NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The best way to identify a team’s weaknesses is to ask its opponents. And after years of facing the Chicago Bulls, newcomers Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig feel comfortable identifying two key areas of improvement.

Both players are familiar with the Bulls after Carter played for the Milwaukee Bucks last season and Craig played for the Phoenix Suns. They felt challenged by the team’s defensive pressure and the individual talent of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.

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But when he faced the Bulls with the Suns, Craig said he was surprised by the team’s inability to finish off close games despite fielding a talent-rich team.

“I told Coach (Billy Donovan), the amount of games they would be in and not finish, it’s just that little bit of edge you’ve got to have, that competitive edge you’ve got to have to finish out games,” Craig said. “That was one of the reasons I decided to come here because I knew I could bring that extra edge and try to win some of the close games that we (might) be in or try to motivate the teammates to get over the hump.”

The Bulls were 15-23 last season in clutch games, defined as games with a margin of five points or fewer in the final five minutes. They fell victim to a string of buzzer-beating heartbreakers after being one of the top five clutch teams in the league in 2021-22.

Those close losses were an impetus for Craig to land in Chicago, where he feels he can contribute to an improved mental fortitude across the roster.

“That’s what this team is missing,” Craig said. “A little bit of toughness, a little bit of edge, guys with raw emotion to say how they feel and wear their emotions on their sleeve.”

Despite being additions to a roster that remained mostly intact in the offseason, Carter and Craig are eager to embrace the role of vocal leaders to spur the Bulls into a higher level of aggressiveness.

“It just comes with the type of person you are,” Craig said. “Once you step on the court, you should be about business. No feelings should be involved. No feelings get hurt. We just have to be real with one another and honest as we can because it’s going to bring out the best in each one of us.”

Part of that lack of edge comes from an offensive hesitancy that Carter hopes to help address — potentially as the starting point guard.

Carter felt the Bulls were “reluctant to shoot” last season, an assessment reflected in their league-low 28.9 3-point attempts per game.

“They think about it too much instead of just taking what’s there,” Carter said. “It’s just playing free, not thinking about it too much, taking the shot when it’s there, not hesitating.”

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As a shooter himself — he shot 42.1% behind the arc last season and took a career-high 4.2 3s per game — Carter can help boost the low 3-point volume. But he could make a greater impact as a playmaker as he jockeys with Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White to become the starting ballhandler.

Donovan expressed interest in testing Carter both as the starting point guard and as the primary ballhandler for the second unit, which could allow the Bulls to implement a full shift change. Donovan will spend the preseason mulling over his three options at the position, which likely will continue to fluctuate throughout the early weeks of the season.

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The Bulls have been utilizing their time in Nashville to focus on player bonding off the court, which included a somewhat friendly competition at TopGolf on Tuesday night.

Zach LaVine drew plenty of teasing from teammates when he showed up to the facility carrying his own bag of clubs.

But Wednesday was fully focused on the court, with a two-a-day practice schedule giving the team its longest time on the court together so far this preseason.

The previous two offseasons were mired with health concerns for the Bulls. White and Patrick Williams suffered injuries during the summer in 2021, then LaVine underwent knee surgery last summer that forced him to sit out four games in the opening weeks of the season.

But aside from Lonzo Ball, the entire roster has been available and active in training camp this week, allowing the Bulls a better shot at determining a starting lineup and setting rotations for the season.