Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls resided somewhere near the Eastern Conference's midsection.

Two weeks into the campaign, their position hasn't changed following a 5-4 start.

They've had a few signature victories, which was a challenge for last season's club. However, they've also had a few losses they'd like to get back.

From a macro-view, the Bulls seem to be who we thought they were. Switch over a micro lens, though, and there are a few surprises sprinkled into this start.

The Defense Is Way Ahead of the Offense

Chicago is built to win with offense. That's just the reality of constructing a roster around the offensive-minded three-headed monster of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.

Unfortunately, the attack hasn't been great so far. This unit ranked 13th in efficiency last season, per NBA.com. Now, it's down to 22nd in the category.

So, why hasn't the bottom dropped out on the Bulls? Because the defense is flying high above even some of the most optimistic expectations.

Chicago has the season's seventh-best defense. Last season, it was 23rd. This feels a little high given the personnel, but if the Bulls can hover around the top 10 on defense and get their offense close to that level, it could strike the two-way balance needed to support a long playoff run.

Andre Drummond's Nightly Push for Double-Doubles

Andre Drummond is massive (6'10", 279 lbs) and impressively athletic for his size.

That's always assisted him as a rebounder and close-range finisher. That's why, in most seasons, he finds himself ranked among the double-double leaders.

He isn't quite a double-double machine anymore—he's had two in six games—but the fact he's still close to qualifying as such is staggering given his limited role as Nikola Vucevic's backup.

Drummond is averaging 10.2 rebounds and 9.0 points in just 16.8 minutes per night. Should these marks hold, he'd be the first player to average 10 boards and nine points in fewer than 20 minutes per night, per Stathead Basketball.

The Dragon's Resurgence

Last season was a rough one for Goran Dragić.

He played just five games for the Toronto Raptors before staying away from the team for personal reasons, and while he latched on with the Brooklyn Nets after the trade deadline, he didn't make much of a dent on the stat sheet. By season's end, he'd managed all of 7.5 points per game while posting his worst-ever shooting rates from the field (37.7) and from range (25.4).

Considering that was his age-35 campaign, it was fair to wonder if the league had simply passed him by. Apparently, that's not at all the case, though.

Dragić has been an asset in the Windy City as the conductor of the Bulls' bench mob. His field-goal shooting is back to 44.8 percent, and his absurdly hot 53.6 percent three-point shooting is the best of his career. His per-36-minutes averages speak to just how effective he's been: 19.6 points and 7.4 assists, per Basketball Reference.