The Chicago Bulls look to rebound from a tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Wednesday's loss was an uncharacteristic one for the Bulls, who had 17 turnovers and allowed Brooklyn to win the 3rd quarter 39-19, a run which ultimately decided te game.
Expect the Chicago to come out with much more defensive intensity on Friday night against the 30-11 Warriors, who have their own MVP candidate in all-time 3-point leader Steph Curry.
Give an incredible amount of defensive attention to Steph Curry
This key is something that is a constant, of course, anytime you play the Warriors. But on Friday night, it will be even more important to lock-in on Curry consider he may be without running mates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
This means it will also be Curry's responsibility to create for others.
The flow of the game will, of course, dictate this, but it may not be a bad night to double team Curry simply to get the ball out of his hands.
Steph finished with 40 points on 24 shots the last time the Bulls and Warriors clashed.
Protect the ball
The Nets turned up their defense against the Bulls on Wednesday night and it was clear that their defensive pressure caught the Bulls off-guard at times.
Chicago finished with the aforementioned 17 turnovers against Brooklyn, a team that also doesn't shoot a lot of 3-pointers.
But the Warriors have the greatest 3-point shooter of all-time, so it goes without saying their team can get up a high volume of 3s.
If Chicago wants to make sure to keep things tight with Golden State on Friday, then they will need to make sure they give themselves enough possessions to mitigate any advantage the Warriors create from the 3-point or free throw line.
Generate clean shots for Zach LaVine
Both DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine are capable of creating clean looks for themselves off of isolation plays. But against a smart team like the Warriors, it will be key to help Chicago's stars get easy looks.
LaVine is the player listed here simply because he is the greater 3-point threat of the Bulls two likely All-Stars, making him one of the key factors in generating a competent 3-point attack against Golden State.