Chicago Bulls (29-36) at Denver Nuggets (46-19) – 8:00 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
Patrick Beverley
Alex Caruso
Zach LaVine
DeMar DeRozan
Nikola Vučević
Injury Report: Javonte Green OUT (knee), Lonzo Ball OUT (knee)
Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Michael Porter Jr
Aaron Gordon
Nikola Jokic
Injury Report: Michael Porter Jr PROBABLE (illness), Vlatko Cancar QUESTIONABLE (wrist), Zeke Nnaji OUT (shoulder), Collin Gillespie OUT (leg)
Odds
The Bulls come into tonight’s game as 8.5-point underdogs against the Nuggets at PointsBet Illinois Sportsbook and 9-point underdogs 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
I mentioned it in the weekly preview, but I’ve been fooled by this year’s Bulls team for the last time. As good as they’ve looked defensively, and as good as Zach has looked since the All-Star break, this team’s flaws are likely too large to overcome. The Bulls struggle to shoot the three, and often flat-out refuse to shoot it consistently. They turn the ball over a ton thanks to not having a true distributor to run the offense. The last time the Bulls and Nuggets played, the Bulls turned the ball over 19 times and were outscored 39-18 from 3. Tonight has the potential to get away from the Bulls quickly if they don’t correct those issues early and often.
Turnovers and 3-point discrepancy have been two key issues in recent weeks for the Bulls.
What happened the last time they played the Nuggets? They turned the ball over 19 times and were outscored behind the arc 39-18.
Consider me scared for tonight.— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) March 8, 2023
As annoyed as I am with the Bulls from last week’s performance (and really this season as a whole), LaVine’s emergence since the All-Star break has me very intrigued and gives me something to watch for the rest of the season. In the 6 games since the break, LaVine is shooting 51.3% from 3, 57.7% from the field, and averaging 31 PPG. In the 55 games prior, he shot 36.9% from three, 46.5% from the field, and averaged 24 PPG. So sure it’s a small sample size, but since the break, LaVine has been a much better and more efficient scorer. If he continues down this path the rest of the way through a smaller sample size, he legitimately becomes a player you can build around this offseason as the Bulls will look to make some significant tweaks. Maybe not a true #1, but a #2 to a true superstar.
I’m really excited to watch Nikola Jokic in tonight’s game. He’s on his way to his 3rd consecutive MVP, and still somehow manages to do it so quietly. At the moment, he’s averaging a triple-double and it looks like this Nuggets team has a better chance to make a deep playoff push than either of the last two years. Everything the Nuggets do offensively runs through the big man, and if they’re hitting shots from deep this one could get out of hand. In their last meeting, Jokic dished out 14 assists and Michael Porter Jr went 6-of-9 from 3 with 31 points.
Matt is from the Chicagoland area and has been working in Chicago sports since 2015 with stops at WGN Radio, the Chicago Blackhawks, Stadium, and NBC Sports Chicago prior to landing at Betsperts. Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts and Bleacher Nation but focuses on the NHL and college football.
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