The Chicago Bulls walk into Monday’s game against the Boston Celtics carrying the NBA’s worst early three-point mark, a brutal 22.6% through three games. Chicago is averaging 41.3 attempts from beyond the arc, but the shots are not falling, and that has turned a supposed strength into the first thing Boston will try to take away.
The timing makes the matchup matter now. Boston just answered its opening loss with a 107-103 win over the Knicks, with Jayson Tatum scoring 36 points, Neemias Queta adding 15 points and three blocks, and Jordan Walsh helping hold Jalen Brunson to 19 points. The Celtics have enough recent form to pressure Chicago at the perimeter without spending the night chasing made baskets.
Chicago’s problem is not just cold shooting. The Bulls lost 124-120 to Washington on Saturday after going 12-for-43 from three, and Caleb Wilson’s 30 points and 14 rebounds came with only one of nine shots from deep. That is the kind of line that shows how much work Chicago is getting from everywhere else while the perimeter keeps missing.
The question is whether that number is a short-term blur or something sturdier. Three games is a small sample, but 22.6% is still extreme, and Boston can test it by contesting the perimeter and closing out under control instead of selling out and opening lanes to the basket. Chicago has still managed to score, yet it has also allowed 128 points per game through its first three contests, which leaves little margin if the shots stay cold on Monday.
So the Bulls vs Celtics game is not just another early-season meeting. It is a direct test of whether Chicago can survive when its outside shot is not carrying the load, and whether Boston can turn that weakness into the difference in a game that already feels like a revealing one.
