Opponent Scouting: Chicago Bulls. (39-26)
Tonight at 7:00pm EST the Detroit Pistons will be hosting the Chicago Bulls at the LCA. The PIstons are on one night of rest after beating the Hawks, the Bulls are also on one day of rest after losing to the Sixers and are on a 4 game losing streak.
The Them:
The Bulls arrive in Detroit featuring the league’s 6th best offense and 22nd defense. They also are widly being billed as a paper tiger as they are 0-13 (I think?) against the top 3 seeds in both conferences.
The Bulls are led by the revived DeMar DeRozan who people decided was bad for some reason and now are shocked that he is, in fact, not bad. He remains a maseter inside the arc, drawing heaps of fouls, attacking the hoop, hitting mid-range shots, and dishing effective passes. Do remember that when the inevitable talk during the game of how “DeMar is proving the analytics wrong” that a big part of analytics throws and he is elite at drawing them. He’s averaging 28 points and 5 assists per game.
After DeRozan is the electric Zach LaVine, who is an elite shooter and a killer athlete who can penetrate the paint at will. His downfall is that he isn’t a great passer which means you can overload against his scoring and force him into some bad shots. The problem is he’s so good that it is far easier said than done.
Nikola Vucevic missed the last game and I’m not sure if he’s playing tonight. In his place was Tristan Thompson who is far from the player he used to be but he is stll physical and somewhat of a lob threat. Javonte Green and Avo Dosunmu have been playing with their myriad of injuries to Lonzo ball and Alex Caruso.
Coby White is a spark plug off the bench, Derrick Jones Jr is very athletic.
This team in its current form is a pair of killer guards and a bunch of dudes. They struggle defensively but LaVine and DeRozan are so deadly that they are dangerous regardless of the state of the defense.
Matchups to watch:
Jerami Grant vs. Finding his role: Grant very suddenly looked like he was in the perfect spot last game. He didn’t dominate the ball and limited bad shots, he took a bunch of spot-up looks and attacked off of kickouts. I have no idea what spurred this or if it will continue, but that would be huge if he suddenly fully accepted that he isn’t the primary guy. He is so much more effective that way.
Saddiq Bey vs. Bouncing back: First genuinely poor game by Bey in a while that even resulted in him getting benched for Isaiah Livers late in the game. Boucing back to assure everyone that he is not about to slip back into a funk.
Killian Hayes vs. Yes. Please: Supposedly he is ok from a bad nuts shot last night. He played excellent two-way ball and especially with DeRozan and LaVine in town they will need him.
Bagley vs. Seizing the day: Isaiah Stewart is not hurt too badly but will miss some time. Bagley has an opportunity to show out as a starter. My guess is that his defensive woes will be such that Casey will not entertain replacing Stew in the starting lineup long-term but this is a chance for Bagley to make a real case for himself going into next season.
Pistons vs. DDR and LaVine: Pretty self-explanatory. If the Pistons can keep them from blowing up they will have a good chance, but either player is lethal enough that they can take control of the game on their own. This is especially scary if Killian can’t go.
Cade Cunningham vs. Being that dude: Nothing else to say. Keep it up.
So in conclusion…
Run for the hills if:
Killian Hayes doesn’t play
The Pistons looked wiped out from the OT game
DeMar DeRozan has the ball late in a close game
Wink knowingly at your friends if:
The Pistons found something real with the way they defended Trae Young
Marvin Bagley is dunking everything
Cade Cunningham has the ball late in a close game.
Opportunities for me to look stupid:
Cade is the best player on the floor
Saddiq bounces back
Marvin Bagley scores a ton but also contributes to the Bulls scoring a ton.
Pistons 115 - Bulls 114