The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings are playing live on the TNT NBA doubleheader schedule on Thursday and the matchup from Sleep Train Arena starts up at 10:30 pm ET and has Derrick Rose and the Bulls matching up with DeMarcus Cousins in Sac-Town and the matchup comes after the Miami Heat and Clippers play the early game.
The Bulls come into the matchup at 8-3 this season and they are currently in first place in the central division. The Bulls are looked at as one of the favorites in the eastern conference this season and they have the chance to keep things going on this west coast trip. The team won over the LA Clippers on Monday and now they have Sacramento before another matchup in Portland against the Blazers.
Jimmy Butler has been playing extended minutes this season and he has been playing well for the Bulls, as he had 22 points and eight assists last game. The team saw Joakim Noah grab 16 rebounds and they will take on the 6-5 Kings, who have been a bit better than they have been last season. The Bulls have been looking very good this year and they are currently in the top half of the league in points per game and rebounds per game. The team has also improved to 11th in points allowed per game after a slow start on defense this season.
Butler is leading the team in scoring and his work on the court has been helping the Bulls deal with injuries to Derrick Rose this season. Rose has played well overall, but he has been on and off the court and one reason the team has been winning has been the play of Butler. Butler led the team in scoring against the Pacers and now the Bulls continue a very long road trip.
The Bulls played the Clippers on the road after a home loss against the Pacers and they now have won three of the last four games. The team now has the Kings and Blazers on the road before matchups with Utah and Denver and then the team has east coast games against the Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. The team then will return home against the Mavericks before playing the Hornets and the Warriors on the schedule.
The Kings are coming in after a loss against the New Orleans Pelicans and they got 24 points and 17 rebounds from Cousins to lead the team in that matchup. The Kings play the Wolves next and they are coming in at third in the league in rebounds per game, as Cousins has been having himself a season so far. The Kings are bad, but not nearly as bad as last season so far
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