Chicago Bulls host New York Knicks Tuesday night, look to avenge Sunday’s loss – NBA Preview
The Chicago Bulls will host the New York Knicks Tuesday night at the United Center. The Bulls will look to avenge the overtime loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday night. Bulls are currently placed 1st in the Eastern
Conference, but have lost 3 of their last 4 games.
Sunday night’s game was the first for Derrick Rose after injury had him missing 12 in a row. The New York Knicks, on the other hand, have won 6 of their last 8 games. They have lost star players Jeremy Lin and Amare’ Stoudemire
to injury this season, but are still in playoff contention with 7th place in the Eastern Conference.
However, the Bulls are 22-6 at home and the Knicks are 10-17 in away games this season. The two Eastern Conference rivals have played each other 3 times this season, with Chicago leading 2-1. Bulls won 105-102 on 2nd February
at New York and 104-99 on 12th March at Chicago, before losing 99-100 at New York on a night ago.
On the 2nd February win, Derrick Rose scored 32 points and had 13 assists. 4 other Bulls players had double figure points. The Bulls shot 52.7% from the field compared to 48.9% for NYK, 50% from beyond the arc compared
with 25% for NYK and were 21-29 compared with just 10-14 from the foul line. The Bulls also had 9 blocks compared to 2 by NYK.
When they met again on March 12th, Rose again had 32 points but Chicago did not shoot as well as before. They were 43% from the field compared to 46.2% for NYK, 35.7% from three point range compared with 27.3% for NYK,
and 19-28 from the foul line compared with 22-31 for NYK. However, Bulls out-rebounded NYK 56-38 and out-blocked them 13-5. Again, 4 Bulls players were in double figures apart from Rose and 2 of them had double doubles.
Stoudemire had 20 points for NYK and Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 and Jeremy Lin added 15 points and 8 assists. Offensively, the Knicks were at par with the Bulls but took a toll defensively.
On April 8th, NYK beat the Bulls in overtime 100-99, with Carmelo hitting a 3 pointer to force overtime and then another 3 to win the game. Rose had 29 points but shot only 8 of 26 from the field. Bulls out-rebounded
the Knicks again 59-47 and in blocks 10-6. However, the Knicks had 11 steals compared with 3 by the Bulls and only 9 turnovers compared with a staggering 19 by Chicago. That is what made the difference, apart from Carmelo’s game winning shots.
Without Lin and Amare, Carmelo needs to step up once again as he did on Sunday night. The problem is, Anthony had a once in a lifetime game on Sunday night and that is what it took to beat the Bulls. Can he deliver again is a big
question mark. Rose was rusty Sunday night, playing after sitting out 12 games due to injury. He is crucial for Chicago, just as he was in the last two wins against the Bulls.
Bulls have outplayed the Knicks this season in rebounds, blocks and steals. That is their key again in Tuesday’s matchup. New York needs to defend Rose well and force him to have the kind of night he had on Sunday. Also, the Knicks
needs to do a better job at rebounding.
This match is crucial for both teams as New York are looking to hold their position in the Eastern Conference and the Bulls are looking to shrug off their recent losses and regain their confidence ahead of their playoffs, while
still holding on to their top position in the Eastern Conference and the league. The game is expected to be a close one, just like the previous three games this season.
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