We might as well keep these bullets short and sweet.
Not only is it Easter Sunday, but it’s the final day of the regular season for a Chicago Bulls team that is locked into the 10 seed. We already know they will head to Toronto to battle the Raptors this upcoming Wednesday. With that being the case, today’s game will be far more about keeping legs fresh than actually adding another win to the record book.
Indeed, while head coach Billy Donovan confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson that the regular starters will play today, the expectation isn’t for them to see their regular minutes. Donovan also touched on this following the team’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week, stating that he believes staying in some sort of rhythm ahead of the big Play-In Tournament game is important. Whether that means giving them first-half minutes or even just first-quarter minutes, is something only time will tell.
I’m hoping to see 15 minutes max from Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. I can totally understand why Donovan doesn’t want these guys to go multiple days without seeing any live action, but they still need to do everything they can to ensure no bumps or bruises are acquired this afternoon. Get some shots up and get off the court.
If we’re being honest, I’d like to see Coby White get a breather today, too. He might be one of the team’s youngsters, but he also played a team-high 42 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night. His two-way effort and execution have been a big part of the Bulls’ post-Star-break surge. The team would love to have him in peak form off the bench against a Toronto second unit that averages the fewest points in the league.
These city editions have grown on me throughout the year, but they’re still no match for last year’s threads. The cursive “Chicago” will always win out.
I’ll let Will remind you today of the Bulls’ lottery odds.
The Bulls have taken care of Detroit with ease so far this season. They have the third-worst net rating in the NBA and turn the ball over the 6th-most often, which we all know the Bulls tend to feast on. Whether or not any of that matters today, however, is unclear. Chicago’s bench could certainly have a tough time keeping up with the youthful energy of the Pistons’ rotation. Their backcourt, in particular, is coming off an electric showing. Jaden Ivey and Killian Hayes combined for 57 points and 15 assists in the team’s 122-115 over the Indiana Pacers. Ivey has now averaged 24.4 points per game on 42.0 percent shooting from downtown over his last seven games.
When Nikola Vucevic takes the floor today, he will have appeared in all 82 regular season games. We don’t see this often in today’s NBA. I tip my cap to him.
Solid signing ahead of the postseason for the Knicks.
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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