Alrighty, let’s try this again.
The Bulls look to pick up a win against a Hornets team they really should beat, coming off a frustratingly bad loss where they blew a big lead down the stretch and lost in heartbreaking fashion. What could go wrong?
Game Info
Charlotte Hornets (15-37) at Chicago Bulls (23-27) – 7:00 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
- Ayo Dosunmu
- Zach LaVine
- DeMar DeRozan
- Patrick Williams
- Nikola Vučević
Injury Report: Javonte Green OUT (knee), Lonzo Ball OUT (knee)
Charlotte Hornets
- LaMelo Ball
- Terry Rozier
- Gordon Hayward
- P.J. Washington
- Myles Plumlee
Injury Report: Cody Martin OUT (knee), Kelly Oubre Jr OUT (hand)
Odds
The Bulls come into tonight as 6-point favorites against the Hornets at both PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook. Click on either link to sign up and pick the Bulls to cover (… or pick the opposite …)!
What to Watch For
I really feel like I’ve said this 15 times already in the short amount of times I’ve been doing Bulls pre-games, but the Bulls really need someone not named DeMar to score down the stretch. The offense was fine in the first half against LA, but when the game got close and it was time to finish the job, it was Iso ball again. DeMar was brutal taking care of the ball in LA, but when so much of the offense is sit around and watch him work, games like that are bound to happen. This team really needs to figure out how to finish. For starters, maybe if you get 3 free throws down two points late, hit more than one.
We’re getting closer to the deadline, and it appears the front office doesn’t plan on blowing anything up. But does that include Coby White? If they don’t want to sell off any parts, moving White who clearly holds some trade value around the league seems to make a lot of sense. He’s had a solid season and can shoot the hell out of the ball when he’s hot, but he seems a little redundant to what the Bulls already have.
I know I got after Zach a little bit earlier, but it was nice to see him getting involved in more ways than just putting up a ton of points. LaVine was two assists shy of his first career triple-double and grabbed 14 boards to go with 18 points. In the loss to Charlotte last week he also had 18 points and grabbed 9 boards. If the hand is still giving him trouble shooting, he needs to keep making a positive impact on the game in other ways.
Charlotte has been playing much better as of late, but they’re still not very good. They outscored the Bulls 64-41 in the 2nd Half last week in Charlotte including a 34-17 thumping in the 4th Quarter. Don’t make this more complicated than it has to be. Start strong, and don’t take your foot off the gas. 48 minutes of intensity.
NEWSLETTER
