Here are my three wishes for tonight’s home opener:
(1) Benny the Bull spills popcorn down my pants.
(2) Zach LaVine drops 50.
(3) Bulls win.
Make it happen, basketball gods.
Game Info
Chicago Bulls (1-0) at Washington Wizards (1-0) – 6:00 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV), and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starters
Chicago Bulls
1. Ayo Dosunmu
2. Zach LaVine
3. DeMar DeRozan
4. Patrick Williams
5. Nikola Vucevic
Injury Report: Lonzo Ball OUT (knee)
Cleveland Cavaliers
1. Donovan Mitchell
2. Caris LeVert
3. Isaac Okoro
4. Evan Mobley
5. Jarrett Allen
Injury Report: Darius Garland OUT (eye), Dylan Windler OUT (ankle), Ricky Rubio OUT (knee)
Odds
The Bulls walk into tonight as +1.5 underdogs against the Washington Wizards at PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and the FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook. Click on either link to sign up and pick the Bulls to cover (… or pick the opposite …)!
What to Watch For …
The combination of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen gives this team one of the most dynamic and imposing defensive units in the league. For a Bulls team that projects to do the majority of their scoring at the rim, knowing these two are lurking for the shot block could be a cause for concern.
Having said that, this team can struggle when it comes to limiting their turnovers and stopping the fastbreak. Last season they coughed up the 9th-most turnovers a night and it led to allowing the 4th-most points off turnovers per game. While a new year could help fix some of those problems, we did just watch them commit 17 turnovers against the Raptors on Thursday night. We also saw them lose the fastbreak battle 20-7, which could be great news for a Bulls team that sat 13th in fastbreak points per game last season.
Drawing contact tonight could be key. Not only might it help to get some of the Cavs big men in foul trouble, but it will be an important way to still establish a strong presence in the paint. The Cavs also just let up 32 free-throw attempts per game to Toronto, and the Bulls have shot at least 28 over their first two games of the season.
More thoughts in here …
NEWSLETTER
