or headline-grabbing roster, but they have balance that reflects their capacity to be collectively greater than the sum of their individual parts. Five games in, they are not merely unbeaten; they are believable. And in a campaign built to test both intent and talent, their competitive advantage might just be enough to take them all the way to Vegas.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
