The Chicago Bulls will start the 2022-23 regular season on the road against the Miami Heat at 6:30 CT tonight. Some bad news for the Bulls is Zach Lavine is out, and Chicago has lost seven out of the last eight games against Miami and got swept last season. But don’t forget about DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic; the Bulls are looking to improve their record against the contenders of the Eastern Conference.
These teams took turns holding the best record in the Eastern Conference last season. Miami finished the 2021-22 regular season with the best record in the East but got eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Conference Finals.
Patrick Williams gets the Start
According to head coach Billy Donavon, Patrick Williams will start against Miami. But that doesn’t mean Williams will start every game. In some games, Javonte Green may start to match what the opponent’s starting lineup looks like. With no Zach Lavine, expect Williams to have more scoring opportunities and to help out DeRozan and Vucevic.
Matchup to Watch
Nikola Vucevic vs Bam Adebayo
Nikola Vucevic will get his first big test defensively of the season against Bam Adebayo, who has earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times. Adebayo, over the summer, explained how he deserved Defensive Player of the Year and why he wants to prove the doubters wrong. Just like Adebayo, Vucevic will like to prove his haters wrong after struggling last season offensively and defensively. But both players managed to average double-doubles, with Vucevic having 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds and Adebayo with 19.1 points and 10.1 rebounds in 56 games.
The key focus for this game is for Bam to be consistent on offense and Vucevic’s interior defense. These two players must play During the Eastern Conference Finals; in some games, Bam looked great, but in some games didn’t play well. In three of the seven games, he scored in single digits, and Miami lost in two of those three games. Everyone knows how great he is on defense, but it’s time to watch him become the second option on the Heat. Vucevic, during the preseason, showed some development on defense, but it was preseason. Now it’s time to show how much he has improved. Whoever wins this battle, their team will probably get the win.
Keys to the Game
Early Post Touches for Vucevic
Getting Nikola Vucevic post-touches early in games will often lead to great things for the Bulls. Not only will Vucevic have higher confidence in shooting from deep, but that will also create easy shots for the rest of the team. Not only will Vucevic do well offensively, but he will show more effort on defense and be motivated, which was inconstant last season with the scoring coming by DeRozan and Lavine.
Vucevic is the key to getting the Bulls a positive record to start the season. Just remember, last season, when Nikola Vucevic scored at least 23 points, Chicago had an 11-2 record. Vucevic didn’t score above 15 points in any of the four matchups against the Heat. He shot below 45% from the field twice.
Ball Movement
One of the positive things during the preseason was the ball movement and everybody getting involved in the offense. Chicago can not afford to trust DeMar DeRozan on an isolation every possession, especially against a dynamic defensive team of the Miami Heat. If you are Chicago, you must keep the Heat moving instead of playing slow and allowing the Heat to play their 2-3 zone. Miami’s 2-3 zone ruined the Bulls’ offense last season, and the Heat didn’t allow the Bulls to shoot at least 50% from the field in any of the four games.
The stat line to know about ball movement is the Bulls had a 15-3 record when having at least 28 assists as a team last season. Chicago shot at least 50% from the field in 17 of those 18 games. One player that will get teammates involved is Ayo Dosunmu. Dosunmu has learned how to get his teammates by Lonzo Ball over the summer.
Bench Production
With no Zach Lavine, that must mean everyone must step up, that means players like Coby White, Javonte Green, Andre Drummond, and Goran Dragic. The two players to look out for are Green and White off the bench, assuming Caruso gets the start instead of Lavine. With no Victor Oladipo for Miami, Chicago has a great chance of outscoring Miami in the bench points department.
Injury Report
Bulls
| Player | Injury | Status |
| Zach Lavine | Left Knee Management | Out |
| Alex Caruso | Left Calf | Will Play |
| Lonzo Ball | Knee | Out |
Heat
| Player | Injury | Status |
| Victor Oladipo | Knee | Out |
| Omer Yurtseven | Ankle | Out |
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