This is absolutely PERFECT for the Bulls...

Jalen Brunson is the best player on the floor tonight, but the Bulls still have the perfect chance to win this game. Because look at the guys next to him. On Monday, Mikal Bridges had the worst true shooting percentage in the NBA, 21.7% among players with 20 shots. The Knicks are 1-3, the Bulls are 1-3 as well, and tip is at 8 Eastern tonight. Here is the thing about a team that is 1-3 and they lost against Orlando. They don't have a lot of answers, but the Bulls do and they have three of them tonight. Yes, Nick Claxton is still out, but I still like the Bulls tonight, and I'll tell you why. I know what you're going to say. Both teams are 1-3, and on paper, the Knicks are the better team, but the better team normally doesn't show up at the United Center. Start with the Knicks. They lost to Philadelphia, lost at Boston, and lost at home to Orlando before they finally beat Detroit. The Bulls aren't any better on paper. They lost at Toronto, beat Milwaukee, lost to Washington, and then lost at Boston. But look at how they lost at Boston. They shot 33 for 84 from the field, which is 39%, and 12 for 44 from 3, which is 27%. Their best four shooters, Vucevic, Wilson, Powell, and Giddey went 8 for 20 from 3 at 40%. Everybody else on the team went 4 for 24. There's a reason to believe it. Coby White is shooting 37% from the 3 with Giddey on the floor and 15.4% without him. It's four games, so it's a small sample, but the spacing is real. And remember how the Bulls' one win happened at Milwaukee? Norman Powell scored 25 and Trey Jones had eight assists with no turnovers. Those are the two names tonight too. Key one is the Bulls don't need a miracle. They just need the right players taking the three-pointers, right? And we've been proven to do this. And when the right players take the right three-pointers, we win basketball games. And the Knicks aren't a team that take away threes either. And that's why tonight, I think everything turns into the favor of the Chicago Bulls. So where do the open shots come from? Let's start with the rookie. Caleb Wilson, the fourth pick in the draft is averaging 21 points and 7.2 rebounds through four games, and 28% of his plays are in transition, so he wants the game to get loose. His matchup is Josh Hart, 10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 57.6% true shooting. Hart is the more efficient player, and that's his whole game. Hart spots up on 52% of his plays, so he's the guy who gets his points off of other people's work but Hart has turned it over three times against Orlando and three times against Detroit that's six in his last two games Hart does it all and he has his moments and he had 12 rebounds at Boston and five steals against Detroit I'm not saying Wilson beats him every possession so the plan is simple every miss every steal Coby White runs and he's going to catch Josh Hart in a bad position on the transition he's absolutely going to cook him whether it's taking it to all the way to the basket for a big dunk whether it's pulling up from mid-range or having a nice pull up three this guy's going to knock down some shots on Josh Hart he's going to absolutely cook him tonight the one catch is Wilson's 49.9% true shooting he needs easier shots and the easiest ones come from running if he wins that fight the guy next to him gets a lot of room and he's been cooking all week of course we're talking about Norman Powell he's at 19.5 points a game at 34.4% from the three and 58.2% true shooting through four games. At Boston, he had 20 points and went four for seven from three. Against Washington, he had 18 and made three threes. And Norman Powell is doing it without much help from his passing, but when the shots are that good, he doesn't need the pass because he's knocking them down. Think about that for a second. Powell has scored 15, 25, 18, and 20 in his first four games as a Bull. Bridges has scored four, zero, and six, and 12 for the Knicks. That is a gap of 14 points a game. Mikal Bridges is at 5.5 points a game, 22.2% from the three, and 33.3% true shooting. He scored four in the opener, zero at Boston, and six against Orlando. He did go four for eight from three against Detroit for 12 points. I'm not saying he's fixed, because one good night doesn't erase 33.3%. The Knicks do play him 30 minutes a night, and that's 30 minutes a night that Norman Powell can be the best wing on the floor. Bridges spots up on 54% of his plays. if the shots aren't falling, there's nothing else to go to. And Powell runs pick and roll on 26% of his plays and lives in it. And if you want a video just like this one before every single Bulls game, go down below and hit that like button. Okay, now we got to talk about the real problem for Chicago. The Knicks scoring is Brunson at 22.8, Karl-Anthony Towns at 22.5, and OG Anunoby at 16.2. And then it's Hart at 10.8 and Bridges at 5.5. So the Bulls don't have to beat five players they really only need to beat three and the one that scares me is Karl Anthony Towns he's at 22.5 points and 14 rebounds through four games and his shooting is 37.5 percent from three and 67.8 percent true shooting and Nick Claxton is still out with a hamstring strain Toby Okafor is questionable with an ankle sprain and Patrick Williams is questionable with an adductor strain as well so key two was keeping Cat off the glass this is a guy who averages 14 rebounds a game, and if he can start getting some offensive rebounds against us tonight, that's going to be second chance points that's going to help this team win this game and help them get more points on a team that's struggling for offense right now. The good news is that Bucellis has been good with the ball. 14 points on 57.4% true shooting, even though he's only 21% from the three. OG is the only other Knicks wing scoring, but he's at 25.9% from the three. Between him and Bridges, that's where Chicago can take the shots away. And here's one that should worry them. Brunson's plus minus is minus 3.4 a game with Towns on the floor and plus 3.4 without him. It's four games, so don't build a house on it, but their two stars haven't fit yet. Which leaves one last piece of the puzzle, Jalen Brunson. Brunson is averaging 22.8 points in 35 minutes through four games, and nobody is going to stop him. But look at how he's getting it. He's at 46.5% true shooting and he's shot 27.8% from the field against Detroit. He's still at 23. He turned it over three times at Boston and three times against Orlando. He's at 2.2 turnovers a game with an assist to turnover ratio of two. And he lives off the pick and roll at 41% of his play. So it really comes down to Giddey and Trey Jones if they can shut him down tonight. Giddey is six foot eight and Brunson is six foot two. So he can see over everything and he's at 7.2 assists a game, but he's shooting 39.3% true shooting. And here's the part I can't ignore. The Bulls' defensive rating is 125.1 with Giddey on the floor so far, and 105.7 with Trey Jones. Trey Jones plays 17.6 minutes a game, 62.1% true shooting, .8 turnovers. That's the guy I want the closest to Brunson when it matters. In the Bulls' only win at Milwaukee, Trey Jones had 11 points, 8 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers, and the Bulls were plus 24 in his 24 minutes, Giddey was minus 15 in 25. So key three is Giddey needs to use his size early, and when the play actually matters, you need to get Trey Jones in there to guard Jalen Brunson, because I think he can shut him down. You don't need to stop him, because it's hard to stop Jalen Brunson, but to get in there, make his shots harder, and that's what will help out the Bulls. So key one is to hit the threes. The Bulls can't go four of 24 outside their starting players anymore. Key two is to keep cat off the glass with Nick Claxton out and key three is to try to shut down Jalen Brunson but have good defensive nights by Giddey and Trey Jones and if they do Wilson running on Josh Hart and Norman Powell going up against the cold bridges is how this game is going to be won and there's a lot riding on it because if we win we're two and three and if we lose we're one and four we're kind of questioning if this team can be even competitive this year I'm taking Chicago in this one because both teams are one and three and nick's best wing is shooting 33.3 percent so i feel like caleb wilson's gonna have a big night for us and i think we're gonna come out home tonight and win this game and and get us back on track here so some things to watch going into this night and to start to see if we'll be successful is obviously if trey jones and josh giddie can stop jalen brunson start picking them up at the top of the floor and getting around these screens also if norman powell is hitting a lot of these shots then that's something that'll be looking good and obviously Caleb Wilson, if he gets some more transitions and is beating Josh Hart to the basket, I think we got a good shot tonight. And if we do all those three things, the Knicks will be chasing this game, and that's something we've been doing all season. It'd be nice to be in the lead after the first quarter in this one tonight. And if we lose, hey, it's one and three, two one and three teams going together, but we got a rookie with 21 points and a future star for our organization. Now I want to hear from you guys. Do you think we go out and win tonight against the New York Knicks the defending champs what do you guys think we need to do to win do you think Caleb Wilson's gonna cook tonight love to hear from you guys down below in the comment section but that's gonna be it for another episode here of Bulls Digest so if you're enjoying the content here go down below hit that subscribe button while you're down there hit the like button leave a comment and I love to hear from you guys so as always I've been your host KC we'll catch you in the next one