Daily Bulls

After a 116-108 win over the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls will look to complete their small two-game road trip with the perfect record of 2-0 against the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are coming off a close 114-107 win over the Indiana Pacers. Last season, Chicago won all three matchups, including a three-point game-winner by DeMar DeRozan in the first matchup against Washington.

Washington is led by their big three: Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis. Expect others to contribute, including former Bull Daniel Gafford and Will Barton. Beal will get a warm welcome back in his home area after having his season cut short due to a wrist injury. The Wizards are a team that can make the play-in tournament with their big three, but now they will get their first test of the season. Indiana was rebuilding and was without Myles Turner.

Matchup to Watch

Alex Caruso vs Bradley Beal

With Lavine out for the second straight game, Alex Caruso will get the start and will have a tough assignment of guarding Bradley Beal. Beal will cause problems for Caruso, but if Caruso can get the ball out of his hands. In his first game of the season, Beal got 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting from the field. But he struggled from three, making two out of seven attempts.

Beal will be the first option for Washington, but the second and third options got cold at times against the Pacers. Kuzma and Porzingis combined to shoot 13-for-33 from the field. Though these guys can wake up anytime, taking Beal out of the game offensively is critical for a win.

Keys to the Game

Good Start

Chicago has not seemed to get off to a good start. Miami got hot early in the season opener with a 13-4 run. But slowly, the Bulls got back in the game. The Bulls do not want to play from behind every game, especially when you have to play Cleveland the next night back at home. Washington outscored Indiana 36-25 in the first quarter and never allowed the Pacers to take the lead during the game. Indiana had chances, but they couldn’t make any shots at the right time.

DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams are two players from Chicago that must start better. DeRozan got going in the second half, but Williams got his bucket of the season in the third quarter. Vucevic should continue to receive touches in the post.

Paint Defense

Nikola Vucevic had an excellent defensive game against the Heat with three blocks and limiting Bam Adebayo to shoot 5-for-15 from the field. That performance will be needed again when he faces Washington’s bigs of Porzingis and Gafford. Washington got 53 rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds as a team, leading to 14 second-chance points on Wednesday.

The rebounding could be a problem, but the more significant concern is with paint in the paint. On Wednesday, Washington scored 58 points in the paint. Remember, Myles Turner didn’t play well, and Indiana could not stop anyone on the Wizards from attacking the basket. Bulls’ centers Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic will hopefully hold their own in the paint and prevent any easy buckets Friday night against the Wizards.

Keep an eye on the Shooters

On Wednesday, one of Chicago’s most significant flaws against Miami was allowing wide-open three-point attempts. The Bulls got lucky in the second half when the Heat went cold. But Tyler Herro, Max Strus, and Duncan Robinson made the Bulls pay when they were open. Herro, Strus, and Robinson combined to shoot 10-for-18 from three. The rest of the team shot 2-for-10 from three. There were times Bulls defenders could have rotated and let someone take the three, but that did not happen.

You must know where the main three-point shooters are at all times. On the Wizards, the main shooters to look out for are Kyle Kuzma, Will Barton, and Kristaps Porzingis. Last season, all three players shot at least 35% from three. Getting out to the three and contesting on every shot is vital for Chicago to run on offense transition, which is what the Bulls want to be known for.

Injury Report

Bulls

Player	Injury	Status
Zach Lavine	Left Knee Management	Out
Lonzo Ball	Knee	Out

Wizards

Player	Injury	Status
Deni Avdija	Ankle	Questionable
Vernon Carey Jr	Concussion	Questionable

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