Chicago Bulls can continue winning streak vs. downtrodden Timberwolves

On the night of Feb. 24, it is the Minnesota Timberwolves that hit the road to face first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. This is an opportunity for the Bulls to build up a three-game winning streak against foes from the Western Conference within the last week.

To get to this point, the Bulls were able to knock off the Sacramento Kings at the United Center on Feb. 20 by an eight-point margin, and the Houston Rockets on the road at the Toyota Center on Feb. 22 by a convincing 22-point margin.

Just an hour ahead of tip off between the Bulls and Timberwolves, the former of those two teams is favored by a 4.5-point margin. And the ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 60 percent chance to get the win over the Timberwolves.

It seems like a bit too close of a margin in the betting line between the Bulls and Timberwolves since one of these teams holds a record of just 3-14 on the road this season. The Timberwolves also hold a poor overall record on the season of 7-25. They’ve lost four of their last five games, and seven of their last nine, which falls right in line with their winning percentage on the season to date.

This now makes it three games in a row where the Bulls have faced one of the bottom four teams in the Western Conference standings. The Timberwolves do currently sit with the worst record in the West, and the worst overall record in the NBA, at 7-25.

This will be the first meeting of the season thus far between the Bulls and Timberwolves. Tip off time between these teams is set for 7 p.m. CT.

How Chicago Bulls can beat the Timberwolves

To make sure that the Bulls can stave off the upset bid of the Timberwolves on this night, they need to get another solid effort out of the trio that is second-year point guard Coby White, third-year center Wendell Carter Jr., and first-time All-Star selection and star shooting guard Zach LaVine. If White, WCJ, and LaVine, can come through in a big way against the Timberwolves, this should be a mark on the right side of the win column for the Bulls.

On the night of Feb. 23, LaVine got the news that he would be receiving his first career All-Star nod. This was something more than one year in the making now, after LaVine was snubbed from the Eastern Conference All-Star Team last year when the festivities were hosted at the United Center in Chicago.

Moreover, White gave the Bulls two solid outings in a row in the wins over the Rockets and Kings. His play is getting better of late, but his numbers were still largely inconsistent as a whole this season.

WCJ is playing really well for the Bulls since returning from injury last week. He’s averaged around 14 points per game, seven rebounds, and two assists, while shooting 58.0 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.0 percent from the free-throw line since returning from injury in five games.

The path to victory is clear for the Bulls. Get this top trio of LaVine, White, and WCJ, come up big for their starting five on this night. They also have to contain the Timberwolves explosive guard duo of Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell. So far this season, the combination of Russell and Beasley have averaged around 40 points per game.

The Bulls come into this game with a record of 14-16, and they are 6-9 at home this season. Coming off their solid 20-point win over the Rockets from last weekend, the Bulls can keep building momentum in the right direction against the Timberwolves on Feb. 24.