Despite Butler’s illness and rumors that Wade was likely to sit the following night against the Washington Wizards, it was the same starting lineup as usual for Chicago.
It didn’t last long as a good start turned rough for Taj Gibson right away. The forward, that may or may not be available for trade, had a tough time with the frontcourt combination of Domantas Sabonis and Steven Adams. He found his way to the bench with fouls and getting worked on a post move by the rookie Sabonis.
Robin Lopez didn’t fare any better, dealing with Adams and then Enes Kanter.