It’s hard to escape the most popular buzzword around the Advocate Center this season.

Physicality is all the Chicago Bulls talk about. Every player — from starting guard Josh Giddey to backup center Jalen Smith — entered the season with the primary focus of adopting a confrontational style of play. It’s a necessity after recent seasons in which the Bulls essentially were bodied off the court in regular-season and elimination games alike.

The Bulls need to be the toughest team on the court — something they accomplished in Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons . But that game was only the first in a series of tests against the most rugged teams in the Eastern Conference, including Saturday’s road game against the Orlando Magic and an NBA Cup matchup Oct. 31 against the New York Knicks

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