The Bulls return to the home hardwood to take on the Boston Celtics in the first of four between the two teams this season. Boston comes to town with a perfect 3-0 record while Chicago, 1-2, looks to get back on track after dropping two in row. Over their last 10 meetings, the C’s hold a 6-4 edge, however, the Bulls have won three of the last 5 in the all-time series.
Tonight also marks the end of a three-game road trip for Boston, while the Bulls are in the middle of a three-game homestand, having lost to Cleveland in the home opener on Friday and meeting up with Indiana at the United Center on Wednesday.
As for this evening’s game, here are a couple of things to keep an eye on (7 pm CST tipoff – NBC Sports Chicago):
ZACH ATTACK
After getting off on the right foot with an upset victory in Miami to start the season without two-time All-Star Zach LaVine life caught up with the Bulls, losing a tight, two-point game in Washington and getting blown out by Cleveland the following night. Against the Cavs, Chicago fell behind by nine points after one quarter and 16 at the half. After outscoring Cleveland in the third quarter, the Bulls were pummeled in the fourth, 35-17, on their way to a 128-96 defeat. DeMar DeRozan, after averaging nearly 35 points in the first two games and looking like an MVP candidate for the second season in a row, struggled against the Cavs’ smothering defense, finishing with just 13 points. However, LaVine was in action for the first time and looked sharp, scoring 23 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the floor (.563), dishing four assists and committing zero turnovers.
In order to come out on top tonight over a heavily favored Boston team that captured the Eastern Conference crown a year ago, the Bulls will need a similar performance out of LaVine tonight as well as DeRozan getting back in the groove. Center Nikola Vučević also must make his presence felt underneath the basket. The 6’10 pivot already has a 17-rebound game under his belt this year, and against the Cavs the other night, shot 7-of-12 (.583) overall and 2-of-3 (.667) from deep.
For the Bulls to be effective offensively the ball needs to freely move from player-to-player, jumping inside and out as well as from one side of the 3-point arc to the other. Chicago cannot afford to let the ball stick in anyone’s hands for too long while the rest stand and watch. Quick passing, constant player movement in and out of the lane and all around the 3-point are absolutely vital for success. Although both DeRozan and LaVine are excellent one-on-one players, in the long run, the team will be best served if everyone stays involved in the action.
DEFEND, DEFEND, DEFEND
Defensively, Chicago must tighten things up on the perimeter, otherwise they run the risk of this being a very long season. Albeit a small sample size of just three games, opponents are shooting a ridiculous .514 from the floor and .469 from behind the arc. Looking a little closer at the numbers, the Bulls have been outscored in the paint 150-108, which is an average of 14-points a game. Opponents are finding little resistance up top and have been able to blow by defenders to get to rim. When they reach the paint, the Bulls have been a step slow rotating over and shutting down open lanes. This must stop and tonight.
THE GREEN KNIGHT
Boston opened its season with a win over Philadelphia by shooting 53% from the field and scoring 127 points. They followed up with 111 points and 51% shooting over Miami, and this past Saturday, the Celtics took down a feisty, Orlando Magic squad 126-120. Boston was led by three-time All-Star Jayson Tatum, who poured in 40 points and had eight rebounds as part of a Celtics team that shot 41% from 3-point range. Derrick White also chipped in with 27 points, two off his career-high, but the main story is Tatum, as he’s scored 104 points in just three games.
Tatum is a matchup nightmare for every team, but especially so the Bulls if they don’t change things up defensively. The 6’8 forward now in his 6th season is putting up 34.7 points while shooting .587 from the field and .880 from the charity stripe, making 8.3 trips to the line a night. The only part of his game that’s off to a slow start is three-point shooting (.333), but that hasn’t stopped him from trying, as he’s averaging 8.0 attempts per game.
Look for some sort of tag-team defensive effort from the Javonte Green and Patrick Williams guarding Tatum this evening. Both will need to play a strong, physical game and deny Tatum from getting to his favorite spots on the floor if Chicago is going to have any luck slowing him down.