This evening, the Bulls (33-37) make their final trip to the City of Brotherly Love to tip-off a home-and-home against the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers (48-22). The Bulls and Sixers split the first pair of games of their series earlier this year, each winning on the other’s home floor. The teams will complete their annual four-game run Wednesday at the United Center.
All-Star center Joel Embiid and his Philly teammates hit the floor this evening the hottest team in the NBA, having won eight straight. Chicago’s also on a nice roll, having won four of their last five. Both are coming into this evening feeling confident after sweeping a pair of back-to-backs over the weekend.
The Sixers proved merciless road warriors by pounding Charlotte, 121-82, at the Hive on Friday and knocking the Indiana Pacers off stride, 141-121, in Naptown on Saturday. Embiid, who sat out the entire fourth quarter against the Pacers, posted 31 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and two blocks. The six-time All-Star and 2023 MVP candidate has scored 30-or-more points a franchise-record nine straight games heading into tonight.
Embiid, however, wasn’t alone on Saturday. Tyrese Maxey also contributed 31 points and seven assists, while Tobias Harris chipped in 24 points and five rebounds. De’Anthony Melton also got into the act with 14 points, five boards, five assists and six steals.
As for Chicago, they survived double-overtime Friday, beating Minnesota, 139-131, at the UC, and 24 hours later, swept the season series against the Miami Heat, 113-99. DeMar DeRozan followed up a season-high 49-point performance against Minnesota with 24 points and 10 assists to lead the charge over the Heat.
Zach LaVine also notched 18 points and seven assists, while Coby White stormed off the bench, delivering 18 points and six dimes. Patrick Beverley also shined brightly, knocking home five treys on his way to a 17-point game to pace a balanced Chicago attack.
Fans can catch tonight’s game beginning at 6:00 pm CST, on NBC Sports Chicago.
SLOW PHILLY’S ROLL
Philadelphia’s hot streak has lifted them to within striking distance of Milwaukee (50-20) for the top spot in the East. The Sixers are currently percentage points ahead of Boston (49-23) for the second slot, and only two games back of the Bucks.
The Sixers own an exceptional 26-10 record at home; however, the last time the Bulls visited town they punched them right in the nose.
Zach LaVine sank 11-of-13 shots from behind the three-point arc to highlight a 41-point performance as Chicago went on to snap the 76ers’ then home winning streak at 11 games with a 126-112 victory.
Bulls center, Nikola Vučević, also recorded a triple-double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, as he took full advantage of Embiid’s gametime decision to sit out due to a cranky left foot.
Embiid, who leads the NBA in scoring with an average of 33.5 points per game, is playing tonight. So far, the Bulls have never beaten Philly when he’s in the lineup, which, coming into tonight, is a string of 12 games.
On the season, Philadelphia is averaging 115.5 points (13th), courtesy of 48.8% shooting (7th) from the field, and an NBA-best 39% from distance. The Sixers are also money from the line, hitting a league-leading 83.4%.
Defensively, the Sixers are one of the league’s stingiest, allowing just 110.5 points (3rd) on 47.1% shooting (13th) from the field, and 34.7% (4th) from deep. They also sport a hardnosed 112.2 overall defensive rating (7th).
HEADING DOWN THE STRETCH
Currently, the Bulls are 10th in the East, a game-and-a-half in front of both Indiana and Washington for the final ticket to the league’s end-of-the-season play-in tournament, where Chicago would meet Toronto up in the “North.” After tonight, there will only be 11 games left in the regular season. So, if the Bulls hope to make the playoffs for a second straight year, tonight and every remaining game must be treated by them as if it’s the 2023 NBA Finals.
HEART, HUSTLE AND MUSCLE
In order for Chicago to give themselves a shot at coming out on top this evening, they have to come into tonight’s game with a stubborn, blue-collar mentality, and be willing to go on the attack every possession.
Offensively, the Bulls are at their best when they quickly establish a fast and inclusive tempo, with everybody aggressively running the floor and crashing the boards. They also must freely share the ball with one another without being sloppy and turning it over. And lastly, they have to avoid looking to just one or two teammates to do all the scoring. For the Bulls to succeed, it has to be a total team effort. Case in point, Chicago’s record is 16-8 when its bench out performs their counterparts, and 19-10 when the Bulls hand out more assists than their foes.
Thus, if the Bulls are going to come into Philly and smack them in the face a second time in front of their home fans, everyone has to get involved in the action. Collectively, Chicago must be focused and poised, but at the same time, ready to jump passing lanes, dive onto the floor for loose balls, and help each other out by recognizing when they need to rotate off their man to provide tenacious, help defense.
As a team, Chicago is putting up 113.5 points (18th) while shooting an impressive 49.1% (3rd) from the floor. Defensively, they’re allowing 112.6 points (11th) per game, while holding opponents to 46.7% shooting, which ranks 7th in the league.
The Bulls also rank near the top in several other gritty categories. They’re the league leaders in contesting three-point shots (20.7). They’re also 6th in deflections (15.1) per game, and 7th in defensive loose balls recovered (2.4). And finally, since January 1, Chicago is tied for second in defensive rating with a score of 110.8, and on the season, they rank 5th with an overall score of 111.9.
Look for the Bulls’ “Big Three” of LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević to step up again tonight. LaVine is averaging 28.8 points over his last five encounters with Philly, including the earlier mentioned 41-point game the last time the Bulls visited town. Over his career, DeRozan has also enjoyed many productive nights against the Sixers, averaging 21.3 points over 45 games. And Vučević, who has recorded five straight double-doubles coming into tonight’s contest, has averaged 18.5 rebounds against the Sixers so far this season.