Preview: Lakers look to tame the Bulls

Fresh off a win against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers (7-10) are going to look to build some momentum before a rough stretch of games at the end of November that goes well into the month of December (they play the Warriors 3 times, the Cavs once, and the Rockets twice). This bodes well for the purple and gold as they will be facing a struggling Bulls team at Staples.

The Lakers had a stellar team performance led by Julius Randle, who had 27 points, seven rebounds, and five assists off the bench while rookie clickbait point guard, Lonzo Ball notched his second triple-double in just his 17th career game. His fellow rookie, Kyle Kuzma continued his hot start to his career notching yet another double-digit scoring performance with 17 points to go with his 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Bulls have a prized rookie from the Pac-12 of their own in Lauri Markkanen. One of the bright spots on the team, Markkanen has been averaging 15.6 points per game to go along with 8 rebounds. The Bulls will also be relying on second-year guard, Kris Dunn to continue his strong play as the past two games have seen him averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

• Brotherly Love: Brook Lopez will be facing his brother Robin Lopez for the first time this season. Last season when Brook was on the Nets, he was outplayed by his brother but saw his team eek out a win, 107-106. I just think it’s really cool to see siblings accomplish their dream to play professional sports and excel at them. The Lopez twins will be featured on their teams starting frontcourts. Robin is averaging a career high in points, while Brook is slightly below his career average of 18.5 ppg at 15.4 during his time in Los Angeles
• Bench play: Led by Julius Randle (Who really needs more minutes, especially with Brook Lopez. Seriously. Look) and Jordan Clarkson, the Los Angeles bench is third in the league in bench scoring averaging around 41 points per game. The Bulls’ bench players are averaging 38ppg. I’d hope to see the trend continue and see Randle, Clarkson, Hart, and Brewer (?) contribute.
• David Nwaba: This isn’t something of a what to watch for, but Los Angeles D-Fender alumni and former Laker will be making his return back home to Staples where he rightfully belongs. He is very handsome and I must say he’ll bring that handsome-ness to show what the Lakers are missing out on. Unfortunately, we will only be able to see Nwaba’s handsomeness on the bench as he is currently out with an injury.

Injury Report:

• Chicago Bulls
  • David Nwaba (ankle): OUT
  • Nikola Mirotic (face): OUT
  • Cameron Payne (not good foot): OUT
  • Zach Lavine (knee): OUT
• Los Angeles Lakers
  • Larry Nance (finger): OUT

WHERE TO WATCH

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls
Tuesday, November 21 at 7:30pm at Staples Center, Los Angeles
Spectrum Sportsnet, NBATv