Game preview and injury report: Chicago Bulls to play best in the west Denver Nuggets on the road

The Chicago Bulls (29-36) visit the Denver Nuggets (46-19) tonight. The Bulls are coming off a disappointing 125-122 home loss against the Pacers on Sunday. Zach LaVine led the way with 42 points, DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Patrick Williams added 14 points off the bench.

Chicago Bulls (29-36) vs. Denver Nuggets (46-19)

Wednesday, March 8 – 09:00 PM ET at Ball Arena

Chicago Bulls

Points Per Game: 113 (20th of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 112.7 (12th of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 30.1 (24th of 30)
Pace: 99.1 (16th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 113.1 (24th of 30)
Defensive Rating: 112.9 (7th of 30)
Net Rating: +0.2 (16th of 30)

Denver Nuggets

Points Per Game: 117.2 (5th of 30)
Opponent Points Per Game: 112.6 (10th of 30)
Bench Points Per Game: 33.4 (20th of 30)
Pace: 98.5 (19th of 30)
Offensive Rating: 118.4 (2nd of 30)
Defensive Rating: 113.8 (11th of 30)
Net Rating: +4.6 (3rd of 30)

Defensive focus on Jamal Murray

Jamal Murray had 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 5-of-10 from three-point range with five assists and three steals in 33 minutes in Monday’s 118-113 home win against the Raptors. The Nuggets ended the game on a 20-8 run, and Murray scored six of those points.

Murray is averaging 20.3 points, six assists and four rebounds in 32.6 minutes over 51 games, and he finished with 23 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, shooting 9-of-18 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc in the previous meeting against the Bulls this season.

The Bulls must contain Murray to win their 30th game this season since it is very likely that the defending two-time MVP Nikola Jokic will be almost impossible to stop. Even Nikola Vucevic admitted to that.

Increase the three-point shooting volume

The Bulls’ 125-122 home loss against the Pacers had massive implications for their playoff chances. Once again, the Bulls blew a double-digit lead against the Pacers to fall to 11-22 in clutch games this season.

LaVine played like a star, but he received insufficient support from his teammates. Losing after scoring 122 points is frustrating, particularly because the Bulls shot 60.8 percent from the field (45-of-74) and 45.4 percent from three-point range (10-of-22). Still, long distance shooting was a problem, as the Pacers made six more three-pointers than the Bulls and had twice as many attempts. The Bulls shot well, but it’s clear they will not win many games unless they increase their volume of attempts.

Noteworthy

The Nuggets won the last meeting, 126-103 on November 13. LaVine led the Bulls with 21 points.

Denver beat Chicago three of the last five times.

The Bulls are 2-8 in the last 10 matchups against the Nuggets.

Projected lineups

Bulls: Vucevic, Williams, LaVine, DeRozan, Beverley

Nuggets: Jokic, Gordon, Porter, Caldwell-Pope, Murray

Injury Report

Bulls: Lonzo Ball is out with a left knee injury. Javonte Green (right knee soreness) will also miss this game.

Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji (right shoulder) and Vlatko Cancar (right wrist sprain) are out against the Bulls.