The Chicago Bulls still can’t gain any sort of positive momentum, as they lost 107-97 to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday for their fourth loss in five games.
Two Chicago players finished with a double-double that evening, as Jimmy Butler led the team in scoring with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and with Taj Gibson scoring 20 and hauling 11 boards of his own. Even Rajon Rondo tallied 10 assists against the Wizards, but it was the first time in six games this season that the Bulls lost when Rondo dishes out 10 or more assists in a contest.
Frankly, the Bulls aren’t getting enough offense from beyond the arc. They went just 6-of-21 from three-point range on Wednesday, with their six made threes being right on-par with their league-worst mark for made three-pointers per game. Their 30.7-percent three-point shooting percentage for the season is also dead last in the NBA.
Still, this team has a defense that could very well hamper a middling Charlotte offense on Friday. Chicago is one of only five teams that’s allowing an average of less than 100 points per contest (99.6) as we speak.
Then again, the Bulls have not found any success on the road of late. They’ve lost four of their last five games away from the Windy City (SU/ATS), and they failed to score in triple digits in all four of those losses, including their season-worst 69-point outing against the Bucks just last Friday.
On Tuesday, the Charlotte Hornets survived a huge scare from the Los Angeles Lakers and prevailed with a superb 117-113 victory for their second-consecutive win. The Hornets trailed by as much as 19 points against the Lakers and still came on on top, marking the second time this season that they’ve clawed out of a massive 19-point deficit.
A balanced attack led to six Charlotte players scoring in double digits that evening, with team MVP Kemba Walker nearly getting a triple-double behind 28 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Meanwhile, Nicolas Batum continues to have a sweet 2016 campaign, as he pitched in 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor along with 10 assists for his eighth double-double of the season.
Even though the Hornets are just a middle-of-the-pack team when it comes to overall offense at 104.3 points scored per contest, they do possess something that the Bulls don’t currently have in their arsenal: long-distance shots. Charlotte is 10th in the league with nearly 10 made shots from deep per game and 11th with a decent 35.6-percent three-point shooting percentage.
With a more well-rounded offense, three days of rest and home-court advantage in Buzz City, everything is tipping in Charlotte’s scale for this Friday’s clash against Chicago. Not only that, but the team has also won five of the last seven meetings against the Bulls (6-1 ATS), including a 108-91 win at home on February 8 of last season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Hornets continue to roll with another solid victory, 103-94.
