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Wizards in Chicago to take on youthful Bulls

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The Wizards head to Chicago to take on the youthful Bulls on Saturday night.

Game Info

United Center | 8:00 p.m. | NBCSW | 1500 AM

Probable Starters

Wizards (31-24): G - Satoransky, G - Beal, F - Porter Jr., F - Oubre Jr., C - Gortat 

Bulls (19-35): G - Valentine, G - Grant, F - Holiday, F - Markkanen, C - Lopez

Wizards: John Wall (Knee - Out)

Bulls: Cam Payne (Foot - Out), Kris Dunn (Concussion - Out), Zach LaVine (Rest - Out)

Storylines

Last Time vs. Chicago

The Wizards hung on for a 114-110 win the last time these two teams met back on December 31st in D.C. Bradley Beal scored 17 of his game-high 39 points in the fourth quarter and John Wall sealed the game with a 3-point play and two clutch free-throws in the final 30 seconds of the game. At one point, Beal scored 15 straight points to dig the Wizards out of an eight point deficit. He also had nine boards and tied a career-high with nine assists. Nikola Mirotic (21 points) and Kris Dunn (19 points) led the Bulls in scoring and seven different Bulls finished in double figures.

Different Lineup Tonight in Chicago

The Bulls two leading scorers from their last meeting with Washington likely won't be in the lineup tonight, as Mirotic was traded to New Orleans and Dunn has just been taken out of concussion protocol. They did get Zach LaVine back in the lineup about a month ago and he's been on a tear of late, including a season-high 35 point performance last night against the Timberwolves. The team has been cautious with LaVine's minutes after returning from his ACL injury and he could also be out of the lineup tonight as this will be the second game of a back-to-back. Denzel Valentine and Ryan Arcidiacono will see increased minutes if the Bulls lead guards can't play. The Wizards' lineup will also look different than last time as they'll be without John Wall, who has been rehabbing his left knee after undergoing surgery last week. Tomas Satoransky will start in his place. The Wiz will also be without Keef Morris who was a late addition to the injury report with flu-like symptoms. Kelly Oubre Jr. will start in his place.

Otto Stepping Up

With Wall out of the lineup over the last two weeks, Otto Porter Jr. has stepped up his game, averaging over 19 points per game on 54% shooting. He had 27 points on 9/18 shooting on Thursday night against Boston, his sixth game this season scoring at least 25 points. He's also been hot from the free-throw line, going 23/25 over his last six games. Over the last eight games, the Wizards lead the NBA in free-throw percentage, shooting 85% from the line.

Up next, the Wizards play their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday in New York. (7:30 p.m.)