Bulls at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors continue to be one of the more enigmatic teams in the Western Conference, capable of losing two in a row at home and then holding the New York Knicks to 63 points to start a two-game winning streak. The Warriors will try to keep the momentum moving in a positive direction when they close out a seven-game homestand by hosting the Chicago Bulls on Friday. The Bulls are coming off an embarrassing loss at Sacramento.
Chicago is a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference but is still waiting on star guard Derrick Rose to make his season debut. In the meantime, the Bulls have been stumbling along with four losses in their last five games. Golden State is trying to hold off three teams following closely in the West and cannot afford to drop any more home games. After losing two straight, the Warriors have looked like a much more confident team in the last two games, especially on the defensive end. Andrew Bogut has played his way back into shape and has provided a defensive presence in the middle that the team had been lacking.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), CSBA (Golden State) NBATV
ABOUT THE BULLS (35-29): Rose is getting closer and closer to making a return but coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters it was “unlikely” that the former MVP would make his return in Friday’s contest. Chicago could use all the help it can get on the offensive end. The Bulls played one of the worst defensive teams in the league Wednesday at Sacramento and were blown out 121-79. Carlos Boozer had 21 points and Nate Robinson had 19 but no one else managed more than 10 as Chicago shot 38.6 percent. Even when the Bulls had been struggling on offense in the past, they had usually been able to make up the difference on the other end. That has not been the case of late, with the team allowing an average of 102.3 points in their last four losses.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (37-29): Bogut took a little while to get settled into the lineup, and the rest of the team took a handful of games to get used to having the towering center in the middle after operating for most of the season with a smaller lineup that featured Carl Landry and David Lee up front. Bogut has left the scoring up to Lee and Stephen Curry, but he has averaged 9.8 rebounds in the past five games and played a season-high 32 minutes on Wednesday while clamping down defensively on Detroit center Greg Monroe in a 105-97 win. Bogut will have his work cut out for him with Boozer and Joakim Noah on the Chicago front line. Curry led the way with 31 points and eight assists in the win over the Pistons and has pulled himself out of a mini-shooting slump by draining 11-of-17 from 3-point range in the last two contests. He had struggled to 15-for-44 from beyond the arc in the previous six games. Golden State will embark on a three-game road trip through Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio after Friday before coming back to the Bay Area for five straight.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bulls took the first meeting 103-87 at home on Jan. 25. Kirk Hinrich led the way with 25 points for Chicago and could return to the lineup Friday following a five-game absence due to a foot injury.
2. The Warriors went 4-for-21 from 3-point range in the first meeting. They lead the league in 3-point percentage at .398.
3. Bulls F Taj Gibson (knee) and G Richard Hamilton (back) are not expected to play.