The Bulls were unable to split a home-and-home two game series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers got masterful performances from Joel Embiid in both games, including a 30-point outing in Philadelphia's road win on Saturday.
Chicago's defense showed some signs of early season fatigue against the Sixers and a bounce back effort will definitely be needed from the Bulls' D to take down MVP candidate Kevin Durant and the Nets.
Who Draws Durant Duty?
Kevin Durant is obviously a living legend. One of the best players in the history of the game, coming in with a career average of 27.0 ppg. All that being said, it would not be a stretch to say that KD is playing some of the best basketball of his career. The four-time scoring champ comes into Monday night averaging a league-leading 28 points per game.
Per CleaningTheGlass.com, Durant is shooting a career-high 60% on midrange shots, which has led to a career-best eFG% (effective field goal percentage). Durant will score no matter who is on him, but whoever starts off guarding him will need to set the tone early with maximum physicality and effort.
Harass Harden
The second part of the two-headed monster that is the Nets offense at the moment is James Harden. An extremely talented scorer and playmaker, Harden has taken on an even heavier point guard role for the Nets in the absence of Kyrie Irving.
Through 10 games, Harden is averaging 18 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Though his overall FG% is down, he is still shooting 39% from 3-point range. The Bulls will need to keep Harden off the free throw line to limit his overall effectiveness since he relies on such an unpredictable shot selection.
The NBA rule changes have clearly hurt Harden's game, as he is currently averaging 4.8 free throw attempts per game, the lowest since his second year in the league.
Make The Extra Pass
Chicago comes into Monday evening ranked 17th in the league in the league in assist rate. Though assist rate is important, it's not crucial to a team like the Bulls that have so many talented isolation scorers.
17th in assist rate is an OK mark, but against Brooklyn, who also possesses a top-10 defense, Chicago will need to keep the ball moving. The Nets' D holds their opponents to a poor eFG% by protecting the rim by committee. Taking smart shots will be the Bulls surest way of securing a win on Monday night.