NBA Matchups: January 31

Chicago Bulls (back end) at Charlotte Hornets

Team Totals: Bulls 110.5, Hornets 108

Injury Report: Bulls on a B2B, LaMelo Ball (D, ankle), Miles Bridges (P, elbow)

Bulls projected starters: Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Nikola Vucevic

Hornets projected starters: Cody Martin, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, Nick Richards

Donovan quotes: Said Julian Phillips is a great cutter and he has a high IQ, said the guys deserve some credit for just making enough plays to get the win in Portland.

Clifford quotes: Said they couldn’t stop Donte and Brunson in the third, said they are changing their rotation every night and “those are not healthy things,” said it’s just hard having guys in and out of the lineup.

Stats and Notes: 

*Well, the Hornets are in trouble without LaMelo Ball. The Bulls are on a B2B and have to travel, so maybe the Hornets can hang around in this one. For the Bulls’ defense, it’s the same story with Chicago giving up the most C&S points per game while giving up the fewest PNR handler points and third-fewest rim points. They’ve also been very good at limiting transition, so it’s all about the jump-shooting from the Hornets. On the other side, the Hornets are 29th in defense in 2024 with the highest ORB% allowed in that span. The Hornets should continue to give up the goods to opponents basically everywhere.

*The Bulls had a nasty loss last night with only 107 points against the Raptors. They also lost Dalen Terry, which could really tighten up the rotation in a dream matchup. We’ve seen the Bulls face the Hornets three times already this year, and Coby White has been the leading scorer with a 23/8/5 line. In his last four games, he’s still out-driving DeMar with more shot volume off drives, too. I’d expect Cody Martin to probably pick him up, but it could also be Brandon Miller. I love this matchup for Coby White, and I’d expect the NBA’s leader in total minutes to add to his lead today.

*DeMar DeRozan is pretty straightforward, and he’s right behind White in total minutes. DeMar isn’t as aggressive with his rim pressure, and, as mentioned, his drives are down a little. It’s still an on-ball fest in isolation and PNR stuff, and the Hornets just can’t defend out there. I lean Coby in a vacuum, but I could see DeMar going off here.

*Nikola Vucevic gets the best matchup. It’s just a print fest for centers against the Hornets, and his minutes have been steady. Although, it’s not the best news that Andre Drummond is getting some overlap on Vooch to lower Vooch’s rebound rate a bit. Still, I’m very much into Vooch.

*Ayo Dosunmu could play a boatload here, especially with Dalen Terry out. Dosunmu will likely get a very soft matchup on him, and he’s playing some of the best ball of his career with eight double-figure scoring games in a row. He’s having an excellent season.

*The Hornets are likely going to run out their big lineup again, and you could argue that bold move was a hint that LaMelo Ball was set to miss multiple games. Not great. Cody Martin was the primary handler with 6.2 minutes of touch time and nobody was even close (3.9 for Brandon Miller in 38 minutes, Martin 31 minutes, and Bridges 2.7 in 39 minutes). Martin doesn’t have much of an upside, but there’s a decent floor for him.

*Brandon Miller was extremely aggressive on Monday with 15 points on his 14 drives. Coach Steve Clifford also talked up Miller after practice yesterday. “I think he’s gotten a second wind a little bit. He got off to such a great start,” Clifford said. “I think he got a little fatigued, but he’s answering the call. He badly wants to win. He does a lot of extra work.” Miller is also first on the team in C&S possessions, so this matchup is quite good for him. Of course, there’s some serious foul risk on him, but the upside case is strong as he grows into this bigger role.

*Miles Bridges is probably going to get Alex Caruso to make this a tougher matchup. Still, the role is just going to be massive with huge minutes and usage. I would keep an eye out on that P tag, but it is to his non-shooting elbow. He’s solid.

*P.J. Washington also is in a great spot. He’s second on the team in C&S possessions and actually gets more per minute than Miller. Clifford just has to play him huge minutes again, so there’s a pretty decent upside on him in an ideal matchup with DeMar likely on him.

*Nick Richards’ matchup isn’t great here, but we’ve seen a massive ceiling with 36 and 37 minutes in his last two games. He’s OK just from a minutes standpoint.

Great matchups: Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, P.J Washington

Good matchups: DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Miller

Bad matchups: Nick Richards, Miles Bridges

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Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers (front end)