Josh Giddey is “painfully aware” of his sluggish start to the season, writes Jeff Agrest of The Chicago Sun-Times. Through eight games the Bulls’ starting point guard had averaged 9.3 points, 7.6 assists and 4.6 in 27.3 minutes per contest, with a subpar shooting line of .389/.286/.667.
“I’ve probably played the worst eight games that I’ve played in my career, in terms of the stretch,” he said last week after practice.
Giddey, who averaged 17.0 PPG, 9.1 APG and 8.3 RPG on .448/.364/.763 shooting in 54 appearances (32.1 MPG) last season, had his best game of 2026/27 on Sunday, finishing with 19 points (on 7-of-12 shooting), 15 assists and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.
“He was the Josh that we know,” head coach Tiago Splitter said. “He was aggressive. He was driving downhill, getting teammates (involved), and that’s how we see this game. We got to touch the paint and find options out there.”
While Splitter was largely pleased with the team’s effort, the Bulls came up short against Sixers, who improved to 9-2 as Chicago fell to 1-8. Giddey played an important role in the game being as competitive as it was, though he committed a couple of turnovers late in the fourth quarter, Agrest notes.
“Against a team like that, the margin for error is so small,” Giddey said. “I had a couple turnovers late that I would’ve wanted back. But I thought we competed a lot better than we have the last few games.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Isaac Okoro replacing the injured Norman Powell (back spasms) in the starting lineup seemed to help clarify all of the other starters’ roles, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (free link), who wonders if the team would be better off using the defensive-minded wing with that group moving forward. Giddey certainly seemed pleased to be playing alongside Okoro, a heady cutter who doesn’t look for his own shot nearly as often as Powell does. “Ice (Okoro) is a guy that is very, very accepting of his role,” Giddey said. “It’s hard to find in the NBA, a guy picked as high as he is. He started pretty much every game for us last year and then to come off the bench now, for a guy to accept that role in spades as he’s done, and then step into a bigger role tonight, speaks volumes of who he is as a person and as a player.”
- Center Nic Claxton played just under 18 minutes — he was on a limit of about 20 — in his season debut and finished with four points, four rebounds and two blocks, per Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. “I needed the restriction today,” Claxton said with a laugh after the game. “I was a little tired.” While he struggled on the boards — Claxton agreed and said he’d be better in that area moving forward — the 27-year-old had some defensive highlights and was intriguingly paired with second-year forward Noah Essenguewho Poe says is “quickly becoming the best on-ball defender” on the roster. Claxton said he’s impressed with Essengue’s ability to cover smaller players all over the court (Twitter video link via Lorenzi). “He’s solid. I was just talking to him yesterday, he got all the intangibles, quickness, length, just gotta put it together,” Claxton said of Essengue.
- Splitter shook up the bench unit on Sunday, with forward Patrick Williams and two-way guard Jordan Hawkins leapfrogging Leonard Miller and Buddy Hield in the rotation, Poe adds. Both players received extended run — Williams had seven points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal in nearly 25 minutes, while Hawkins had nine points and a steal in 17.