Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Game outlook for #FireGarPax game
The Chicago Bulls’ run towards the playoffs continues with a meeting against the Los Angeles Clippers. Blake Griffin will be looking to steamroll Bobby Portis at the power forward spot. Fred Hoiberg’s crew look to spoil the Clippers’ resurgent February and notch another win.
The Chicago Bulls have been doing well so far against the first few strong teams they’ve matched up with after changing their roster right before the trade deadline.
They beat the Phoenix Suns in overtime and blew out Cleveland Cavaliers who played without a NBA championship repeat-worrying LeBron James, but lost to a hot, young Denver Nuggets team when the Nuggets shot the lights out with their 3-point shooting, plus a scoring funk hit the Bulls in the third quarter of their game.
The Los Angeles Clippers on the other hand, are surging forward with Chris Paul helping Blake Griffin beat teams like the Charlotte Hornets in spite of both Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum scoring 30 points each.
Cameron Payne and Jerian Grant will be called upon to stop the prolific playmaker of the Clippers while scoring strong from beyond the arc. The only teams the Clippers lost to in their last five or so games were against the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. Along the way the Clippers beat Utah, Atlanta and Charlotte.
If both Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine can shoot the 3-ball all night long and spread the floor for Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade to dance inside the paint and go to the free throw line, the Bulls can negate the strong play of Blake Griffin for the past month.
Griffin averaged 26.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in the month of February. Having a taste of beating the Western Conference’s best team — the Golden State Warriors — without injured superstar Kevin Durant, the Bulls look to get another win against a strong Western Conference team now sitting in fifth places in the conference.
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The worst that can happen to Chicago is another game like the Denver loss where they got caught in a funk with a bad matchup on perimeter defense and the opponent swung into rhythm for a shooting spree from beyond the arc.
Always keeping good perimeter defense on any five out on the court should be a priority as well, as lurking in passing lanes so swing passes don’t find an open 3-point shooter. J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford may have a field day shooting from long range if left open by Cameron Payne and the rest of the Bulls back court. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are sure to give the Bulls’ interior defense fits throughout the night.
Bobby Portis should continue to grow as an offensive option against the bigs of the Clippers. He had his first double-double against the Warriors where he outmatched Draymond Green at his position. Portis racked up 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while shooting 2-of-4 from 3-point range, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking a shot in the Bulls’ 94-87 win. I hope he also gets more familiar with his role as a post defender. It’s a tremendous chance for Portis to show his worth once more.
The Clippers are notoriously shorthanded and may be overplaying their starters with heavy minutes, so Fred Hoiberg must make his team run them into the floor with Cameron Payne and Jerian Grant possibly anchoring the starters, while Rajon Rondo and Denzel Valentine taking turns managing the second unit.
Next: Bulls vs. Clippers: Live stream, how to watch/listen, game info
The key is to build a sizable lead to weather any scoring droughts in the second half and still have Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade with enough energy to close out the game.