The  Chicago Bulls are stepping into the new season without their seasoned veteran and arguably their most clutch player DeMar DeRozan. He has been traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Chris Duarte and two second-round picks. The Windy City team is currently entering a new era and will take a few years to be back in contention. That being said, it’s not all gloomy and dark for the franchise and they will be hoping to prove their critics wrong. Billy Donovan and his men finished 9th in the Eastern Conference with a season record of 39-43. They still have their ace Zach LaVine who was injured for the majority of last season and will hope for a much better season this time around. Before the regular season kicks off the Bulls have to test their hands in the preseason and we will dive into their Preseason schedule.

The Chicago Bulls Preseason Schedule

According to NBA.com, these are the Preseason games the Bulls are set to play.

Head-to-Head records

Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers

The Bulls and the Cavaliers’ rivalry has going on for years. It all started when the Bulls drafted none other than Michael Jordan himself in 1984. It wasn’t until 1989 that the rivalry took off. The Bulls and the Cavaliers were tied 2-2 in the Playoff series and MJ hit what is simply known as “The Shot”. He sent the Cavaliers home with a buzzer-beater creating a rivalry for years to come. However, the rivalry died down after his retirement but was sparked back to life when Cleveland picked up LeBron James.

LeBron took the Cavaliers to the Playoffs in 2010 where they faced the Bulls and their new star Derrick Rose. James and the Cavaliers came on top by defeating the Bulls 4-1 for the first time in the Playoffs. The Cavaliers defeated the Bulls again in 2015 in the Playoffs. The two familiar foes have met each other 234 times in the regular season in which the Bulls have 133 wins and the Cavaliers have 101 wins. The Bulls have a historic upper hand in the rivalry but the recent form of the Cavaliers has been fantastic as they had a streak of seven wins. The streak came to an end, with the Bulls finally getting a W over their rivals in their most recent encounter.

The Cavaliers finished fourth in the Eastern Conference last season, earning themselves a Playoff spot. They will look to do the same this season. The two teams will face each other twice in the Preseason. Both teams will test their depth along with finding good rotations for next season which will be a thing to see when the teams meet.

Chicago Bulls vs Memphis Grizzlies

Next up in their Preseason adventure, the Bulls will host the Memphis Grizzlies. The two teams have come face-to-face on 57 occasions with the Bulls boasting a better record of 32 wins. The Grizzlies have 25 wins to their name. Recent form brings good news for Bulls fans as they are on a three-game winning streak against the visitors. The Grizzlies were in poor form last season and finished the season with only 27 wins. It will be interesting to see the two teams face off against each other and test their strengths in this Preseason matchup.

Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks

The Bulls will be on the road to face the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. will be more than ready to face the Bulls in this Preseason game. The Bucks finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference and went on to win the Conference finals but fell short in the Championship finals. The Dallas Mavericks Clinched the title winning the series 4-1. The Bulls and the Bucks have faced each other 267 times. The Bulls have a very narrow lead over the Bucks with 135 wins to their name. Whereas the Bucks have 132 wins, two of them have come in the last two meetings of the teams.

Chicago Bulls vs Minnesota Timberwolves

The Bulls will play the Timberwolves in what is their second last Preseason game. The Timberwolves were good last season finishing 3rd in the Western Conference with a season record of 56-26.

Chicago Bulls Depth Chart

The Bulls will have no DeRozan this season. However, they still have Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The roster is almost identical to last season where they made it to the Play-ins. The team will more or less hope for the same outcome this season as well. The Bulls lineup will only have a few tweaks as of now. If Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic remain with the team by the trade deadline, both should continue to hold their starting positions.

The Bulls can gain good momentum if the young players start performing week in and week out. They will also hope that Lonzo Ball stays fit this season. This could prove to be a huge thing for the Bulls. All eyes also will be on how they start their season and this will be a major factor on which trades will depend. How will this season turn out to be for the Bulls? Will they be able to make the Playoffs?