Detroit Pistons hit the road to face young Bulls in Chicago
The Detroit Pistons will make their first road trip of the season on Saturday when they visit the Chicago Bulls. Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson will return to the starting lineup, according to reports.
Following a 103-100 victory to open the season, the Detroit Pistons (1-0) head to the Windy City on Saturday night to face the Chicago Bulls (0-1).
Tipoff from the United Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. Fox Sports Detroit Plus and WWJ 950 AM will carry the television and radio broadcasts, respectively.
Both Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson missed the Pistons’ opener. But they’ll make their season debut in the starting lineup on Saturday, according to a report from Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
With those two back, fans will get their first look at the five starters that Dwane Casey had initially pinned for Opening Night. And they couldn’t be returning at a better time.
The Pistons went 6-for-24 from beyond the arc in Wednesday’s win over the Nets. Bullock, who was the NBA’s second-best 3-pointer shooter last season, should help alleviate some of their troubles.
Detroit also failed to contain Brooklyn shooting guard Caris LeVert, who finished with 27 points on 10-for-18 shooting.
Many of his buckets came in the lane and off the dribble, meaning that he beat multiple Pistons’ defenders all night. Johnson’s presence on the wing should help Detroit cut off penetration this time around.
It’ll have to, because the Bulls boast an explosive two-guard of their own in Zach LaVine. The two-time Slam Dunk Champion scored 30 points in Chicago’s 127-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. He also added five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.
Native Chicagoan Jabari Pakrer signed with his hometown team over the summer, and is looking to resurrect his career after several, injury-plagued seasons in Milwaukee. The forward posted 15 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes of action during his Bulls’ debut.
But the most intriguing match-up between these two clubs should be in the frontcourt. The Pistons’ veteran tandem of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond will battle Chicago’s Bobby Portis and rookie Wendell Carter Jr.
Portis’ defensive physicality against Griffin’s bully ball offensive style might be the best one-on-one bout of the night, if those two end up guarding each other.
Carter Jr. is lanky at 6-feet-10-inches, and possesses a respectable, mid-range jump shot. He isn’t incredibly quick, but he does move around on both ends of the floor – especially when it comes to rotating over to the weak side.
Drummond, having the advantage in strength and build, should dominate the youngster. But Carter Jr. isn’t a pushover either.
Three things we learned in Casey's first win. dark. Next
The Bulls are rebuilding towards the future, while the Pistons are playing to win-now. These are the games where Casey and his team must capitalize.
They survived their first test at home. Now we’ll see if the Detroit Pistons can take care of business on the road.