On the night of Feb. 10 the Chicago Bulls host the New Orleans Pelicans duo of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. It’s a big home challenge for this young Bulls squad. The Bulls didn’t look great in their loss at home back on Feb. 8 to the Washington Wizards either.
We face off against two of the leagues most dominant forces. Coming off a dominant win against the Houston Rockets last night. The Pelicans will be looking to capitalize on the short handed Bulls.
Zion posses a huge challenge defensively for the Bulls. With power forward Lauri Markkenan out already, the Bulls lack big bodies on the interior. Be prepared for Zion to have a feast this evening.
Ingram has been dominant early in the season, he appears to be pairing very well with his counter part in Zion. Together they are two of the leagues most dynamic duos and pose an almost impossible defensive challenge for the Bulls.
Zion is averaging 23.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Ingram is leading the Pelicans in points, at 23.8, and assists with just under five per game. The Pelicans role into the United Center on a four game win streak.
Steven Adams is averaging almost 10 rebounds a game. Adams physicality will challenge the Bulls tonight. I expect a huge rebounding game from Adams tonight, especially on the offensive glass. Adams grabs an above average five offensive rebounds per game.
The Bulls are giving up a dismal 50 points per game in the paint at home this season, teams are getting in the paint and scoring at will against the Bulls early on. I expect the Pelican to take advantage of the Bulls lack of interior defense.
The Bulls hold a 3-8 record on there home court so far this season. A home win against the Pelicans would help build some confidence in this young team. It will take a huge team effort to beat this Pelicans team, who seem poised for a playoff birth this season.
Chicago Bulls Keys to a victory
Zach LaVine will have to have a huge game to give the Bulls any chance to win tonight. Zach is having an All-Star caliber season so far. Averaging 27.4 points per game on an efficient 50 percent shooting.
Daniel Gafford will have to be aggressive on the glass. Staying disciplined and avoiding early foul trouble is a key in helping the Bulls to victory. I challenge Gafford tonight to avoid mental lapses and to stay focused on the task at hand. He has a chance for a bounce back game this evening.
The Bulls will have to pick up the slack on defense tonight with Otto Porter Jr out. That goes along with Markkanen still battling injuries. Without two of there best defenders the Bulls will need to play almost perfect team defense. Zach needs to have a huge scoring night.
Most importantly, the Bulls need to stay clear of ill advised turnovers. Taking care of the basketball is a must tonight. Not backing down to the physical play of the Pelicans will be important as well.
The Bulls will want to start fast and try to avoid any long droughts of not scoring. The Pelicans could blowout the Bulls early if they don’t bring there A games. Coby White needs to be aggressive and shoot himself out of his current shooting slump.
I look forward to a glimpse of Lonzo Ball tonight. Whom I think will end up a Bull by the trade deadline. He’s a perfect fit and the type of low risk high reward player the Bulls need. Most importantly we could use his outstanding on ball defense at the guard spot, He should come cheap too!
As a fan my hopes aren’t too high for tonight. The Bulls could play a perfect game and still lose another close one. It’ll hurt but maybe a few more close losses will put the pressure on AK and Marc Eversley to start making some moves.
The sooner the better, and to all my readers who think I want this core broken up. That’s not the case, fine tuning the roster is all I want. I understand that the Bulls front office has there hands tied and zero cap space.
Preparing for the off-season, gaining draft capital and shedding some payroll only helps the Bulls in moving forward with this already four year rebuild. Looking to the future is key as this season may very well be another lost season.
LET’S GO BULLS!