NEWSLETTER
The Jazz and Cavaliers are the Bulls last two games before the trade deadline.
Meet the Opponents:
• 3/22 vs. Utah Jazz (30-11): “Ya like Jazz?” – Bee Movie (- also probably anyone in Utah)
• 3/24 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (16-26): “I never heard anyone say ‘I’m going to Cleveland on Vacation.'” Yeah, we get it! You don’t have to remind us literally every freakin’ time we play each other.
• 3/27 @ San Antonio Spurs (22-17): See ya in the fourth quarter! Can’t wait!
Bulls Roster Notes
Expected Starters:
1. Tomas Satoransky
2. Zach LaVine
3. Patrick Williams
4. Lauri Markkanen
5. Thaddeus Young
Unavailable/Injured: Garrett Temple OUT (ankle), Chandler Hutchison OUT (personal reasons)
Opponent Roster Notes
Jazz Expected Starters:
1. Mike Conley
2. Donovan Mitchell
3. Bojan Bogdanovic
4. Royce O’Neal
5. Rudy Gobert
Cavaliers Expected Starters:
1. Darius Garland
2. Collin Sexton
3. Isaac Okoro
4. Larry Nance
5. Jarrett Allen
Spurs Expected Starters:
1. Derrick White
2. Lonnie Walker
3. DeMar DeRozan
4. Keldon Johnson
5. Jakob Poeltl
Unavailable/Injured (at the start of the week):
Jazz: Rudy Gobert QUESTIONABLE (hip)
Cavaliers: Matthew Dellavedova OUT (appendix), Taurean Prince OUT (shoulder), Kevin Love OUT (calf), Andre Drummond OUT (seeking trade)
Spurs: Keita Bates-Diop OUT (hamstring), LaMarcus Aldridge OUT (seeking trade)
What to Watch For …
Bulls: Coby White hasn’t necessarily looked the most comfortable in his new (revisited?) bench role. The Bulls guard has only scored in double digits in one of his five games off the bench this season, and he is currently averaging 9.7 points with 3.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Even more annoying, he has shot just 34.9 percent from the field in those five contests. His play has been so frustrating lately that head coach Billy Donovan only played him for 16 minutes on Sunday against Detroit. While he may not be the facilitator the Bulls were hoping for, we know he can get buckets with the best of them, and the Bulls will need that from him if they want to make a convincing playoff push. Let’s see if he can get back on track this week against two “meh” second-units (Cavaliers and Spurs).
Jazz: According to the analytics, the Utah Jazz are still the best team in the NBA. They have the league’s top Net Rating thanks to the impactful one-two punch of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. However … they aren’t unbeatable. Despite having a defensive menace in Gobert, they surprisingly haven’t been all that good at keeping teams away from the basket. The Jazz are currently giving up the 7th-most points in the paint per game, which could bode well for a Bulls team that averages the 7th-most points inside. The real difference between a win and loss for a team like Chicago, though, might be the boards. They have surprisingly adequate in the category all season (10th), but the Jazz grab the second-most rebounds per game. They also averaged the 5th-most second-chance points per game.
Cavaliers: The Cavaliers have the worst offense in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean they can’t cause problems. Collin Sexton and Darius Garland continue to come into their own, and both are shooting a very solid 39 percent from behind the arc. The real problem for the Bulls will likely come (again) underneath the basket, though. Jarrett Allen is an athletic shot-blocking freak, and the Bulls don’t have the size to shut him down. If the Bulls are struggling to stay afloat in this game, I bet a look at Allen’s stat line will explain why.
Spurs: Not blowing a double-digit lead in the 4th quarter would be a good start. Also, DeMar DeRozan should be available for this game, which will likely make grabbing any kind of double-digit lead that much harder for Chicago.
