The streaky Chicago Bulls are back on the winning track again, having won three of their last four games. Tuesday night against the Blazers, the team will begin a six-game road trip that will test how well the core is really gelling.
Like what Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo said upon arriving in Chi-town, the Bulls are “Jimmy’s (Butler) Team.” Indeed it is. In 10 games this season, Butler is leading the team in minutes, points, field goals, and field goal attempts, which is big since his two co-stars are known to be ball-dominant guards.
For Wade, role adjustments are nothing new, as he has done it with the Heat multiple times. Although he’s in a cold spell in his last two outings (10-of-32 from the field), he’s doing well overall, especially for a 34-year-old with a bum knee, averaging 17 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Rondo, meanwhile, looks like he’s still studying how to be more effective without having the ball 90% of the time. The veteran point guard is having underwhelming numbers of 7.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, along with a horrid 34-percent shooting.
Collectively, the Bulls are doing fine on offensive and defensive ratings, ranking 6th and 13th, respectively. They have scored 100-plus points in five of their six wins this seasons, and three were by 17 or more points.
The Bulls are 3-1 SU and ATS in their last four games.
The Blazers are also about to enter a weeklong roadtrip. This matchup with the Bulls is the last in their three-game homestand.
It’s no secret that this is a team that has offense for days, as evidenced to ranking fourth in scoring, with 108.7 points per game. The team showcased it really well in the past week, scoring 120-plus points in three out of four games.
Led by Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Rip City is leading this three-point happy league in trifectas. At 120 threes in just 11 games, the team is on phase to make roughly 894.5 by season’s end, which would exceed last year’s production by 30. The duo has also scored almost half of the team’s total points this season (581 of 1,196), combining for 52.8 points per contest, by far the highest scoring back court today.
What the Blazers are currently struggling on are the boards. They are the worst rebounding team in the league and they allow the second most rebounds per game. Against the Bulls, which is their complete opposite (the Bulls are second in rebounding), they are bound to be outclassed.
Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, it’s obvious that the room for improvement is huge as well. Although they only allow opponents to shoot 44.2 percent, they give up 111.1 points per game, the third-most in the NBA.
