NEWSLETTER
Playing teams below .500 has not done this team any favors yet, but will it this week?
We’re Going Streaking:
Game Times and Broadcast Info:
Chicago Bulls Roster Notes:
Expected Starters:
- Tomas Satoransky
- Zach LaVine
- Kris Dunn
- Lauri Markkanen
- Wendell Carter Jr.
Unavailable/Injured: Otto Porter OUT (foot), Cristiano Felicio OUT (wrist), Chandler Hutchison OUT (shoulder)
Additional Roster Notes: Chandler Hutchison did a little 3-on-3 practice last week, but no possible return date was provided by Jim Boylen.
Opponents’ Roster Notes:
Unavailable/Injured:
Keep An Eye Out For …
Bulls: Watch out for Denzel Valentine (Woah, I didn’t think I’d be writing that this season). After being left out of the rotation for the first several weeks, Valentine immediately thrived when given a real chance. Now, it feels like he’s a lock to be a part of the Bulls’ plans for the rest of the season, as he’s scored in double-digits off the bench in five of the Bulls’ last six games. Over the weekend against the Hornets, he walked off the court with a season-high 16 points on 5-11 shooting (four of those shots from behind the arc). With his reliable three-ball, the Bulls might have a new legitimate deep shooting threat on their roster. Anyway, if he keeps playing this well, it’s not hard he can have a new season-high sometime this week.
Thunder: If there is one kind of player the Bulls struggle against, it’s a physical big-man. Last week, I picked Montrezl Harrell of the Clippers as a potential thorn, and although the Bulls won, Harrell gave them some serious problems. He checked into the game and dropped 17 quick points in the first half and finished the game with 30. Steven Adams hasn’t proven to be as reliable of a scorer this season as Harrell, but with 22 as his season-high, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tops that tonight. Adams is just one tough dude, and with a double-double in his last three games, Carter Jr. is in for a hard night.
Wizards: Bradley Beal is due for a big game … that’s bad news for the Bulls. It may sound silly, but Beal has averaged only 21.7 points per game over his last three performances, and he’s dropped 30 points in only one of his last seven games. Kris Dunn might be able to help contain the All-Star, but if the Wizards win this game, it’ll almost surely be because Beal posted some big numbers. Not to mention, the Wizards are on the list of “teams you should beat,” and the Bulls don’t performance particularly well against those teams.
Pistons: Screw it, I’m saying Derrick Rose again. The guy has averaged 20 points and almost 8 assists over his last three games. Each time he’s played the Bulls this season, he’s had one of the better performances for the Pistons with 23 points in the first meeting and 18 points in the second. The Bulls were able to take care of business the last time around, winning by 20, but I’m worried that if this one comes down to the wire, Rose will be able to single-handedly pull out the win.
Kind of like this:
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1204242502078943232?s=20
Or this …
https://twitter.com/droselayups/status/1206067641003077633?s=20
