May the best rebuilding team win!
After a historic beatdown in their opening night battle with the Toronto Raptors, the Chicago Bulls will play another road game against the Milwaukee Bucks. On paper, the matchup is undoubtedly less intimidating. The Raptors possess arguably one of the best defensive units in the league, as well as a roster that is almost perfectly suited to mess with inexperienced wings. Conversely, Milwaukee fields a ragtag roster with no real sense of identity at this point in the year.
Nevertheless, Tiago Splitter's team can't take this group lightly (as if they can take any team lightly). The Bucks may not be destined for a great year, but they have plenty of players with legitimate NBA experience in their rotation. Tyler Herro is a bucket-getter, Jamie Jaquez is a jack-of-all-trades, and Myles Turner is a strong two-way big. Add in Kel'el Ware, Ousmane Dieng, Kasparas Jakucionis, and rookie Brayden Burries, and the Bucks also have some good positional size and strength to throw in off the bench.
With all that said, what could really give the Bulls fits this afternoon is the Bucks' three-point shot-making ability. They drained 15 in their first matchup with the Wizards. How did the Bulls fare against the Raptors? Chicago knocked down a mere four, with half of those buckets coming from Norman Powell.
Do the Bulls have to go off from long range to get their first win? No, but they have to create more open shots than they did a few nights back. The Bulls also need to be a lot more careful with the ball in general. They turned it over 27 times on opening night. The Bucks may not be the same kind of high-powered defense, but many of the Bulls' mistakes were self-inflicted. Caleb Wilson, in particular, was extremely sloppy with nine turnovers.
Indeed, Taylor Jenkins is a smart head coach; we should expect him to put serious pressure on Wilson whenever the ball is in his hands. The Bulls will want to do a better job finding him in the flow of the offense, as opposed to letting him bring the rock up the court and initiate.
Speaking of which, the Bulls need Josh Giddey to step up big time. He finished just 1-10 from the field in Toronto with five turnovers. Giddey must be a stabilizing force for this revamped roster. We all know the talent he has as a distributor, and it's up to him to ensure that the Bulls are consistently pushing the tempo and slashing hard to the rim.
Prediction: Will the Chicago Bulls get their first win of the Bryson Graham and Tiago Splitter era? The Bucks' experience scares me, as does this Bulls' defense against a guard like Tyler Herro. However, I have a feeling that this young group is going to come out extra motivated after an opening night embarrassment. I also like how their sheer athleticism and speed match up with Milwaukee. It won't be pretty, but I'm going with a Bulls win 115-110.
How to Watch
Who: Chicago Bulls (0-1) at Milwaukee Bucks (0-1)
Where: Fiserv Forum
When: 3:00 PM CT
Watch: Chicago Sports Network
Listen: 104.3 FM The Score
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls
1. Josh Giddey
2. Norman Powell
3. Matas Buzelis
4. Caleb Wilson
5. Jalen Smith
Milwaukee Bucks
1. Ryan Rollins
2. Tyler Herro
3. Jaime Jaquez Jr.
4. Kyle Kuzma
5. Myles Turner
Injury Report
The Chicago Bulls will get Dailyn Swain back after the rookie did not travel to Toronto due to an illness. While he will need to prove worthy of a rotational spot, there is a strong chance this development-focused Bulls team gives the No. 15 pick a chance to make his NBA debut tonight.
Chicago Bulls
Tobe Awaka – PROBABLE (knee)
Zach Collins – PROBABLE (quad)
Dailyn Swain – PROBABLE (illness)
Jordan Hawkins – PROBABLE (illness)
Josh Giddey – PROBABLE (wrist)
Nic Claxton – OUT (hamstring)
Milwaukee Bucks
A clean injury report for the Bucks. Rare!
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