The Knicks finally looked like a team moving in the right direction when they beat the Pistons by 14 points, and now they get a chance to prove it was more than a one-night reset. On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, they were set to face the Bulls with a chance to win two straight for the first time this season.
That is why Knicks Vs Bulls is drawing attention now. New York had opened 0-3, but the win over the Pistons at least hinted at a turnaround, even if the season had offered only one clear lift so far. The Bulls came in at 1-3, carrying a league-worst minus-18.3 net rating and two losses by 35 points or more, which made this look like the easiest game on the Knicks' early schedule.
Chicago still had one thing going for it: Caleb Wilson. He was averaging 18.5 PPG while shooting 41.9% from the field, though he had made just 5 of 28 three-point attempts. Normal Powell was the only other Bull averaging more than 14 PPG, and the rest of the rotation had not provided much help, with multiple players below 40% shooting. The Bulls also had given up more than 130 points in three of their four games, a problem that made every mistake harder to absorb.
The Knicks were not walking into this with everything settled, either. Jalen Brunson had struggled from the floor, Karl-Anthony Towns had been committing silly fouls, and Miles McBride and Andre Drummond had seen their roles and minutes bounce around. Even so, OG Anunoby had started to get to the free-throw line more and looked more like a playmaker, while Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet woke up last night. Josh Hart had also been active on defense, and Bridges was more physical on Cade Cunningham after the first quarter, signs that New York has at least begun to find useful combinations.
The deeper issue is that the Knicks still have not put together 48 full minutes of high-quality two-way basketball. Their early schedule included the 76ers, Celtics and Magic, so the first part of the season was never going to be easy, but a matchup with a young Bulls team lacking real star power outside Caleb Wilson offered a cleaner test of whether the win over the Pistons was a start or just a pause. If the Knicks can handle this one, the conversation changes quickly; if they cannot, the questions about their offense and rotation will only grow louder.
