All Lakers Expert Predictions For Bulls Match As Trade Chatter Builds

With several Chicago Bulls perimeter pieces being floated as possible trade targets for your Los Angeles Lakers, fans will be given an opportunity to watch (some of) them firsthand tonight at 5 p.m. PT, during the two teams' first meeting of the 2023-24 season.

So what can we expect? Let's dig into it.

Can LA beat the spread?

The Lakers have been in something of a minor funk following their In-Season Tournament victory over the Indiana Pacers last weekend. LA has gone 1-3 across its last four bouts, including one heinous loss to the lowly San Antonio Spurs last Friday. Los Angeles is currently considered a -3.5-point favorite to win tonight after opening the day with a -7-point edge, per sports book aggregator The Action Network. But the Bulls, following an absolutely hilariously bad first month with Zach LaVine, have been a totally different team without him. There's far more ball movement and three-point shooting, and starting point guard Coby White has blossomed into, somehow, the team's best player -- at least over its last nine games, during which the club has gone 6-3. Chicago is feeling itself, hot off a surprise victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Look for the Bulls to win.

Just how important are Gabe Vincent's return and Jarred Vanderbilt's minutes tonight?

Very. LA's two best perimeter players will be relied upon, heavily I expect, to stop the Bulls' two best players (this month, anyway): six-time All-Star small forward DeMar DeRozan, a crafty, unbreakable veteran who may have lost a step since his first season in Chicago but remains brilliant and getting to his spots and knocking down tough buckets; and starting point guard Coby White, who has finally come into his own in his fifth season out of North Carolina as a downhill menace with a killer three-point stroke.

Which Bull, beyond the three most-discussed headliners, should Rob Pelinka be scouting tonight?

LA's team president will no doubt be watching game tape from tonight for weeks to come. Aside from LaVine, DeRozan, and old pal Alex Caruso (the freshly-extended White is pretty much untouchable right now), Pelinka may be taking a look at former USC product Nikola Vucevic, who despite his lackluster defense and LA's crowded frontcourt, is intriguing thanks to his passing acumen and three-point shooting. Forward Torrey Craig and guard Ayo Dosunmu could be the most fun low-cost fits for Los Angeles, however. Adding Craig would be a long-term play, as he's going to be on the shelf for the next 8-10 weeks with a plantar fasciitis injury. Dosunmu has, like White, been playing much better since LaVine went down, as essentially an Alex Caruso understudy.