Bulls at Thunder
The Chicago Bulls have experienced plenty of tension over the past few weeks and now will spend tons of time with one another on the road as they open a six-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. All-Star Jimmy Butler and veteran Dwyane Wade scorched their teammates after one poor effort last week, only to have Rajon Rondo chastise the duo for a lack of leadership in an Instagram post.
Butler also has clashed with second-year coach Fred Hoiberg, who is focused on getting the club in tune during the lengthy trip. "It starts (Wednesday) with (Russell) Westbrook," Hoiberg told reporters of the Oklahoma City All-Star. "We're obviously going to have to do a much better job of finding them in transition. They killed us in the paint the last game (on Jan. 9). A guy having an historic NBA season averaging a triple-double - we are going to have our hands full." Westbrook has 24 triple-doubles but didn't record one during Tuesday's 108-94 loss to San Antonio as he collected just six rebounds to go with 27 points and 14 assists. Oklahoma City has averaged 92.5 points in consecutive defeats since losing backup center Enes Kanter to a broken forearm.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE BULLS (24-25): Wade feels the players now are on the same page after the recent disturbances and said the road trip's success will be gauged primarily on the number of victories. "We're going to have a lot of time together, from a team building and team bonding standpoint, it's always good," Wade told reporters. "But from a basketball standpoint, it's only good if you win. It's only bad if you're losing." Wade is averaging just 14.5 points over the last two contests after averaging 28 over the previous three games.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (28-21): Kanter was Oklahoma City's second-leading scorer at 14.4 points despite playing only 21.6 minutes per contest, and his absence quickly became an issue. The Thunder shot just 37 percent in Sunday's 107-91 loss to Cleveland, and the percentage dipped to 35.3 during the loss to the Spurs as Westbrook struggled to be a one-man show. "For us to be the best team that we can possibly be, he cannot be Superman and rescue us from everything," coach Billy Donovan told reporters. "There's gotta be some development and growth and improvement with a lot of these young guys."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double during the 109-94 victory last month as he recorded 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
2. Oklahoma City PF Domantas Sabonis matched his season best of 10 rebounds and scored 13 points against San Antonio for his second career double-double.
3. Chicago PF Taj Gibson (ankle) is listed as probable after a one-game absence.