The grueling five-game road trip for the Chicago Bulls is finally coming to a close. Can the Bulls end the road trip with a win?
When the Chicago Bulls set out on a five-game road trip to face some of the NBA’s best teams, we all knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. The first four games were against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Golden State Warriors, the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers. Those games went about as well as most Bulls fans expected.
After losing those four games by a combined 64 points, the Bulls now have to close out the road trip in Denver against Nikola Jokic and Co.
The Denver Nuggets have been an NBA success story this season. They’re 29-14 and have played some really impressive basketball. Not only is Denver one of the NBA’s elite teams, but they’re also coming off a game where they were absolutely shellacked by the Warriors, so I can’t imagine they’re ready to roll over and let a team like the Bulls beat them two nights later.
Denver will likely come out fast and hard, and the Bulls might already have their sights set on home. There is a way that the Bulls could conceivably make this a competitive game, though, and it all starts with Zach LaVine.
LaVine had one of his worst games of the season when the Bulls played the Lakers on Tuesday night. He ended up scoring a mere 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. At times, he even looked frustrated – almost like all of the losing was getting to him. Of course, we know that LaVine is a competitor and isn’t going to stop playing hard any time soon. I’m expecting a bounce-back performance from LaVine tonight.
If LaVine can get it going early and often, it should open up the floor enough for the rest of the Bulls to make a positive impact as well.
In addition to LaVine, another Bull to keep an eye on tonight is Jabari Parker.
Since returning to the rotation, Jabari has played excellent basketball. He looks active on both ends of the floor and his aggression on offense is extremely helpful, especially considering the Bulls are far and away the worst offensive team in the league.
Defense is likely going to be a problem tonight going up against a team as explosive as the Nuggets, but if LaVine and Parker can complement each other on offense, the Bulls will have a puncher’s chance at making this a competitive game.