A struggling Chicago Bulls team will meet up with a hungry Los Angeles Clippers squad tonight at the United Center. Here’s what to watch for.
The Chicago Bulls are stuck in a terrible rut. They’ve lost 11 of their last 12 games, leaving them with an atrocious record of 11-37. Worse than that, though, it doesn’t seem like they’ll get out of this rut any time soon.
Tonight, a hungry Los Angeles Clippers team that’s fighting for their playoff lives will come to town in a must-win scenario. That’s a recipe for disaster for a Bulls team that’s a heavy underdog in almost every game, let alone when the opposing team badly needs a win.
What to watch for
There are two main things to keep an eye on tonight: the 3-point line and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Bulls are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the entire NBA, but hey – at least the league doesn’t care about 3-point shooting in this era of basketball!
Chicago is 29th in the league in 3-point makes per game and 26th in 3-point attempts. A lot of that is on the coaching staff for running an archaic offensive system, but some of it is on management for constructing a roster that can’t shoot.
Not only are the Bulls a horrendous 3-point shooting team, but the Clippers are one of the best at defending the 3-ball. They’re holding their opponents to a mere 10 3-point makes per game (5th in the league), and their opponents are shooting a rough 34.5 percent from deep (6th in the league). So is this a good matchup for the Bulls? Not in the slightest.
Now, let’s switch gears and look at individual talent.
Bulls fans are constantly debating whether or not Kris Dunn is the “point guard of the future.” If you want to know what a “point guard of the future” looks like, watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s stats don’t jump off the page, but he passes the eye test with flying colors. He’s long, he has a high basketball IQ and he can defend. In other words, he makes his team better.
You have to watch closely to see the brilliance that is Shai, though. He won’t jump off the screen with thunderous dunks or deep triples, he’s just a really good basketball player. It’s simple.
Watching Gilgeous-Alexander go up against another long, young point guard in Kris Dunn should be extremely fun for both Bulls and Clippers fans.
The game might not be close, but the point guard battle will be exciting.