Pre-Gamin’: Cavaliers at Bulls (7:00 CT) – Broadcast Info, Projected Lineups, Odds, Thread

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 …
  • written by

    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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