LeBron James and Anthony Davis look to continue their strong play as the Los Angeles Lakers go for their sixth straight win against the lowly Chicago Bulls.
Davis was named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week after a 40-point, 20-rebound performance against the Memphis Grizzlies en route to a 3-0 week from the Lakers. A game against his hometown Bulls may be just what he needs to continue his dominance as they offer little resistance as a team defensively.
The Lakers will also get another chance to show just how good their defense can be against a team that ranks in the bottom seven in the league in offensive rating.
The Lakers are currently home to the NBA’s No. 1 ranked defense, which means they should have minimal issues against the Bulls.
A majority of the Bulls offensive attack comes from Zach LaVine and Lauri Markannen, two players the Lakers will really have to focus on to remove them from the game plan.
If they can limit the scoring of those two young players, they should have no problem running away with this game.
The Lakers will be without Avery Bradley, who suffered a lower leg contusion in the team’s 103-96 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
In Bradley’s place, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will start and it will be up to him and a mix of players to try and contain LaVine.
The Lakers may also want to turn to Dwight Howard over JaVale McGee in the early going to help contain against Wendell Carter Jr. Carter Jr. is averaging 14.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and Howard may be more successful than McGee in an effort to get him out of the game.
Kyle Kuzma will also hopefully continue to progress. Kuzma has struggled in the two games he’s played in since returning from a stress reaction in his foot as he attempts to navigate getting his stamina and game speed back. His game is obviously still there, but it will be some time before his conditioning returns to full form.
While this should be a win for the Lakers, it’s important they avoid getting off to yet another slow start.
Doing that enough times in a row may eventually lead to digging a hole too big to climb out of. If they can start strong and build on their defensive intensity, getting their sixth straight win shouldn’t be an issue to conclude the three-game road trip.
Los Angeles Lakers (5-1) vs. Chicago Bulls (2-5)
5:00 P.M. PT, Nov. 5, 2019
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
TV: NBATV, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: LeBron James
SG: Danny Green
SF: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
PF: Anthony Davis
C: JaVale McGee
Key Reserves: Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso, Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook
Projected Bulls Starting Lineup:
PG: Tomas Satoransky
SG: Zach LaVine
SF: Otto Porter Jr.
PF: Lauri Markannen
C: Wendell Carter Jr.
Key Reserves: Thaddeus Young, Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono, Kris Dunn