The Chicago Bulls have lost two of their last three games, and have also lost stars Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler to injury for the next month.
The Washington Wizards snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday and are looking to turn their season around with a big win over the Bulls.
Projected Starting Lineups
Chicago Bulls (37-23)
G Aaron Brooks – 10.6 ppg, 2.8 apg
G Tony Snell – 5.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg
F Mike Dunleavy – 9.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
F Pau Gasol – 18.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg
C Joakim Noah– 7.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg
Washington Wizards (34-26)
G John Wall –17.2 ppg, 10.1 apg
G Bradley Beal – 14.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg
F Paul Pierce – 12.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
F Nene – 11.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg
C Marcin Gortat – 11.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg
What to watch for:
How will Chicago's injuries impact the game?
This will be Chicago's first game without Rose and Butler, and how they handle missing their two best players will not only be key in this game, but for the next month without them. On the other side, Washington's two best players (Wall and Beal) will be going against the Bulls' backups, and they need to exploit that mismatch to give the Wizards the win.
Prediction: Wizards win 103-90
Washington is in dire need of a win streak after falling from the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference all the way to the No. 5 seed, and they're in danger of falling all the way to No. 6. I expect them to play with an added level of urgency because of that, which should be enough to over the shorthanded Bulls.
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