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Chuck's Daily Check In - 11.29.19

GAME NIGHT FROM PORTLAND

Bulls: (6-13, 3-6 on the road) at Portland: (7-12, 2-4 at home)

TV: NBCSC: Adam Amin and Stacey King: 9PM CT
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington. 8:45 CT pre.

LAST MEETING: Portland 117, Bulls 94.

LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 21 pts. Portland: Lillard: 27 pts.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 9 per. Portland: Whiteside: 12 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Satoransky: 5 per. Portland: Lillard: 7 per.

PREVIEW: After suffering a disappointing loss Wednesday at the hands of the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors, the Bulls look to regroup tonight meeting the Trail Blazers for the second time in five days. On Monday, the Bulls were outscored in the second half by the Blazers 55-40 and were outrebounded 55-37. The Bulls will have to keep Portland off the glass and not allow Carmelo Anthony to go off as he showed flashes of the "Melo" that has made him a lock for the Hall of Fame. Anthony has given the Blazers a much-needed boost by simply taking the pressure off of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. In Anthony's last two games, he's averaging 22 points. In Portland's last contest, played Wednesday at home, Anthony went 9 of 11 from the field against the Thunder, his best field goal percentage in a single game as an NBA player. It's "Melo Mania" here in Portland as the fans have embraced the newest member of the Trail Blazers.

The Bulls continue to look for consistency across the board on both ends of the floor. The Bulls rank last in field goal percentage at 42.5%, yet hold opponents to just 33% from behind the arc, fourth-best in the NBA. In addition, the Bulls lead the league in steals averaging nearly ten per game.

Wendell Carter Jr. is 16th in rebounding averaging nearly ten per game. Kris Dunn is fourth in steals averaging almost two per contest. Zach LaVine is 21st in scooting at 21 points per contest.

Despite the 6-13 start, the Bulls are just two games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Chandler Hutchison is out vs Blazers with a right shoulder sprain. Tomas Satoransky is probable with a left toe contusion. Otto Porter Jr. remains sidelined with a left foot injury as is Portland's Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins.

24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:

The Nets' Kyrie Irving will miss today's game against the Celtics in Brooklyn. It will mark the eighth straight game Irving has been sidelined due to a right shoulder impingement.

Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter @ctsbulls

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