Key: Running of the Bulls
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After getting their first win of the season on Saturday night against Indiana, the Cavaliers dropped their second-straight road contest – falling to the Bucks on Monday night in Milwaukee.
The Wine & Gold trailed by just five points early in the fourth quarter before the heavyweight Bucks pulled away late. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson each doubled-up as six Cavaliers finished in double-figures. Cleveland held Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 14 points – his lowest scoring output since last January – but the Bucks got a combined 37 points from George Hill and Pat Connaughton off the bench.
On Wednesday night, it’s another Central Division matchup as the Chicago Bulls make their first visit of the season. The Bulls have dropped two straight – including a seven-point loss on Monday night in New York. In that defeat, the Bulls built up an 18-point first half lead and were up by eight with 3:33 to play before the Knicks closed the game on a 15-0 run to stun Chicago, which comes to town with a 1-3 mark.
In their last meeting – late last January at the United Center – the Cavaliers dropped the Bulls by three, knocking down 13 triples and featuring five players who tallied at least 14 points in the win.
Key: Zach's Back
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After being shut down at the end of last season with knee issues, Zach LaVine looks like his old self after Chicago’s first four games – leading the Bulls in scoring (21.3 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg).
After dropping 37 points on the Grizzlies for the Bulls’ lone win of the season, the former Slam Dunk Contest winner struggled in a loss to Toronto. He bounced back with a team-high 21-point effort in Monday’s loss. The former UCLA star has scored at least 20 points in three of his last five meetings with the Wine & Gold and doubled-up with 17 points and 12 boards in the most recent matchup.
LaVine will lock horns primarily with another Young Bull on Wednesday night – taking on Collin Sexton, who’s coming off a team-high 18 points in Monday’s loss to the Bucks.
Dating back to late last season, the former No. 8 overall pick has now tallied at least 16 points in 20 straight games and scored in double-figures in 26 straight. This year, he’s shooting 43 percent from the floor and 44 percent from beyond the arc.
Sexton has been up and down in four meetings against the Bulls – averaging 19.5 ppg in two of those contests while failing to net double-figures in two more, with Chicago holding him to 6-of-26 shooting.
Key: Double Trouble
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The Bulls get much of their production from a pair of impressive young bigs – Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr., their top picks in the previous two Drafts before tabbing guard Coby White this past June.
Carter doubled-up in his second-straight contest in Monday’s loss in New York – finishing with 20 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Markkanen chipped in with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting. The 7th overall pick of the 2017 Draft, Markkanen went off for 35 points and 17 boards in Chicago’s opening night loss to the Hornets. He’s also had plenty of success against Cleveland, averaging 20.3 points per in six career meetings.
The Bulls dynamic frontline duo will take on a Cavaliers tandem that’s off to an excellent start.
Both Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson had begun the season with three straight double-doubles and are looking to become the first Cavalier(s) to start the campaign with four straight since Tyrone Hill did so back in 2002-03.
Love is averaging a symmetrical 15.7 points and 15.7 rebounds per contest – finishing Monday night’s outing with 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Through the first three games, the five-time All-Star is shooting 48 percent from the floor, 38 percent from long-range and 87 percent from the stripe.
Thompson, the squad’s leader in word and deed, has been outstanding all year – averaging 19.3 points and 12.3 boards, shooting an even 60 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the stripe. (Not to mention 50 percent from beyond the arc – canning the first three-point attempt of his career in Saturday’s win over Indy).