The Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns are playing live on the NBA schedule on Friday and the matchup is on ESPN and streaming from the WatchESPN website as the teams face off and it starts at 10:30 pm ET as part of a double header as Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and Goran Dragic take the floor in a battle of two the best offensive teams in the league.
The Bulls come into the game at first in the central division, but they are now only a few games ahead of the Cavaliers after how well they have played. The Bulls come in after a loss against the Lakers in double overtime and they next will play against the Rockets after the matchup with the Suns on this road trip. The Bulls are 30-18 on the season and they have established themselves as one of the teams to beat, but they just had a bit of a rough stretch.
The team had lost six of eight before pulling out of it and now Rose and company want to get things going while the team deals with some injuries. The team has had Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy out along with Doug McDermott and that had put more pressure on Rose, Jimmy Butler and Gasol. The team has Gasol as an All- Star starter and he deserves it, while Butler has been excellent for the team and should end up as the most improved player.
The Bulls come into the game ranked ninth in the league in scoring and that was the biggest issue for the team last season. The team is averaging 102 points per game this season and they are third in rebounding, but the defense has not been as good as last season. Noah is back and he had a big game with 17 rebounds and nine assists against the Lakers, while Butler led the team with 35 points.
The Suns come into the game after a win against the Wizards and that was big, as the Wiz have been the second best team in the east this season. The Suns come in second in the league in scoring and they will next play against the Warriors on the road and that is no easy feat. The team comes in ranked 28th in defense and that has been an issue. Goran Dragic led the team in scoring with 20 points against the Wiz and Eric Bledsoe led the way with six assists. The Bulls and Suns now face off on ESPN for a nationally televised game.
Check here for the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns live coverage.
