Weekly Preview: Bucks, Pistons, Heat, Hornets – November 18-24, 2019

How do I feel about a new week of Bulls basketball?

Glad you asked!

We’re Going Streaking:

  • Chicago Bulls (4-9) – The Bulls lost to a Brooklyn Nets bench mob in the 4th quarter to show us all that nothing has changed. Will it this week?
  • Milwaukee Bucks (9-3) – Surprisingly, the Bucks let the Bulls hang around last week. It’s hard to imagine that’ll happen again, but if Chicago can take advantage of Milwaukee’s poor three-point shooting like last time, I suppose anything is possible.
  • Detroit Pistons (4-9) – One of the four teams the Bulls beat this season, the Pistons just aren’t playing very good basketball. Even with the return of Blake Griffin and being at the top of the leaderboard in three-point percentage, the Pistons are on a four-game losing streak.
  • Miami Heat (9-3) – Just look at their record. Jimmy Butler and Co. aren’t fooling around.
  • Charlotte Hornets (6-7) – The Hornets might not be as bad as we all thought they were, which fortunately means the Bulls opening night loss feels a tad less painful. And, unlike the Bulls, they’ve closed out their easy games.
  • Game Times and Broadcast Info:

  • Game 1: Monday, November 18th – Bucks at Bulls (7:00 CT) on NBC Sports Chicago, 670 The Score
  • Game 2: Wednesday, November 20th – Pistons at Bulls (7:00 CT) on NBC Sports Chicago, 670 The Score
  • Game 3: Friday, November 22nd – Heat at Bulls (7:00 CT) on NBC Sports Chicago, 670 The Score
  • Game 4: Saturday, November 23rd – Bulls at Hornets (6:00 CT) on NBC Sports Chicago, 670 The Score
  • Chicago Bulls Roster Notes:

    Expected Starters:

    1. Tomas Satoransky
    2. Zach LaVine
    3. Chandler Hutchison
    4. Lauri Markkanen
    5. Wendell Carter Jr.

    Unavailable/Injured: Otto Porter OUT indefinitely (foot), Cristiano Felicio OUT (wrist), Luke Kornet OUT (nose)

    Additional Roster Notes: The Bulls announced Monday morning that stretch-big Luke Kornet will miss time after undergoing a procedure to repair a sinus obstruction. You can read more about it here:

    Opponents’ Roster Notes:

    Unavailable/Injured:

  • Bucks – Khris Middleton OUT (quadriceps)
  • Pistons – Khyri Thomas OUT (foot), Reggie Jackson OUT (back)

  • Tony Snell didn’t practice on Sunday due to a hip injury, and he’s currently listed as day-to-day.
  • Heat – Derrick Jones Jr. OUT (hip), Justise Winslow OUT (concussion)

  • Jones Jr. and Winslow both could be back by the time the Heat take on the Bulls this Friday. Goran Dragic was also reported as suffering an illness and didn’t practice Monday, but he’s day-to-day. The Heat will for sure be without Dion Waiters who is serving a 10-game suspension.
  • Hornets – No injuries as of now.
  • Keep An Eye Out For …

    Bulls Players: You’re up again, Tomas Satoransky. We all saw a brief spurt of what Satoransky’s capable of in his career-high, 27-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks. He was knocking down three-pointers, aggressively attacking the basket, and dishing out assists along the way. Since then, he’s resorted back to his (mostly) underwhelming play. He’s going to be tasked with several tougher matchups this week, and it’s time for him to step-up.

    He’s been shooting the ball well thus far, but he also hasn’t been taking enough shots. He and Jim Boylen know it. Let’s see if they change it.

    Bucks Player: All right, Giannis Antetokounmpo is someone you should keep an eye out for, but Eric Bledsoe dominated the Bulls last week, as well. The veteran point guard dropped a season-high 31 points on 12-14(!) shooting. He also dished out eight assists and recorded the team’s second-best plus-minus at +9. The Bulls had no answer for him defensively and he easily won his matchup against Satoransky. Bledsoe can get in one heck of a rhythm when he’s able to power his way to the hoop, so if the Bulls want a real chance at beating this Bucks team, they’re going to have to force him to shoot. Good luck, Sato.

    Pistons Player: Blake Griffin is yet to have his “I’m back!” game this season, which means it’s obviously coming against the Bulls this week. Griffin hasn’t connected on his three-ball this season, shooting 2-11 over his first two games, but considering how Chicago tends to leave guys open behind the arc, he could heat up. While I trust Wendell Carter Jr. to protect the rim well, he’ll already have his hands full with Andre Drummond. Do we trust Lauri Markkanen to give Griffin a hard time? No. The answer is no. We might be seeing a lot of Thaddeus Young in this game.

    Heat Player: Finally in a situation where it’s “his team,” the former-Bull will be looking to put on a show. Think about this game as Butler’s high school reunion … and Chicago is his teenage sweetheart who dumped him for the foreign exchange student with a cool nickname. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

    Hornets Player: The Hornets are letting Devonte’ Graham run wild, and it’s working. The second-year guard is posting an impressive 18.8 points per game and averaging 7.1 assists. The guy is shooting above 40 percent from the field and behind the arc. In his performance against the New York Knicks on Saturday, he hit nine three-pointers. If the Bulls want to avoid a second loss to the Hornets, stopping Graham is on the top of the to-do list.

    written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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