Chicago visited Washington on Tuesday in a Bulls vs Wizards matchup that felt more like a test of which struggling team could avoid looking worse. The Bulls came in on a seven-game losing streak, while the Wizards had one win in their last 23 games.
Chicago was a five-point road underdog and had little margin for error after losing every game in its skid by double digits except a one-point defeat to Memphis. Over those seven games, the Bulls were allowing an NBA-worst 134.7 points per game, with opponents shooting 51.4% from the field and 38.9% from 3-point range. Washington was nearly as bleak, sitting in a 1-22 run and giving up a league-worst 129.3 points per game, including three games with 150 or more points allowed and 10 games with 130 or more.
The absences only narrowed the path. Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Anfernee Simons and Nick Richards were all out, while Collin Sexton and Lachlan Olbrich were probable despite their injuries. That left the Bulls to navigate a night against a Washington team that had also become one of the NBA’s softest defensive groups, which is why the total drew attention around the matchup.
That backdrop mattered because the recent meetings have not produced many shootouts. The last 10 head-to-head games between Chicago and Washington had produced one Over at the high total referenced in the article, and the Bulls had gone Under in three of their last four games and in each of their last five against the Wizards. That did not mean offense was absent, just that the numbers kept pointing back to the same two problems: turnovers turning into easy baskets and neither side getting enough stops to control pace.
There were also individual edges worth watching. Leonard Miller had hit at least two 3-pointers in three of his last four games. Tristan Vukcevic had one game with five or more rebounds in nine games, though he grabbed eight boards against the Bulls in their lone meeting this season. Will Riley was coming off back-to-back 30-plus-point games and had scored at least 20 points in four of his last six, even if he managed only three minutes and one assist in his first game against Chicago on Nov. 22. Bub Carrington had also been active on the glass, with at least three rebounds in four of his last five games against the Bulls.
The bigger picture is hard to miss. Both teams have spent long stretches playing as if their seasons were already over, and Tuesday’s game fit that reality. Barring an unforeseen four-game win streak and help, Washington is headed toward the NBA’s worst record and a serious shot at the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Chicago’s season has not been much cleaner, which is why even a late-season Bulls vs Wizards meeting carried the feel of a contest between teams trying to find something usable before April 7 runs out.
