Chicago Bulls can take advantage of a shorthanded Rockets team

On the night of Feb. 22, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the rapidly improving Chicago Bulls hit the road to take on fellow first-year head coach Stephen Silas and the Houston Rockets. Donovan and the Bulls will be looking to extend their winning streak to two games if they can down the Rockets early this week.

Coming out of the weekend, the Bulls now sport a record of 13-16 following their solid 122-114 win over the Sacramento Kings at home at the United Center on the night of Feb. 20. But the Bulls did have a prior two-game winning streak snapped heading into last weekend when they fell short of the Philadelphia 76ers on the road on Feb. 19 by a seven-point margin.

Moreover, when the Bulls face the Rockets early this week, they will be looking to parlay their recent momentum they built up from a couple of home wins and take it on the road with them. What could help the Bulls cause in this outing against the Rockets is how shorthanded Silas’ squad will be.

The Rockets will reportedly be without the likes of former Indiana Pacers star guard Victor Oladipo, former Kings superstar big man DeMarcus Cousins, and the former Detroit Pistons breakthrough big man Christian Wood. Those are three of the best and most experienced players that the Rockets have in their rotation that are out against the Bulls.

What the Chicago Bulls can do in their absence

What the Rockets will be missing in Dipo is a guard that is averaging 19.1 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks. Meanwhile, the emerging star Wood has averaged 22.0 points per game, 10.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.5 blocks.

Given the two-way nature of Dipo’s game, a big benefactor for the Bulls could be the combination of star shooting guard Zach LaVine and second-year point guard Coby White. LaVine and White won’t have as difficult of a matchup when they’re on the offensive end of the floor. And they could be facing a more tired backcourt rotation from the Rockets otherwise.

Hopefully this will lead to improved results on both ends of the floor too from third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. The top of the Rockets frontcourt rotation will be pretty thin without both Cousins and Wood in the mix.

WCJ has played in 18 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 12.8 points per game, 7.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks. He’s shot 54.4 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 71.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, LaVine is having another career year for the Bulls. In 29 games played for the Bulls so far this season (all of which he’s started in), he’s averaged 28.9 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks. LaVine shot a very efficient 51.8 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 86.2 percent from the free-throw line.

The Bulls and Rockets are set to tip off at 7 p.m. CT at the Toyota Center in Houston on Feb. 11. The Rockets will carry a record of 11-17 into this game, looking to right the ship with a pretty thin rotation at hand.