Back-to-backs, an unusual start and a hard end

If you missed the Chicago Bulls’ schedule release earlier this month, I don’t blame you. After a second consecutive losing season and some restructuring this summer, expectations for the 2024-25 season aren’t particularly high.

Still, 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 upcoming schedule important, especially with the franchise’s 2025 first-round pick in danger of ending up in San Antonio.

For a full overview of the schedule, I recommend reading our first post here. We also broke down some of the most important games here. Today I wanted to clear up any lingering questions. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a few more observations that I’ll list below.

As always, big shout out to Positive Residual for some of their great databases, which I mention below!

Various notes on the Bulls schedule

According to Positive Residual, the Bulls have the 13th toughest schedule in the NBA this season. Of course, this may change once the season starts and we better understand the league’s true hierarchy, but the site uses several factors (rest advantage, miles traveled, etc.) to create a preseason SOS.

Some notable teams with an easier SOS are Toronto, Washington, Detroit and Charlotte. Every win counts – in a negative way – when you’re in the thick of the Cooper Flagg Sweepstakes. In theory, this SOS suggests the Bulls might have an easier time falling than their competitors at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Fingers crossed!

The Bulls start the year with the third-most games with a rest advantage. In other words, they enter 13 games this year with more rest than their opponents. The only two teams with more rest, according to Positive Residual, are the Brooklyn Nets (15) and the Golden State Warriors (14).

Not surprisingly, this also means the Bulls will have few games in which they have a rest disadvantage. Positive residual means the Bulls will go into the third fewest 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-backs on the Bulls’ schedule this season. Although they will face an opponent quickly in their second and third games of the season, they only have 13 total on the season. That puts them on a par with five other teams for the fewest in the NBA this season. A total of 11 teams will have at least 16 B2B sets, which is the most in the league. In case you’re curious, I’ll list the B2B matchups below…

October 25-26: @ MIL, vs. OKC
6-7 November: @ DAL, vs MIN
November 17-18: vs. HOU, @ DET
22-23 November: against ATL, against MEM
26-27 November: @ WAS, @ ORL
Dec 5-6: @ SAN, vs IND
14–15 January: against NOP, against ATL
February 4-5: vs. MIA, @ MIN
11–12 February: against DET, against DET
March 12-13: @ ORL, vs. BRK
March 19-20: @ PHX, @ SAC
March 31 – April 1: @ OKC, vs. TOR
April 8-9: @ CLE, vs. MIA

The Bulls will play two “mini series” this season — that is, two games in a row against the same opponent. They’ll face the Boston Celtics in a home-and-away game on December 19th and 20th. And, surprisingly, they’ll face the Pistons in a B2B mini series on February 11th and 12th! From what I remember, since the league started doing this a few years ago, there’s usually at least a day’s rest between these mini series games.

The Bulls will play 16 games before they have two consecutive home games on the schedule (Nov. 22-23). ​​When I first noticed this, I thought it was extremely unusual. And it turns out I was right! Thanks to Basketball-Reference for letting me take a trip through the game log. That’s the longest the Bulls have gone without two home games in a season since the 1988-89 season (17 games).

Ten of the Bulls’ first 14 games are against teams that finished the 2023-24 season with a .500 record or better. The final month of the schedule appears equally daunting, as the team will complete a six-game Western Conference road trip from March 14-24. If draft position is a priority for this franchise (and it should be), that’s again good news!

In case you missed it, here is some information about the Bulls’ national television schedule.