On the night of Feb. 19, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the rapidly improving Chicago Bulls have a shot to potentially pull off their biggest upset of the regular season to date as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. This game will come in front of a national television audience on ESPN for the first time this season for this Bulls team.
Coming into this game, Donovan and the Bulls are firmly trending in the right direction. But the schedule is about to get more difficult to round out the month of February, after an easier start compared to last month. Their last game resulted in a tight three-point win over the divisional foe Detroit Pistons at home at the United Center on Feb. 17.
The Bulls now hold a two-game winning streak, built by triumphs over two divisional foes in the Indiana Pacers on the road Feb. 15 and over the Pistons at home on Feb. 17. They have also won three of their last four games.
This will be a really tough test for the underdog Bulls to take on the top team in the Eastern Conference standings at the moment in the Sixers. They currently sit as an eight-point underdog against the Sixers on the road and the ESPN matchup predictor gives Philly a 72.9 percent chance to win this game.
In their last game, the Sixers came out on top over the Houston Rockets by a five-point margin on Feb. 17. They now boast a record of 19-10, although they hit some bumps in the road of late. The Sixers had lost three straight games prior to their Feb. 17 win over the Rockets.
What the Chicago Bulls need to do to beat the Sixers
In order for the Bulls to pull off the upset of the Sixers heading into the weekend, the duo of star shooting guard Zach LaVine and third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. need to continue to stay hot. It would also be nice to continue to get a good boost from the likes of rookie forward Patrick Williams and veteran forward Thaddeus Young.
WCJ will have a tough assignment in defending a true MVP candidate in the Sixers supestar center Joel Embiid. And the Sixers could very well match the defensive standout two-guard/wing Mattise Thybulle against LaVine on that end of the floor.
While WCJ is playing well since returning from injury earlier in the week, facing Embiid will be his toughest test thus far.
WCJ has played in 16 games for the Bulls so far this season (starting in all of them), averaging around 27 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 13.0 points per game, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks. WCJ shot 55.1 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, LaVine is scorching hot on the offensive end of the floor of late. He’s starting in all 27 games he’s played in for the Bulls so far this season, averaging around 36 minutes on the floor per game. And he’s averaged 28.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks. LaVine shot 52.0 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.
The Bulls will look to win their third game in a row by potentially pulling off the upset of the Sixers on the road at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 19, with tip off time set for 6:30 p.m. CT. Getting to play in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN on this night could be exactly what this Bulls team needs to get more respect around the NBA landscape.