As they look to continue their winning streak at home on Feb. 26, the Chicago Bulls will face their most difficult opposition of the week in the Phoenix Suns. First-year Bulls head coach Billy Donovan and star shooting guard Zach LaVine head into this game sitting on a three-game winning streak. All of those wins on this streak came over Western Conference foes too.
Nothing will be quite as difficult in terms of level of the competition this week as facing the dynamic backcourt duo of veteran star point guard Chris Paul and star shooting guard Devin Booker. Those two are taking the Suns to a whole new level this season, like Donovan and LaVine have done for the Bulls thus far.
The Suns come into this game with a record of 20-11, with their latest outing resulting in an upset three-point loss at the hands of the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 24. But prior to that loss to the Hornets earlier this week, the Suns had won three games in a row.
While the Bulls are arguably the hotter of these two teams of late, they do enter this game as a 6.5-point underdog. And the ESPN matchup predictor gives the Suns more than a 66.0 percent chance to win this game at the United Center heading into the weekend.
How the Chicago Bulls can do vs. Phoenix
The key to victory for the Bulls in this game will be how their backcourt duo of LaVine and second-year point guard Coby White compete with the likes of Booker and CP3. There is likely to be a high level of motivation coming from Booker, who was one of the bigger snubs from the All-Star Game when the reserves were announced earlier in the week.
LaVine is playing really well, on both ends of the floor too, of late for the Bulls. He still sits as one of the NBA’s leaders in points per game at this point, sitting at 28.8. And he’s also averaged 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks. He’s still shooting at a very efficient clip from the field (52.3 percent) and from beyond the arc (44.0 percent).
Meanwhile, Booker is going to be difficult to contain for LaVine and the Bulls. He’ll need to bring that improved perimeter defensive game on this night for the Bulls to be successful in containing Booker.
So far this season, Booker has averaged 25.0 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks. And he’s shot 50.3 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Booker is still producing at a very high level for the Suns, even while sharing the backcourt with CP3. He’s also scored nearly a combined 70 points in his last two games, showing the chip that he’s carrying on his shoulder at the moment.
The Bulls and Suns are set to tip off this crucial cross-conference meeting at the United Center at 7 p.m. CT. LaVine and the Bulls come in with a record of 15-16, following their close overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves back on Feb. 24.