Keys to Chicago Bulls’ road game vs. Sacramento Kings
The Chicago Bulls (9-13) visit the Sacramento Kings (12-9) tonight. The Bulls are coming off a 119-111 road loss against the Warriors on Friday. Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Zach LaVine added 21 points and seven rebounds.
Lonzo Ball is still out with a left knee injury as the Bulls look to avoid their third straight loss. Alex Caruso (sprained right ankle) is listed as probable, and Javonte Green (right knee soreness) is questionable.
Chicago Bulls (9-13) vs. Sacramento Kings (13-9)
Sunday, December 4 – 06:00 PM ET at Golden 1 Center
Chicago Bulls
- Points Per Game: 112 (17th of 30)
- Opponent Points Per Game: 113 (13th of 30)
- Bench Points Per Game: 32.8 (19th of 30)
- Pace: 100.5 (9th of 30)
- Offensive Rating: 111 (23rd of 30)
- Defensive Rating: 112 (12th of 30)
- Net Rating: -1 (22nd of 30)
Sacramento Kings
- Points Per Game: 120 (2nd of 30)
- Opponent Points Per Game: 116.2 (23rd of 30)
- Bench Points Per Game: 42.6 (3rd of 30)
- Pace: 102.3 (5th of 30)
- Offensive Rating: 116.8 (3rd of 30)
- Defensive Rating: 113.1 (18th of 30)
- Net Rating: +3.8 (6th of 30)
Contain Malik Monk
Malik Monk revived his dormant career as a reliable bench producer for the Lakers last season, and this year he’s been even better. Monk signed a two-year, $19 million contract with the Kings in the offseason, and so far, he looks like a steal.
The Kings’ reserves average 42.6 points per game, with Monk as the catalyst. His energy injects the second unit with a boost, giving the Kings the third-best bench offense in the league.
Monk was an electric but inefficient volume scorer with a one-dimensional game early on in his career, but this season he’s averaging a career-high 4.2 assists in 22.1 minutes per game, to go along with 14.5 points on 48.7% shooting from the field and 37.1% from beyond the arc.
The Bulls won’t win this game unless they contain Monk. He spaces the floor, flashes his athleticism when he finds a driving lane, and ignites the offense, making the best play for himself or his teammates. Neutralize him, and you have a decent shot at competing on Sunday.
Don’t get outshot from three-point range
The Bulls’ three-point defense was non-existent against the Warriors, and they were outshot by a wide margin.
Golden State made 20-of-50 three-point attempts (40%) — Jordan Poole and Stephen Curry were a combined 11-of-21 from distance (52.3%), while Chicago hit 9-of-27 three-point attempts (33.3%).
The Bulls take 28.9 three-point shots per game, the fewest in the NBA, and make 10.2 three-pointers, the fourth-lowest. However, makes or misses are not the issue. The Warriors outshot the Bulls 50-27 from three-point range on Friday. It’s tough to win a shootout with such a massive three-point margin.
“We’ve got to take more threes and we’ve got to generate more threes,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said after the game against the Warriors. “It’s got to be our team. I think we can do that. We haven’t shot the ball great from three and we don’t take a high volume. You can’t have that kind of discrepancy.”
Noteworthy
- The Kings won the last meeting, 112-103, on March 14th. LaVine led the Bulls with 27 points.
- Sacramento beat Chicago three of the last five times.
- The Bulls are 3-7 in the last 10 matchups against the Kings.
- Bulls’ projected lineup: Vucevic, Green, DeRozan, LaVine, Caruso
- Kings’ projected lineup: Fox, Huerter, Murray, Barnes, Sabonis
- Injury Report: Lonzo Ball is out for the Bulls with a left knee injury; Alex Caruso (sprained right ankle) is listed as probable, and Javonte Green (right knee soreness) is questionable
- No injured players for the Kings