Imagine you're facing off against an 8-year-old in the driveway. The kid is the only thing that stands between you and a five-foot rim. While we all know you would show some mercy, imagine you didn't. Instead, let's pretend that the first to 12 points wins $3.0 million. How dominant would you be? How fast would that little soul be crushed?

Unfortunately, there is a non-zero chance that things play out this way on Wednesday night at the United Center. And yes, the Chicago Bulls are in line to be the 8-year-old kid.

The Bulls' gauntlet start to the season will continue with a visit from the San Antonio Spurs. Not only are they the reigning Western Conference champions, but they also happen to be led by a 22-year-old Alien. Victor Wembanyama is a scary matchup for every team in the NBA, and he will now get to face a rebuilding squad that is a mere 1-8.

Sure, the Bulls showed some signs of life during Sunday afternoon's meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers. They may not have walked away victorious, but they finally flashed some real offensive cohesion. But whether any of that matters against the Spurs is an all-too-fair question. Facing Wembanyama is a challenge unlike any other, and it's one that this Bulls roster is particularly ill-equipped to handle.

How Will the Bulls Try to Handle Wemby?

The good news for the Chicago Bulls is that their best defensive big man rejoined the fold this weekend. Nic Claxton made his 2026-27 debut after missing the entirety of the preseason and the first eight games with a hamstring strain. Having him alongside a presumably healthy Jalen Smith and Zach Collins will at least give Chicago a full arsenal to throw at Victor Wembanyama.

The bad news is ... well ... that might not matter a lick. Even if Claxton returned to his 2023 self, he is still expected to remain on a tight minutes restriction. This is also a Bulls team that has given up 53.6 points in the paint per game, which is the third-most in the NBA. Wemby and the Spurs, to no surprise, average the second-most points in the paint each night at a nearly identical 53.8.

Wembanyama will also arrive at the United Center red-hot. He is fresh off an outing against a similarly struggling Phoenix Suns team that saw him score 40 points with 11 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. It marked the second time in the last four games that Wembanyama had 40+ points and 11+ rebounds.

Nevertheless, what remains an even greater challenge when facing Wembanyama is creating your own offense. And that seems to be what head coach Tiago Splitter is most focused on ahead of Wednesday night's meeting.

“A shot at time at the rim is not a good shot. So, we’ve got to be mindful of that," Splitter said after practice on Tuesday. "We’ve got to wrap around the pass, find a corner three, play fast, try to get there before he gets to the paint, I think that’s kind of a formula. But, again, they’re an extremely talented team. A team that is built to win a championship.”

No one shuts off the paint better than Wembanyama, and that is certainly a problem for how this Bulls team wants to play. Their entire offensive identity is built around using their athleticism to get into the teeth of the defense and create from there. It goes without saying, but there will be minimal opportunities to do that against Wembanyama.

“To beat the Spurs, you have to shoot the ball well from three," Splitter said. "You’ve got to force him to get out of the paint, and then that’s going to create easy shots at the rim. But if you just try to go at him the whole game, that’s his favorite. We’ve got to be able to spread the floor and go from there.”

Some kind of novel concept? Of course not, but it's undoubtedly correct. The only problem for the Bulls is that spreading the floor has been arguably their second-biggest issue this season, behind paint protection.

Despite tossing up the fifth-most threes per game, the Bulls are shooting just 27.2 percent, which remains dead last in the NBA. They have shot better than 40.0 percent from distance just once over their first nine games. Splitter's crew has also failed to make more than 10 triples in three straight games.

Now, does any of this mean the Bulls are guaranteed to get embarrassed? Not necessarily. They just held their own against a talented Philly team and have done something similar against the Knicks over the last couple of weeks. And, heck, you never know when a team might get hot from deep.

However, we can all likely agree that this is a terrifying matchup for the Bulls on paper, and it's not out of the question that it ends with them (metaphorically) running inside crying to mom.