The Chicago Bulls took their second road loss of the season on Friday night when they fell 119-93 to the team with the best record in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors victory over Chicago completed a 7-1 homestand. The Bulls will regroup as they head to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers.
Los Angeles is on a seven-game winning streak coming into Sunday night. The Clippers have rolled as of late despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who is out for the season with an ACL injury. Paul George has more than covered for the absence of Leonard, George is currently fourth in the league in points per game (26.4).
The Bulls will need a balanced, team effort to take down the Clippers, as they possess one of the stronger and disciplined defensive units in the league.
Stay Attached To PG-13
The Bulls defense has been great so far this season, but they have been multiple instances of Chicago losing track of where the opponents shooters are on the floor, even the more talented, very obvious, "don't leave this man" type-shooters (i.e. Steph Curry, Seth Curry, etc.).
If Chicago wants to position themselves for a drama-free win over the Clippers, they will need to make sure there is close to zero open shots for Paul George on the night. George is coming off a 23 points-on-58% shooting performance in a blowout win over Minnesota.
George is still making 3-pointers at a high clip but has been more inclined to attack the basket and midrange area with Kawhi off the floor.
Get The Bench Going
This West Coast road trip and the season in general, will be a very taxing one for Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but even more so without the bench chipping in some offensive contributions.
The Bulls will make things easier for themselves throughout this trip if they make a concerted effort to get someone in an offensive groove, whether it be Tony Bradley pick-and-rolls, Alex Caruso drives to the rim or Ayo Dosunmu spot up 3-pointers.
The Clippers defense is great at pressuring opponents and forcing turnovers, so Chicago's stars will have the responsibility of making sure the bench players can get good looks without forcing the issue too much, a tall task in L.A.
Take Smart Shots
Per CleaningTheGlass.com, the Clippers defense is in the top-10 in limiting opponents midrange attempts. Their overall defensive shot profile doesn't rank very high per CleaningTheGlass numbers, because Los Angeles tries to pressure teams in the midrange area, whereas most NBA defenses are worried about limiting 3-point attempts first and foremost.
Against most teams, this makes things complicated for the Clippers and takes a lot more effort in terms of closeouts. However, the 2021-22 Bulls have been a team that has wielded the midrange jumper as perhaps one of their most effective offensive weapons this season.
DeRozan and LaVine can still hunt for the shots they normally take, but in the event that those shots aren't available, we will need to see the Bulls great duo simply take what the defense gives them.