SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
Offseason acquisition, Zach LaVine, will make his season debut when the Chicago Bulls (15-27) will play host to the visiting division rival, Detroit Pistons (22-18), on Saturday night at the United Center. LaVine came to Chicago in a trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. LaVine has been nursing an injured knee from last year, where he suffered a torn ACL. LaVine is known for his thunderous dunking abilities and superior shooting from beyond the arc. LaVine averaged 18.9 points per game last year for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Pistons are well rested, having not played since Wednesday night where they claimed a victory over the New Jersey Nets, 114-80. The Bulls are also coming off a win, although they had to work much harder for the victory, playing an additional two overtime periods before beating the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden 122-118.
Detroit currently holds the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, 10 games back of the Boston Celtics who hold are leading the conference. Detroit is led by 6'9" Tobias Harris who averages 18.5 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game. Big man, Andre Drummond is the anchor of the defense, while contributing 14.4 PPG along with an NBA-best 15 rebounds per game.
Chicago is looking to move closer to the top eight teams in the conference and back in the playoff picture. They are currently 7 games back of the eighth spot in the conference. Nicola Mirotic, who has been involved in many trade talks, leads the team in scoring with 17.4 PPG and 7 RPG, largely due to his three point shooting where he averages just under 50% per game beyond the arch. Rookie Lauri Markkanen brings 15.4 PPG to the offense and is coming off a career-high 33 point performance against the afore mentioned Knicks, along with his 7.6 RPG. Kris Dunn rounds out the Bulls attack contributing 13.7 PPG along with 6.3 helpers per game.
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