I Hope Zach LaVine Still Loves Playing Against the Sixers and Other Bulls Bullets

Jan 17, 2020

Exciting: The Cubs Convention! Make sure to come say hi if you’re out and about later today!

Not Exciting: The Bulls play a basketball game tonight against an above .500 team.

Back to exciting: Zach LaVine is rolling, having scored at least 25 points in each of his last five games. And if last season’s performance is an indication of what could come in the future, the good times will continue to roll because this man enjoys playing against the Philadelphia 76ers. In two games against Philly last season, LaVine scored a combined 69 points (NICE). And in the second matchup, he had some impressive late-game heroics to seal a one-point victory. Let’s re-live the magic:

And what do you know … that was an ESPN game, too!

Just like last year, the Bulls’ ONE nationally televised game (save for games on NBA-TV) is tonight against the Sixers. Splendid:

The 76ers host the Bulls in Friday night NBA action (7 ET, ESPN).

After a solid start to the season, Philadelphia has faltered a bit recently, going 6-9 in their last 15 games. pic.twitter.com/ACZTWjmZ85

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 17, 2020

FWIW: Philly has struggled recently without Joel Embiid on the court and is currently 6-9 (nice) over the last 15 games. Still, it’s hard to imagine this has a competitive game for the Bulls. Of course, they’ve surprised on the road before by hanging with some quality opponents, but without Wendell Carter Jr. and Daniel Gafford, this game could get ugly real fast.

Chandler Hutchison practiced in shoot-around on Thursday and could very well be in line to play tonight. Hutchison left the game on Wednesday night after injuring the same shoulder that kept him out of 17 games earlier this season. In Hutch’s own words (via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago), he “dodged a bullet.”

With Carter Jr. and Gafford out of acition, Luke Kornet is about to have his hands full. Over the next four games, the Bulls will face some pretty impressive big men, including Al Horford, Tristian Thompson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The Bulls are down to Kornet and *gulp* Cristiano Felicio as their two true centers on the roster. To give credit where credit is due, Kornet has surprised at times since he was thrown into the rotation about five games ago. But with his early-season struggles still fresh on the mind, my hopes aren’t high for him in the starting lineup.

You’re up, Luke:

NEXT! Luke Kornet Gets a Crack at the Bulls Center Positionhttps://t.co/z3pKn7nFaU

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 16, 2020

NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson hopped on the Mully & Haugh show and talked a bit more about Kornet. He also discusses trading Thaddeus Young, giving Lauri Markkanen more minutes, and how weird the Denzel Valentine situation is. Give it a listen.

Lauri Markkanen is launching a pretty cool campaign to raise climate crisis awareness! Basically, The Finnisher will do a bunch of dope dunks, and I’m totally here for that. If Zach doesn’t do it, maybe we should start #LauriDunkContest2020?

You’ve got to keep your cool on the court, but freezing up is never an option. The climate crisis causes more than just extreme heat. As jet streams change, blizzards become more frequent. This is my Blizzard dunk. Find out more on #climatedunks at https://t.co/za4VTM0Bch pic.twitter.com/60iVwuArRD
— Lauri Markkanen (@MarkkanenLauri) January 16, 2020

Speaking of the Dunk Contest, rookie Ja Morant told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes that he will not participate in this year’s dunk contest. (1) Are you kidding me!? (2) LaVine better do it!

LaVine sat down with Shams Charnia to talk about his journey to the Bulls and the thought of becoming an All-Star. It’s worth a listen:

“I feel like I’m an All-Star. I think it will happen, but I’m just focused on winning games and getting us to the playoffs.”
Bulls' @ZachLaVine tells NBA Insider @ShamsCharania he is confident about his All-Star chances in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/xa4oGbMMTb

— Stadium (@Stadium) January 16, 2020

written by

Elias Schuster

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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I Hope Zach LaVine Still Loves Playing Against the Sixers and Other Bulls Bullets

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