Bulls are driving their way to the top of the East

The Chicago Bulls opened the season with a surprising 4-0 record. While the team hasn't had its top scorers from last season, the Bulls are staying afloat on offense by relentlessly attacking the basket.

No team in the NBA has logged more drives to the basket than the Bulls' 61.5 per game. They're not necessarily scoring on the drives themselves, but they average 6.8 assists on drives, second in the NBA only to LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets.

Attacking the basket is the Bulls' secret skill

Two members of the Bulls are among the 10 most frequent drivers in the NBA. Josh Giddey heads for the hoop 16 times per game, while point guard Tre Jones averages 16.8 drives per game, just one less than Jalen Brunson. That should only improve with the return of Coby White, who drove 12.6 times per game last season, 22nd-most in the NBA.

Giddey has been particularly good, improving on both the frequency and success of his forays to the rim. Nearly one-third of his shots (32.8%) come from within three feet of the basket, and he's making 63.2% of them, up from 58.4% last season.

Jones is the surprise. He's attacking with rim with abandon, doing so more often than all but six NBA players. Jones is easily leading the league in assists on drives, averaging 3.3 per game, 0.5 more than his closest rival. The 25-year-old is only 6-foot-1, but he's using his speed to collapse defense and force rotations, then find his open teammates.

Chicago is continuing its commitment to running

Another big reason the Bulls are driving so much is the team-wide commitment to playing fast. Last season, they went from the NBA's third-slowest team to its second-fastest in terms of pace. But what's unique about them is that their running doesn't depend on forcing turnovers.

The Bulls force the fewest turnovers in the league and get the fifth-fewest steals. However, they're one of the NBA's best defensive rebounding teams, thanks in large part to veteran center Nikola Vucevic. Chicago loves to push the pace and run off of rebounds, part of how it's managed an above-average offense without many three-pointers or free throws.

The attitude seems team-wide, where second-year forward Matas Buzelis already has five dunks and takes 45% of his shots at the rim. Ayo Dosunmu is going to the hoop at the highest rate of his career.

It's a throwback approach to manufacturing offense, but it's working for the Bulls. They're outperforming their talent with smart decisions and relentless effort, a testament to head coach Billy Donovan's work.

Can they keep it up for 82 games? Maybe not, but they've already given themselves a big head start. And with that head start, they're probably going right to the rim.