Bulls at Wizards
THE STORY: After battling with the Miami Heat in a rematch of
the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday afternoon, what the Chicago
Bulls really need is a nice, easy opponent to help them get back into
the swing of things. Enter the Washington Wizards. The Bulls will be
looking to bounce back from a tough loss when they visit the lowly
Wizards on Monday. Derrick Rose had a chance to give his team the lead
and make a statement in the Eastern Conference race Sunday but missed
two free throws with 22 seconds left in an eventual 97-93 setback. “I
let my team down,” Rose said after the loss. But where Chicago needed to
test itself against Miami for another deep run in the playoffs, it
needs to use teams such as Washington to secure homecourt advantage. The
Wizards have proven that they can beat the NBA-worst Charlotte Bobcats,
but that is about it.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, WCIU (Chicago), CS Washington, NBATV
ABOUT THE BULLS (17-5):
Chicago is struggling defensively without forward Luol Deng, who has
missed the last four games and is out indefinitely with a wrist injury.
The Bulls have gone 2-2 in his absence while surrendering an average of
96.8 points. Prior to Deng’s injury, Chicago was holding teams to 85.3
points. One of the Bulls’ most impressive defensive performances came
against Washington on Jan. 11, when they held the Wizards to 31 percent
shooting in a 78-64 victory. Deng had 15 rebounds in that game.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (4-16):
Interim coach Randy Wittman is 2-1 since taking over for Flip Saunders,
but both victories came against Charlotte. The other team he faced -
the Houston Rockets - laid a 103-76 beatdown on Washington on Friday.
The Wizards can be encouraged with their progress against the Bobcats,
as Saturday’s 102-99 triumph marked their first road win of the season
and was highlighted by a balanced offensive attack that had six players
in double figures. They shot a season-high 52.6 percent.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Washington rookie forward Jan Vesely has started the last two games but is 3 for 10 from the field in the role.
2. Rose missed the Jan. 11 contest with turf toe.
3. Chicago is entering the second of a nine-game road trip because of a circus at the United Center.