Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets Game Preview

INJURY REPORT:

HORNETS - QUESTIONABLE: LaMelo Ball (L ankle, R wrist) Gordon Hayward (L Hamstring) OUT: Kelly Oubre (L Hand surgery) Cody Martin (L Knee Soreness)

BULLS- OUT Goran Dragic (Conditioning) Lonzo Ball (L Knee Surgery) Javonte Green (R Knee Injury)

GAME PREVIEW:

RIVALRY WEEK! That's what this match-up was supposed to be, LaMelo vs Lonzo, The Battle of the Balls. Unfortunately, Lonzo has missed the entire season to this point with a lingering knee issue and LaMelo is questionable to play. My gut feel through recent pre-game warm ups and comments from LaMelo and Clifford is he will be back for tonight's game. Worryingly, it seems to be LaMelo's wrist which he had surgery on in 2021 which got knocked recently that is bothering him more than the ankle.

Despite a bumpy start to the season the Bulls have settled into a roughly .500 team and are 3-2 over their last five. There's something that feels very Charlotte 2021-22 about the Bulls this year, play in fodder at best. Still, they will prove to be a tough match-up for an undermanned Charlotte team. Chicago have three weapons in LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic who can go off for 30 points on any night. Steve Clifford know's the latter well from their time in Orlando where Vooch blossomed into an all star calibre player, will he know how to slow him down though? It would be interesting to see how Mark Williams were to handle the match-up, but who knows if its him or Nick Richards next in line on the merry go round that is the Hornets backup center rotation.

Key Match-up: DeRozan vs McDaniels

DeRozan is the exact type of experienced vet who can exploit any weakspot in your defense, if Charlotte don't lock in and defend without fouling he will live at the line. McDaniels has the length to both Demar, the question is does he have the control and discipline not to foul him when he pump fakes, spins and drop steps his way to his spots. On the other end McDaniels has a good match-up, DeRozan isn't as big or as fast as Jalen so he will have chances to get into the lane and finish.

Charlotte Hornets	Chicago Bulls
PG	LaMelo Ball	Ayo Dosunmu
SG	Terry Rozier	Zach LaVine
SF	Jalen McDaniels	DeMarre DeRozan
PF	PJ Washington	Patrick Williams
C	Mason Plumlee	Nikola Vucevic

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