Daily Bulls

The Chicago Bulls will look to earn their second consecutive win against the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. Both teams will play this game with a .500 record, the Bulls at 6-6 and the Pelicans at 5-5. These teams have been going in the wrong direction lately, with the Bulls losing two out of their last three games. The Pelicans have lost three out of their previous four games. Last season, both teams won on their home courts against each other.

Matchup to Watch

Zion Williamson vs Patrick Williams

The matchup that will be interesting tonight is how well Patrick Williams can defend Pelicans star Zion Williamson. After being out for the entire 2021-22 season due to a broken foot. Many twists and turns occurred, but now he has back with a team that has the potential to scare the top half of the Western Conference.

Williamson has returned to his regular self, averaging 23.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 8 games this season. During the preseason, he scored 13 points in 15 minutes against the Bulls on October 4th. Patrick Williams will have the most challenging assignment of the night because he will deal with Zion’s strength. Williams has scored in double-digits in six out of his last eight games and has gotten one block in his previous seven games.

Keys to the Game

Chicago better get hot early

Entering tonight, the New Orleans Pelicans average the most points per game at 118.5. Not only are they in the top half of the NBA for scoring, but they also want to get out and run. New Orleans is second in the NBA in field goal percentage (48.9%) and fifth in Three Point Percentage (38.8%). The Pelicans are averaging 16.9 fastbreak points per game, which is fifth in the NBA.

With the recent first-quarter struggles for the Bulls, they must get hot shooting. Remember, during the preseason, the Pelicans started the game on a 13-4 run against the Bulls. Eventually, the Pelicans took a 20-point lead in the first half. But Chicago can not afford to play from behind once again. It can not become a habit of being down early and depending on the Bulls’ bench to get them back in the game.

Clean up the Turnovers

The latest issue that the Bulls have been dealing with is turnovers. Chicago has given up 18.7 turnovers per game in their last three games. That includes 22 turnovers in their most recent win over the Raptors, 111-97. Chicago was giving up sloppy turnovers and was careless with the ball. It does not help when the Bulls face a New Orleans Pelicans team that ranks fourth in the NBA with 8.7 steals per game.

Two players to keep an eye out for are Nikola Vucevic and Zach Lavine. Nikola Vucevic has had at least four turnovers committed in three of his last four games. On Monday against the Raptors, Lavine committed five turnovers.

Injury Report

Bulls

Player	Injury	Status
Lonzo Ball	Knee	Out
Coby White	Quad	Out
Andre Drummond	Shoulder	Likely to Play

Pelicans

Player	Injury	Status
Garrett Temple	Personal	Out
Larry Nance Jr	Knee	Questionable
Kira Lewis Jr	Knee	Out

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