Suns: Three Keys to Victory vs Bulls

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns face a Chicago Bulls team that is reeling and appears to be nearing a rebuild. While that should make Suns fans feel good, the Bulls still have plenty of NBA talent and could certainly steal this game much like the San Antonio Spurs did in their back-to-back matchup last week.

Three things Phoenix should focus on tonight to stay in the win column:

Win the Rebounding Battle

The Suns have a slight edge over the Bulls in terms of total rebounds per game this season. Chicago averages just over 41, while Phoenix averages just over 44. The major difference is Chicago's efforts on the glass are centered around Nikola Vucevic, while Phoenix is a balanced effort built around Jusuf Nurkic.

One of the keys to a Suns victory tonight is keeping Vucevic and Andre Drummond off of the offensive glass, preventing microwave scorers in Zach LaVine/DeMar DeRozan from getting extra opportunities to put the ball in the hoop.

On the exact opposite contrary, the Suns' leading offensive rebounders in Josh Okogie and Nurkic need to crash the glass on that end, creating opportunities for the variety of the shooters on the perimeter.

Pressure the Rim

The Suns have seen an uptick in drives to the basket this season, ranking 13th in drives per game, a noticeable increase from the Monty Williams years.

Arizona Sports' Kellan Olson took a deep dive into how the new additions in Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen have helped the Suns' lack of attacking the rim.

Olson goes on to expand on Gordon's ability to get to the rim, saying:

"Gordon, even at 34 years old, still bulldozes perimeter defenders off him through his bowling ball drives that he create separation more from strength instead of quickness. He has a phenomenal feel for embracing contact, finding space via great footwork and still finishing. He can still get a step ahead of guys too in Year 16."

Gordon's ability to get to the hoop will be vital tonight, as Chicago has a suspect group of perimeter defenders outside of Alex Caruso/Torrey Craig, and the Vucevic/Drummond duo manning the paint aren't exactly known for defensive expertise.

The Suns need to take advantage of this matchup and get to the line while also getting easier looks at the rim.

Keep Bulls on Perimeter

The Bulls are one of the weaker offenses in the league, but their real strength as an offensive unit lies anywhere other than at the three point line. The Bulls only have three players shooting over 40% from deep (Jevon Carter, Craig, Ayo Dosunmu), all three whom are players that come off the bench.

The only other player on the team that comes anywhere close to the NBA league average (35.6%) figure is another bench player in Alex Caruso.

DeRozan is also especially known for doing damage in the mid-range game and as a driver, the Suns must do their absolute best to run him off the line and force players such as Coby White to beat them, preferably from three-point range.

In a game with so many factors in motion on a nightly basis, these are the three keys to Phoenix coming out on top with a win tonight, building momentum towards the massive matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.