Chicago Bulls: Injuries allow Lauri Markkanen to start for the Cavs
On the evening/night of Oct. 10, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers and power forward Lauri Markkanen for the second time during this four-game preseason slate. Markkanen and the Cavs fell way short of the Bulls in the preseason opener for each team this past week.
At home at the United Center on Oct. 5, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls knocked off Markkanen and the divisional foe Cavaliers by the convincing final score of 131-95. That was the first of two wins for the Bulls in the preseason to date.
The second win for the Bulls in the preseason thus far came over the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans at home at the United Center on the night of Oct. 8. That was another convincing victory for Donovan and the Bulls, which came by the final score of 121-85.
Markkanen and the Cavs come into this second preseason meeting with the Bulls to round out the weekend sporting a record of 1-2. The lone win for the Cavs in the preseason slate thus far came over the Atlanta Hawks, by the final score of 99-96, back on Oct. 6.
Injuries to key starters will slide Lauri Markkanen into the Cavs starting five against the Chicago Bulls
And the two losses for the Cavs in the preseason thus far came at the hands of the Bulls and fellow division foe Indiana Pacers. The last game that the Cavs played in was that aforementioned loss to the Pacers, by a score of 109-100, back on Oct. 8.
This was a busy preseason slate for the Cavs so far, and they will run into another tough test against the Bulls to round out this weekend.
#Cavs Darius Garland and Collin Sexton to miss tonight's preseason game, moving Ricky Rubio and Lauri Markkanen into the starting lineup with Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen vs. Chicago, sources tell @clevelanddotcom. https://t.co/bJWCqoTlQA
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 10, 2021
But an interesting development for the Cavs came courtesy of reported absences of guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. According to a report from cleveland.com on Oct. 10, the Cavs will be missing both Sexton and Garland against the Bulls in this preseason meeting.
For that reason, the Cavs will be starting the former Bulls power forward Markkanen and veteran point guard Ricky Rubio in this preseason game on Oct. 10.
In the Bulls’ Oct. 5 preseason opener win over the Cavs, Markkanen was not in the starting unit. He got 16 minutes off the bench in that game, where he registered 13 points, four rebounds, no assists, one steal, and no blocks.
This will be a big opportunity for Markkanen to prove to the Cavs what he can do in the starting unit. Markkanen could be a big part of the Cavs’ frontcourt unit this season, but it starts with proving his value out of the gates in a spot like this in the preseason.
Next. 3 players bound to struggle on defense for the Bulls. dark
The Bulls and Cavs are set to tip-off at 6 p.m. CT at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Oct. 10. Next up for the Bulls after this second preseason matchup with Markkanen and the Cavs is a meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies at home at the United Center in the preseason finale on the night of Oct. 15.