If the Chicago Bulls can manage to win their third-straight game tonight and the Toronto Raptors fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they could actually find themselves in the NBA Play-In picture.
Baby steps.
Game Info
Chicago Bulls (13-18) at New York Knicks (18-14) – 6:30 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starters
Chicago Bulls
1. Alex Caruso
2. Zach LaVine
3. DeMar DeRozan
4. Patrick Williams
5. Nikola Vučević
Injury Report: Alex Caruso OUT (elbow), Javonte Green OUT (knee), Derrick Jones Jr. OUT (ankle)
New York Knicks
1. Jalen Brunson
2. Immanuel Quickley
3. RJ Barrett
4. Julius Randle
5. Mitchell Robinson
Injury Report: Quentin Grimes QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Obi Toppin OUT (leg)
What to Watch For …
The New York Knicks proved to be a pretty dreadful matchup for the Bulls over the last two games. Not only did they outperform them physically, but they executed far better on the offensive end. Jalen Brunson, in particular, carved up this Bulls’ backcourt with 52 points, 13 assists, and nine 3-pointers. He was in complete control of the game, and (unfortunately) the chance of him doing that again feels pretty darn high now that the Bulls will be without Alex Caruso.
Julius Randle has also continued to put together a strong season, averaging 22.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The Bulls did a decent job holding him to two inefficient performances, and a big reason for that was the effort of Patrick Williams. But he’ll arguably have to do even better tonight for this team to steal another much-needed win.
REBOUND. THE. BASKETBALL. New York is the NBA’s 6th-best rebounding team, and they showed the Bulls exactly that in both of their matchups last week. They ended up outrebounding Chicago 48-31 in Game 1 and 50-39 in Game 2. An advantage on the offensive glass proved to be especially problematic, and it will take a communal effort to ensure that doesn’t happen again this time around.
More in here …
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