Lakers vs Bulls Preview: One Great in the House of Another

The Lakers will travel to Chicago for Kobe’s final game in the United Center against the Bulls

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol teamed up to bring the Los Angeles Lakers their last two NBA Championships and, had the front office in LA not mishandled Gasol in free agency, the two great friends might still be together in the purple and gold. Instead, they will meet one final time on Sunday night as the Lakers take on Gasol and the Chicago Bulls in the house that Michael Jordan built, the United Center.

Though Jordan has moved onto other things in the NBA—namely being the principle owner of the Charlotte Hornets—there’s no doubt that much of his legacy in professional basketball is rooted in the Windy City. In that regard, it’s a bit poetic to see another all-time great in Bryant make his final stand in Chicago, even it’s with a Lakers team that has only 11 wins on the season.

The Lakers have a multitude of problems throughout the team, most of which have been present for the entire season and many of which have been caused by head coach Byron Scott. Scott continues to stifle the development of rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell and, despite his promises, who knows when that’s going to get any better.

Even with Russell getting the short end of the stick as of late, though, the Lakers were oddly competitive coming into the All-Star break and showed the same fire on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs. Julius Randle continues to be a walking double-double on the interior and Jordan Clarkson looks to finally be breaking free of somewhat of a sophomore slump that has plagued them this season.

Moreover, the Bulls are far from full-strength coming into this game. Their frontcourt has been ravaged with injuries, but their biggest blow came in the form of a knee injury to Jimmy Butler which will keep him sidelined for another couple of weeks. With Clarkson coming on strong and with the Lakers showing the competitiveness that they have as of late, there’s at least a chance that the Lakers could go into Chicago and give Kobe Bryant a nice send-off in the form of a win in his last game in the house of MJ.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls

Date: Sunday, Feb. 21
Start Time: 5 p.m. PT
Location: Chicago, IL
Arena: United Center
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Here

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Bulls -7
Moneyline: Bulls -300, Lakers +240
O/U: 207.5

Injury Report

Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant (shoulder, finger)—Probable, Anthony Brown (ankle)—Questionable

Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler (knee)—Out, Nikola Mirotic (appendicitis)—Out, Joakim Noah (shoulder)—Out

Next: Lakers Draft Prospects: Ben Simmons Scouting Report

Prediction

With Kobe coming off of the dislocated finger against the Spurs, I’m not sure that fans should expect to see him on the floor all that much against the Bulls. With Jimmy Butler out, though, I think that actually plays into the Lakers’ favor. I think the young guards for LA shock Chicago and walk out with a victory.

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