NEWSLETTER
Consider this your warning: If you like good basketball, tonight’s Bulls-Warriors matchup isn’t for you.
As many already know, the Golden State Warriors have fallen off the deep end. With injuries to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors might as well be in full tank mode. Currently, with a league-worst 3-15 record, Golden State is practically running a G-League lineup onto the floor each night (huh, sound familiar?).
While most teams could probably write a W on the calendar before the ball is even tipped-off, the Bulls aren’t so lucky. I decided to do some digging to see how Golden State stacks up against the Bulls in some key statistical categories … and to probably no one’s surprise, the two teams are pretty darn similar.
Check it out:
this is comical. Bulls can’t make open 3s but neither can their opponents! kinda tracks with idea that the offense isn’t really this bad but the defense is actually awful and not just okay https://t.co/RQzYoXmEOj
— Jason Patt (@Bulls_Jay) November 27, 2019
I think it’s fair to say these two struggle with a lot of the same things. And obviously, that’s not a good thing considering the Bulls are supposed to have the superior talent on the floor.
The Bulls do have the Warriors beat in one important area though – defense. Chicago may need to change its defensive scheme (we’ve already gone over this), but they still statistically have a much better defensive rating than the Warriors. Heading into this game, the Bulls are 15th in the NBA compared to the Warriors last-place ranking.
Still, I don’t want to claim this as a difference-maker because we all know the Bulls defense doesn’t pass the eye-test. Plus, the team’s aggressive scheme relies heavily on turnovers, and the Warriors commit the 7th fewest turnovers per game in the league.
I guess the only thing the Bulls can maybe hang their hat on is that they – shockingly – play better offensive basketball on the road. The team improves to a 107.0 offensive rating (good enough for 14th in the league) when playing in road games. On the other hand, the Golden State Warriors hold the 5th-worst home offensive rating of 106.4.
Moral of the story, we should all probably expect a mess tonight. But maybe … JUST MAYBE … the Bulls can surprise us and take advantage of the worst team in the league. In the spirit of the holiday, I’d be quite thankful!
