GAME NIGHT FROM THE UNITED CENTER:
Detroit: (2-3, 1-1 on the road) at Bulls: (1-4, 0-1 at home)
TV: NBCSC: Neil Funk and Stacey King 7PM CT.
RADIO: 670 THE SCORE: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and David Schuster. 6:45 CT pre.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 20 ppg. Pistons: Drummond: 21ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 9 per. Pistons: Drummond: 17 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Satoransky: 4 per. Pistons: Rose: 6 per.
PREVIEW: The Bulls, having lost three straight, hope to get things turned around starting tonight as they host the banged-up Pistons. The beauty of the NBA is there's always a game around the corner.
The Bulls need to improve on the boards and fourth-quarter execution. The team's shooting issues continue as they're averaging just 41% from the field, 27th in the NBA. The Bulls also need to handle adversity better and show they can rally when trailing late in the fourth quarter. The Pistons average 19 turnovers a game and it's imperative the Bulls take advantage of them.
Wendell Carter Jr. has been outstanding over the past three games. He's averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds in that span.
In Thursday's injury report the Bulls listed Chandler Hutchison out for tonight's game. The Pistons listed Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson as out.
The Bulls will face a Pistons team that has been dealing with the absence of Blake Griffin.Derrick Rose has stepped in averaging 20 points per game shooting 55% from the field. Andre Drummond has posted two 20-20 games in the first five games of the season averaging 21 points and 17 rebounds per game. He leads the NBA in rebounding. Luke Kennard is aiming for a breakout season and he's off to a nice starting averaging 15 points per game.
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Los Angeles Clippers 103, San Antonio 97: A rested Kawhi Leonard proved to be too much for the Spurs. Leonard scored 38 points and 12 rebounds against his former team
Miami 106, Atlanta 97: The Heat beat the Hawks for the second time in three nights. Miami's Kendrick Nunn became the first player with 100 points in his first 5 career games since Kevin Durant in 2007-08 (113). Nunn played high school ball at Simeon High School, attended Illinois before ending his college career at Oakland University. Durant was drafted 2nd overall in 2007. Nunn was undrafted.
New Orleans 122, Denver 107: The Pelicans are in the win column for the first time this season. Jahlil Okafor scored 26. We're all pulling for the Whitney Young product. In his NBA debut, Michael Porter Jr led the Nuggets with 15 points. He missed all of last season with a back issue.
Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns have each been suspended two games after an on-court altercation Wednesday. No fine or suspension for the 76ers Ben Simmons.
Indiana's Myles Turner will miss the Pacers-Bulls game Sunday after injuring his right ankle in Wednesday's win over the Nets. He is listed week to week. Edmond Sumner suffered a nondisplaced fracture of his right third metacarpal. He will be re-examined in three weeks.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls
Always a pleasure.