Game 1 of 82. It’s a marathon, not a sprint!
Game Info
Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 p.m. CT on Chicago Sports Network (TV) and 670 The Score (Radio)
Projected Lineups
Chicago Bulls
- Josh Giddey
- Coby White
- Zach LaVine
- Patrick Williams
- Nikola Vucevic
New Orleans Pelicans
- Dejounte Murray
- CJ McCollum
- Brandon Ingram
- Herbert Jones
- Yves Missi
Odds
Chicago comes into today’s game as 5.5-point underdogs against New Orleans at FanDuel Illinois Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook.
What To Watch For
- Chicago might not win the most games this season, and certainly, they shouldn’t win more than they did last year, but what they should be is fun to watch. Billy Donovan’s 2024-25 squad is going to want to place fast, up-tempo and get up a lot of shots. This season will hopefully look a whole lot different offensively than the days of DeMar DeRozan hanging onto the ball and looking for a mid-range jumper (I still love DeMar). I’m excited to watch it tonight. Again, I’m not sure how many wins Chicago will have this season, but they should play a much more exciting brand of basketball offensively.
- While offense might be fun, defense might be a headache. Chicago lost its best defender in Alex Caruso and brought in Josh Giddey who leaves a bit to be desired on that end. Hopefully, Patrick Williams can stay healthy and take another step forward on this side of the ball but even then I’m not sure how much that accomplishes. Lonzo Ball helps a bit, but he’s also only going to be playing 16 minutes a night at most. I have a feeling that Bulls overs might be a thing for the first few weeks of the season.
- I think what I’m most excited about in the new season is to see what kind of step forward Coby White can take. He took a giant leap last year and became Chicago’s best player next to DeMar DeRozan. Now, even with Zach LaVine back, White is still hopefully going to be the man offensively. I’m not sure asking him to take a similar leap to the one he did last year is fair because that one was massive, but if he can keep improving and thrive in an even bigger role in 2024-25 he’ll establish himself as the biggest building block in this rebuild.
Chicago Bulls:
- None
New Orleans Pelicans:
- Zion Williamson OUT (illness)
- Trey Murphy III OUT (hamstring)
- Dejounte Murray QUESTIONABLE (personal)
- Jose Alvarado QUESTIONABLE (knee)