Daily Bulls

The Chicago Bulls will look to get back in the win column at home in the United Center against the red-hot Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn is currently on a 12-game winning streak, with their most recent win coming against the San Antonio Spurs, 139-103. During December, Brooklyn went 13-1, with their only loss coming against the Boston Celtics on December 4th, 103-92. Brooklyn will enter this game with a 25-12 record, while Chicago has lost two straight heartbreaking games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and have a 16-21 record. On November 1st, in the first of four matchups, Chicago won 108-99 in Brooklyn.

Matchup to Watch

Kevin Durant vs Patrick Williams

The Chicago Bulls’ defense was rough to watch during the second half/OT, allowing Donovan Mitchell to score a career-high 71 points and giving up 135 points. Patrick Williams will guard superstar Kevin Durant for most of tonight’s matchup. Durant has been hot during the 12-game winning streak, averaging 29.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, shooting 58.6% from the field. Chicago can not allow Durant or Kyrie Irving to drop another 50+ point performance, especially at home in the United Center. After the early season drama and injuries, Kyrie Irving has been averaging 25.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists since November 20th.

Patrick Williams will look to have a bounce-back game after struggling in Monday’s matchup. Williams dropped 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, 2-of-7 from three. He was responsible for boxing out Donovan Mitchell when he missed the second free throw on purpose but failed, which allowed Mitchell to tie up at 130. “That one was on me,” Williams said during Wednesday’s shootaround. Williams, 21, is still learning the NBA game, especially late-game situations. The last time these two teams faced off, Durant scored 32 points.

Keys to the Game

Force Turnovers

The number one way the Bulls beat the best teams in the Eastern Conference is by forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets. Getting the easy bucket will help, especially against a team looking for their 13th straight win and possibly ending the night with the best record in the Eastern Conference. During the first matchup between these two teams, Brooklyn committed 18 turnovers, five coming during the fourth quarter. Those five turnovers led to 11 Bulls points during the fourth quarter when they took a double-digit lead against the Nets, helping get the win.

During the 12-game winning streak, Brooklyn commits 14 turnovers per game but allows 19.3 points off those turnovers, the fifth-worst in the NBA. During the same period, Chicago gets 15.8 points per game off of turnovers, which is at the bottom of the NBA.

 

Win Three Point Percentage Battle

Stopping the Nets will be tricky, even with Brooklyn playing on the road. In the Nets’ last 12 games, Brooklyn is averaging a league-best 55.9% from the field and 44.2% from deep. But the difficult task for the Bulls will be to win the three-point percentage battle. On November 1st, Chicago surprisedly won the three-point battle by shooting 40%, while Brooklyn went 37.5%. Remember, Chicago shot 71.4%, 5-for-7 during the fourth quarter from deep to help build their double-digit lead.

Shooting from deep has been a weakness for the Bulls in their last two games, ranking in the bottom of the NBA with a 31.5% three-point percentage. The one player to look out for is Zach Lavine. Lavine has been in more catch-and-shoot opportunities often lately. On Monday, Lavine went 3-for-9 from deep in their 145-134 loss against the Cavaliers.

 

Attack Mode

Though during the 12-game winning streak, Brooklyn is allowing the sixth-best 12.3-second chance points, they are at the bottom of the league at allowing 53.5 points in the paint. Brooklyn is known for alright interior defense, with Nic Claxton doing most of the dirty work averaging 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. The other center on the Nets roster is Day’Ron Sharpe at 6’9. Staying in the attack for 48 minutes will be essential for Chicago. The Bulls have started some bad habits of not moving the ball, resulting in challenging and contested three-point shots. Chicago is averaging 50.2 points in the paint per game.

 

Injury Report

Bulls

Player	Injury	Status
Lonzo Ball	Knee	Out
Javonte Green	Knee	Out
Tony Bradley	Personal Reasons	Out
Andre Drummond	Shoulder	Probable
Derrick Jones Jr	Eye	Questionable
Dalen Terry	Knee	Questionable

Nets

Player	Injury	Status
Markieff Morris	non-COVID illness	Probable
Royce O’Neale	non-COVID illness	Probable

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