Game Preview and Injury Report: Chicago Bulls look to secure second straight win as they host the Portland Trail Blazers

The Bulls face arguably the best backcourt in the NBA right now - Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

Coming off a 114-98 home victory against the Hornets on Thursday, Chicago Bulls (24-27) look to extend their winning streak as they host the Portland Trail Blazers (26-26) tonight.

Portland Trail Blazers (26-26) vs. Chicago Bulls (24-27)

Saturday, February 4 – 08:00 PM ET at United Center

Portland Trail Blazers

• Points Per Game: 114.5 (14th of 30)
• Opponent Points Per Game: 113.8 (16th of 30)
• Bench Points Per Game: 24.7 (30th of 30)
• Pace: 97.6 (24th of 30)
• Offensive Rating: 116.8 (5th of 30)
• Defensive Rating: 116 (25th of 30)
• Net Rating: +0.7 (14th of 30)

Chicago Bulls

• Points Per Game: 114.3 (15th of 30)
• Opponent Points Per Game: 114.1 (17th of 30)
• Bench Points Per Game: 30.4 (24th of 30)
• Pace: 99.7 (15th of 30)
• Offensive Rating: 113.4 (19th of 30)
• Defensive Rating: 113.3 (12th of 30)
• Net Rating: +0.2 (18th of 30)

Contain Simons and Lillard

Anfernee Simons scored 33 points on 11 of 19 shooting and 9 of 12 from three-point range, helping the Trail Blazers erase a 20-point deficit to beat the Wizards 124-116 last night.

Simons has scored at least 14 points in each of his last 20 games—he’s averaging 26.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 34.3 minutes over the Trail Blazers’ current three-game winning streak.

Anfernee's evolution from bench player to elite scoring guard encouraged the Trail Blazers to trade CJ McCollum and give him a spot in the backcourt. The 23-year-old now has to develop as a playmaker, and he’s been doing a great job moving the ball.

“Chauncey (Billups) has been emphasizing that to me,” Simons said recently. “And I’ve been going out there and trying to do my best to do that.”

Damian Lillard is amid a hot streak of his own—he's averaging 40.6 points over the last five games. As the Bulls host arguably the best backcourt in the NBA right now, containing either of the two is a prerequisite for the team to pick up their 25th win of the season.

Show consistency

The Bulls clicked offensively against the Hornets, shooting 51.9 percent from the field (41-of-79) and making 39.3 percent of their three-point attempts (11-of-28). Chicago had 24 assists on 41 made shots but turned the ball over 13 times.

Rebounding is still an issue for Chicago. On Thursday, the Hornets outrebounded the Bulls 45 to 40; they also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds. However, the bigger issue for the team is the lack of consistency.

This season the Bulls have won key games, only to follow them up with ugly losses. Now's the time to break that streak if they want to keep their playoff chances alive.

Noteworthy

• The Bulls won the last meeting, 130-116, on January 30, 2022

• Portland beat Chicago three of the last five times.

• The Bulls are 2-8 in the last ten matchups against the Trail Blazers.

• Trail Blazers’ projected lineup: Eubanks, Grant, Hart, Simons, Lillard

• Bulls’ projected lineup: Vucevic, Williams, LaVine, DeRozan, Dosunmu

• Trail Blazers’ Injury Report: Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain), Jusuf Nurkic (strained left calf), and Gary Payton II (non-COVID illness) are out on Saturday.

• Bulls’ Injury Report: Lonzo Ball (left knee injury), and Javonte Green (right knee soreness) are out; Patrick Williams (right ankle sprain) and Alex Caruso (left midfoot soreness) are questionable