Pre-Gamin’: Trail Blazers at Bulls (7:00 CT) – Broadcast Info, Projected Lineups, What to Watch For
It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but it was a win Thursday night against the Hornets. Now the Bulls welcome in a Trail Blazers team that’s won three in a row and five of their last six.
Game Info
Portland Trail Blazers (26-26) at Chicago Bulls (24-27) – 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: Nikola Vučević PROBABLE (quad), Alex Caruso QUESTIONABLE (foot), Patrick Williams QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Javonte Green OUT (knee), Lonzo Ball OUT (knee)
Portland Trail Blazers
- Damian Lillard
- Anfernee Simons
- Josh Hart
- Jerami Grant
- Drew Eubanks
Injury Report: Gary Payton II QUESTIONABLE (illness), Jusuf Nurkic OUT (calf), Justise Winslow OUT (ankle), Ibou Badji OUT (knee)
Odds
The Bulls come into tonight as 4.5-point favorites against the Trail Blazers at PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and 4-point favorites at FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook. Click on either link to sign up and pick the Bulls to cover (… or pick the opposite …)!
What to Watch For
- Well, the win over Charlotte wasn’t the prettiest but the Bulls got the job done. It didn’t come without a cost, though. P-Will, Vooch, and Caruso all suffered injuries in the win but it seems the Bulls dodged a bullet as none of the injuries seem like they’re all that serious. Vooch and Williams should play tonight, and if Caruso is out tonight he’ll be back shortly.
- In an ideal world, Ayo is your backup point guard and runs the second unit, but it was pretty awesome seeing him step up Thursday night when the Bulls big three all had off games offensively. Dosunmu scored 22 points on 9 of 10 shooting and was 1 of 2 from beyond the arc.
- Portland is going to have some tired legs. While they’ve won three in a row, this is their 3rd game in the last 4 nights, and they’re coming off a win in Washington last night that saw them erase a 20-point deficit. The Bulls should be relatively fresh, and it shouldn’t be all that difficult to outwork Portland tonight. That means ball movement on offense, crashing the boards on defense, and doing the little things right.
- Portland might have tired legs, but they can put up points. They’ve scored 120+ in 4 of their last 5 games. During their 3-game win streak, Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons have combined for 60+ points in each of those games, and Lillard has dropped 40+ points twice. Zach LaVine has failed to hit 20 points in 4 of the Bulls’ last 5, so tonight would seemingly be a good time for him to snap out of his scoring funk.
- The Bulls hold the last play-in game spot by just half a game over the Pacers. While many thought they might sell at the deadline, it appears the front office is looking to add according to Shams Charania. I don’t totally love the idea, but if the move is a longer-term solution to the replacing Lonzo situation then I guess that’s fine. But please don’t just go grab a rental who’s leaving at the end of the year.
