The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off a surprising victory over the league-leading Cavaliers on Friday, 132-129, are in Chicago on Saturday night to take on the Bulls. The Sixers put an end to their seven-game losing streak with a huge win over the top team in the league.
Philadelphia now takes on a Chicago team that sits just above them in the standings, just two games ahead of the Sixers. The Bulls will be more rested, but they’re coming off getting blown out on Thursday night by the Warriors, 131-106.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (16-27) at Chicago Bulls (19-26)
When: 8 p.m. EST
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers had been mired in a seven-game losing streak heading into Friday’s matchup with the Cavaliers, and it didn’t look like it was going to end. Then, the team put together one of their better performances of the season. Paul George had 30 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 29 points to go along with 7 assists, but the complimentary players stood out.
Guerschon Yabusele finished the game with 12 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 2 blocked shots. While Yabu didn’t have a great night shooting, just 4-12 from the floor, his rebounding and effort helped the Sixers stay with the Cavaliers. Kelly Oubre Jr. was huge for the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds while also nabbing 3 steals on 50% shooting from the floor. The two players that needed to step up and help Maxey and PG, really showed up against the best team in the league.
Eric Gordon continued to play well, scoring 9.7 points per game over his last ten. More importantly, he shot 49.2% from the floor and an amazing 53.2% on his three-point attempts. Gordon, coming back from missing a few games, has really helped ease the strain on Maxey in the backcourt.
Then there’s Justin Edwards, one of three rookies the Sixers have who has seen success this season. Despite having some shooting issues in the past few games, Edwards finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 50% from the field and on his three-pointers. Edwards has been a huge find for the Sixers, especially after losing Jared McCain to a season-ending knee injury.
Latest on the Bulls
The Bulls will host the Sixers as they try to rebound from getting blown out by the Warriors on Thursday night. The team played well, but in the end, it came down to three-point shooting. While the Bulls shot 40% on their attempts, the Warriors hit on 43.9% of theirs and made nine more than the Bulls, which turned out to be a huge difference, combined with not missing any free throws in the game.
The Bulls have one of the top scoring units in the NBA, averaging 116.9 points per game, but their defense ranks 24th in the league, sitting just below the Sixers. The team is again led by Zach LaVine, who’s having a very nice comeback season after missing 57 games last year. LaVine is averaging 24 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, but, more importantly, LaVine is shooting well. He’s shooting 51.3% from the floor, but his 45.1% from beyond the arc is good enough for sixth place in the league.
With Nikola Vucevic contributing 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds and Coby White with 18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, the Bulls have themselves a good trio that can keep with most teams in the league. Add Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams with Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball, and the team will have plenty of players who can contribute on any given night.
The problem this season has been that while the Bulls can put up points on just about anyone in the league, they just can’t figure out how to stop opposing teams. Their defense ranks near the bottom of the league, and they give up more rebounds and assists to the opposition than every team in the league except for one in each category. Stopping ball movement and being in a good position has eluded the Bulls this season as they’re fighting for a playoff spot.
What to watch for tonight
The Sixers need to be careful not to get into another long-distance shootout with a team like the Bulls. While the Sixers are in the bottom part of the league in both attempts and shooting percentage from long distance, the Bulls rank in the top ten with 37.1% made and are second in the league with 42.8 attempts per game. The Sixers are going to need their wing defenders to be moving well and closing out if they’re going to stop the Bulls.
The hope at this point of the season, which is all most Sixers fans have to hold on to, is that the team has turned a corner with a confidence-building win over the Cavaliers, which can continue against the Bulls. The team played well; they shot 53.8% on their three-pointers against the Cavs, which is unheard of from this year’s Sixers team. They’ll need to keep that up, as well as press the Bulls on defense.
Tyrese Maxey and Paul George should continue to work well together. George’s recent few games off could explain his output and shooting against the Cavaliers. If the two of them can continue to improve their game together and the rest of the players step up as they did on Friday night, the team could steal a few wins from teams above them in the standings.
The Sixers will need Oubre Jr., Yabusele, Edwards and Ricky Council IV on the floor quite a bit against an athletic Bulls team. Combine the younger players with Maxey who’s made himself into a very good defender and the Sixers have a chance to really step up and get themselves their second win in a row before facing a rough six game stretch at home over the next two weeks.
Prediction
Sixers 123 – Bulls 118
