The Chicago Bulls conclude a three-game homestand on Friday when they host Eastern Conference counterpart Charlotte Hornets, with both returning to action after lengthy breaks.
Both Charlotte and Chicago last played on Sunday, going on hiatus the following four days due to their eliminations from the NBA Cup. The Hornets finished 0-4 in East Group A, and the Bulls went 2-2 in Group C.
Charlotte resumes competition coming off a win, however, having snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 113-109 defeat of Indiana on Sunday. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 26 points, including a pair of crucial free throws with seven seconds remaining that sealed the victory.
The win was Charlotte’s first since losing guard LaMelo Ball to a calf strain. Ball was on a tear with four straight games scoring between 32 and 50 points before sustaining the injury in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ Nov. 27 loss to Miami.
Ball is averaging 31.1 points and 6.9 assists per game, both team highs. He is expected to remain out for Friday’s contest, though the Charlotte Observer reported on Wednesday that he is “inching closer” to a return.
No LaMelo Ball means there will not yet be an on-court reunion of brothers, as Chicago has had Lonzo Ball in the lineup for five of its last six games after his return from a nearly three-year absence.
Lonzo Ball scored a season-high nine points and dished four assists in a 132-123 loss to Indiana on Dec. 6
For Charlotte, compounding the absence of LaMelo Ball is that the team has also been without Tre Mann, his backup at point guard. Mann has been sidelined since Nov. 23 with disc irritation in his back.
“Our performance staff do a really good job of developing the most thoughtful plans they can,” Hornets coach Charles Lee told reporters, as his team deals with a rash of injuries that also includes forward Miles Bridges. “And every injury has different boxes you have to check off.”
Each injury requires lineup adjustments, too. Vasilije Milic has fulfilled starting point guard duties over the last six games with Ball and Mann out, and Milic has scored at least 13 points in four of them.
Chicago comes into Friday’s contest a loser in its last two before its four days off, dropping decisions to Indiana and a 108-100 final to Philadelphia on Sunday. Zach LaVine, who is averaging a team-leading 22.1 points per game for the season, scored 32 and 30 in the two home defeats.
LaVine’s individual performance was reminiscent of a five-season stretch in Chicago before the foot injury that limited him to 25 games a season ago. The two-time All-Star averaged at least 23.7 points per game each of the five campaigns prior to last year.
“There might be a game where I may need to go out there and try and lead the team offensively, but this year has been more about spurts,” LaVine told the Chicago Sun-Times of him taking on a more reserved scoring role. “I don’t think that’s the style of play that we’re playing right now.”
Chicago’s second-leading scorer for the season, big man Nikola Vucevic (21 ppg), had muted scoring performances of 13 points in each of the two recent defeats. He previously scored 39 points in a Dec. 5 win over San Antonio.
Vucevic is shooting a career-best 64.2 percent on 2-point attempts this season. Conversely, Charlotte’s defense is giving up 55.8 percent shooting from inside the 3-point arc, an area for the Bulls to potentially exploit.