Daily Bulls

The Chicago Bulls will look to get back to their winning ways with a matchup in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. On New Year’s Eve, Cleveland snapped their three-game losing streak against the Bulls in a nail bitter 103-102. Cleveland held double-digit leads in the second and third quarters but only won by one, 103-102. The Cavaliers will enter this game with a 23-14 record, third-best in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is tied for the last play-in spot with a 16-20 record, but they have been hot lately, winning five out of their previous seven games.

Matchup to Watch

Aya Dosunmu vs Donovan Mitchell

Saturday night, Ayo Dosunmu showed all of his strengths, including going into attack mode. That helped him score 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and got five steals, three during the fourth quarter. Since hitting his first career game-winner in Atlanta, he is averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. Dosunmu has gotten at least one steal in four of those six games. Remember, when Ayo Dosunmu gets at least two steals in a game, Chicago has a 4-2 record.

Ayo Dosunmu was one of the reasons Donovan Mitchell struggled, resulting in him shooting 5-for-16. But Mitchell managed to score 15 points, third-best in the Cavaliers squad. In Mitchell’s last four games, he is averaging 17.5 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds, shooting 32.9% from the field. But the worst part is shooting 28.9% from three. The good news for Mitchell is he will have a clear start in 2023 in front of his fans. Donovan Mitchell will need to play better offense than a couple of nights ago if Cleveland wants to win the season series against Chicago.

 

Keys to the Game

Limit Cavs to one shot per possession

Chicago has allowed at least 22 second-chance points in the previous three games. Those three opponents (Bucks, Pistons, and Cavaliers) won the offensive rebounding battle. Second-chance points have kept the last three games within single digits for almost the entire game. On Saturday, Chicago got nine offensive rebounds, 40 total. Cleveland got 15 offensive rebounds, 50 total. With big man Even Mobley possibly playing Monday night, Chicago must be active on the boards as a team.

The Bulls can not expect Nikola Vucevic or Andre Drummond to do all of the dirty work. But Drummond should bounce back after getting one rebound on Saturday against Cleveland. Everybody must help out help the bigs, which means no one should run for the easy bucket on the other end. Limiting Cleveland to one shot is key to getting their sixth win in their previous eight games.

 

Ball Movement

One area that the Bulls struggled with that was under the radar was their ball movement. There were specific periods during each half the Bulls could not generate any offense and good shots. Note Goran Dragic was out and is expected to play Monday night. That resulted in Chicago getting season-low 14 assists as a team. Nobody on the Bulls got more than four assists during Saturday night’s contest. Chicago got under 20 assists as a team for the first time since December 4th, when they got 17 assists in a 110-101 loss against the Sacramento Kings. The Bulls are 0-4 when that situation occurs.

Getting everybody involved and moving the ball is critical for the Bulls’ offense to succeed. In this current generation, more than 102 points are needed to win. Ball movement improvements can help Chicago get back to 115+ points. Look for the Bulls to get around 20-25 assists. The goal should be 30+ assists every game. Chicago has a 4-1 record when recording 30+ assists this season.

Injury Report

Bulls

Player	Injury	Status
Lonzo Ball	Knee	Out
Javonte Green	Knee	Questionable
Derrick Jones Jr	Ankle	Probable
Alex Caruso	Knee	Probable
Tony Bradley	Personal Reason	Doubtful

Cavaliers

Player	Injury	Status
Darius Garland	Thumb	Doubtful
Evan Mobley	Ankle	Questionable

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