Bulls vs Knicks: The 90s are Dead, but the Panic is Very Real
Forget Jordan and Ewing. The rekindled hostility between Chicago and New York isn't about ghosts; it's about a fragile Knicks 'superteam' sweating bullets over a Bulls squad that wasn't supposed to be this good.
If I hear one more broadcaster mention the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, I might throw my espresso at the screen. We get it. Tough guys. Short shorts. Physical fouls that would land you in federal prison today. But clinging to that sepia-toned narrative is lazy. It obscures what is actually happening right now, in February 2026, between two franchises that have finally stopped being irrelevant at the same time.
The New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls are indeed hating each other again. But the dynamic has flipped.
The "Superteam" with Glass Jaws
Let's look at the Knicks. On paper, they are the Avengers. You trade for Mikal Bridges, you bring in Karl-Anthony Towns (KAT) to stretch the floor, and you give Jalen Brunson the keys to the city. The result? An offense that hums like a Ferrari. But have you watched them defend lately?
Tom Thibodeau must be losing his remaining hair. The Knicks, historically the grit-and-grind darlings, are now winning shootouts because they have to. That 113-111 escape act at Madison Square Garden just days ago (Feb 20) wasn't a defensive masterclass; it was a survival test. They let the Bulls hang around until the final buzzer.
"To me, this team doesn't really fit perfectly together... Any Brunson+KAT unit will struggle on defense. Anytime Mitch [Robinson] is not in the lineup, the rim defense is nonexistent." – Anonymous Eastern Conference Scout
The skepticism is warranted. If you are building a team to beat Boston or Milwaukee, you can't be leaking 139 points to Chicago in January. Yes, that happened.
The Giddey Experiment: Chaos as a Strategy
And then there are the Bulls. Who invited these guys? After years of "mid" purgatory, they were supposed to be tanking or retooling. Instead, they handed the keys to Josh Giddey, and the Australian has turned the United Center into a transition nightmare for opponents.
Remember Halloween night? Giddey dropping 32 points with zero turnovers? That wasn't a fluke; it was a warning. The Bulls are playing fast, loose, and with a level of disrespect that the carefully constructed Knicks roster can't seem to handle. While New York is playing chess with spacing and efficiency, Chicago is playing rugby.
| Metric (2025-26 Season) | New York Knicks | Chicago Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive Identity | Half-court Precision (Brunson Iso) | Transition Chaos (Giddey Pace) |
| Defensive Weakness | Perimeter Containment | Rim Protection |
| Head-to-Head Record | 2 Wins (Home & Away) | 2 Wins (High Scoring Blowouts) |
| The Pressure Gauge | Extreme (Finals or Bust) | Zero (House Money) |
What's Actually at Stake?
Here is the cold reality. The Knicks must secure a top-3 seed to avoid a first-round bloodbath. If they slip to 4th or 5th, they risk facing a team like... well, the Bulls. And Chicago is exactly the kind of high-variance, chaotic team that sends a "contender" home early.
The media wants you to believe this is about legacy. It's not. It's about a Knicks team that mortgaged its future for a championship window that looks surprisingly drafty, and a Bulls team that realized running fast is cheaper than rebuilding.
Does the rivalry have juice? Absolutely. But don't look for Jordan in the stands. Look at the standings, look at the defensive ratings, and ask yourself: which of these two teams is actually under pressure? (Hint: It's not the one from the Windy City).
