the second battle of Los Angeles
The Bulls are in the middle of a fun schedule quirk, the road back-to-back where they don’t have to travel. Having bested the Clippers in Los Angeles last night, they now head to that same arena with different banners and stuff to face the Lakers.
And the Lakers ALSO played yesterday, albeit an afternoon game as they held off the Spurs after nearly squandering the lead late in the 4th. That brought the Lakers to 8-6 on a really weird season for them so far. In the offseason, the Lakers decided to trade a bunch of useful players for Russell Westbrook and then had filled around the margins with vets on their last legs (and some well past them like Rajon Rondo). They even let Alex Caruso walk to the Bulls in a total cheap-o move.
Then LeBron James went down after the team’s 8th contest with his team going 3-3 since then. They do still have Anthony Davis of course, who is always a little bit injured himself but has come through lately. L.A. started Davis at center yesterday, and it may be a challenge for the Bulls defense to repeat what they did with their undersized lineups in this one.
Or they just let Davis do what he wants, and make the other guys miss or throw the ball to them. It can work!
Injury Report:
Coby White has been cleared to play! White hasn’t suited up this year after suffering a major shoulder injury in the summer. The Bulls could certainly use his threes, but they’ve also found success with Ayo Dosunmu joining the guard rotation as a defensive presence, so it’s not a given that White will be that high in the rotation.
For the Lakers, no change. LeBron, Trevor Ariza, and Kendrick Nunn remain out. Talen Horton-Tucker played his first game of the season yesterday.
Game Time: 9:30, NBCSportsChicago and nationally on NBATV