Chicago Bulls: Can Zion and the Pelicans be slowed down?
On the night of March 3, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are getting set to take on the superstar forward duo of Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans on the road at the Smoothie King Center. Zion and the Pelicans are coming into this game still having lost two of their last three games.
The last game for the Pelicans did result in a win over the top with the best record in the NBA at this point in time. The Pelicans topped the Utah Jazz and star center Rudy Gobert earlier in the week, by the final score of 129-124. That gives the Pelicans a record of 15-19 coming into this game.
Just ahead of tip off against the Pelicans, the Bulls are six point underdogs for this game. And the ESPN matchup predictor gives the Pelicans a 67.0 percent chance to win this game.
Donovan and the Bulls will be looking to snap a two-game skid of their own on this night. They’ve lost their last two games, both coming against Western Conference competition. Their last game resulted in a six-point loss at the hands of the Denver Nuggets back on March 1 at home at the United Center.
This will be the last game for the Bulls just ahead of the All-Star Break. The All-Star Break will take place between March 5-10, in Atlanta, GA.
How the Chicago Bulls can beat the Pelicans on March 3
In their last game before the start of the All-Star Break, the Bulls could use a win to get back within two games of .500. That would keep them firmly in the race for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture ahead of the start of the second part of the regular season schedule.
Star shooting guard Zach LaVine will be hoping to make a statement in his last game before participating in his first career All-Star Game. He and second-year point guard Coby White need to come through in a big way if the Bulls are to counter the potent duo of Zion and Ingram.
LaVine continued his streak of 20+ point games in the Bulls loss to the Nuggets earlier in the week. He’s up to 19 straight games with at least 20 points, which is a really impressive streak for the first-time All-Star selection.
He also still ranks in the top 10 in the NBA this season in points per game, at 28.5.
Meanwhile, White is sparking the Bulls offense a bit more of late. His scoring prowess needs to come through on a more consistent basis if the Bulls are to find more success in the win column. He’s now up to averaging just over 16 points per game this season, but he’s shooting worse from beyond the arc and around the same percentage from the field as his rookie campaign.
The Bulls will have to find a way to counter a player in Zion that is averaging 25.5 points per game, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks, so far this season. And he’s shot 61.4 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 70.7 percent from the free-throw line. He got his first career All-Star nod as a reserve, along with LaVine, this year.
Next. 3 players LaVine is raising up this season. dark
Coming into this game, the Bulls carry a record of 15-18. They still largely had a successful month of February, but will be looking for their first win in March. Tip off time between the Bulls and Pelicans is set for 7 p.m. CT in NOLA on March 3.