GAME DAY FROM THE UNITED CENTER:
Portland ( 21-28, 7-15 on the road) at Bulls: 30-18 , 17-6 at home) 2:30.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington. 2:15 pre. TV: NBCSCH- Adam Amin and Stacey King. 2:30.
SEASON SERIES: Portland 1-0.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls- DeRozan (26 ppg), Portland: McCollum (20 ppg)
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls- Vucevic: 11 per. Portland: Nurkic (10)
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls- DeRozan (4.9), Portland- McCollum (4)
CCI PREVIEW: It's the start of a very busy week for the Bulls as they play four games in six days beginning with today's encounter against the Portland Trailblazers. Portland, very much like the Bulls, are a banged up basketball team . The Blazers are without future Hall of Fame player,Damian Lillard who underwent abdominal surgery two weeks ago and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Anfernee Simons is doing his best to support the underrated CJ McCollum in the backcourt as Simons has taken his game to the next level, averaging 24 points per game in January. His ability to beat his man off the dribble, coupled with his soaring confidence in his shot has made Simons a valuable core piece as Portland evaluates their future prior to the trade deadline next month.
Jusuf Nurkic is a tough, physical, imposing big man and it should be fun to follow today's key matchup against Nikola Vucevic in the post. The loss of Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso has taken a toll on the Bulls defensive system. No excuses. Just stating a fact.
The Bulls will need to take care of business this afternoon and lock in.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Golden State 110, Brooklyn 106: James Harden missed the game with a strained right hand.
Toronto 124, Miami 120 3OT: Fred VanVleet nailed two-three pointers in the third OT to give the Raps a hard fought win. The 5 Raptors starters each played 50+ minutes.
Memphis 115, Washington 95: Ja Morant scored 34 points, his sixth straight 30+ game. The Wizards have dropped five straight.
Philadelphia 103, Sacramento 101: Playing in his 21st straight game, Joel Embiid scored 36 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He went 14-18 from the line. The Kings Tyrese Haliburton scored a career high 38 points as the Kings have lost 11 straight road games.
Dallas 132, Indiana 105: Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle returned to Dallas for the first time after resigning following 13 seasons at the helm of the Mavs.
Boston 107, New Orleans 97: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 69 points.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls Always a pleasure. Go Bulls!