Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Chicago Bulls – Game #36
Keldon Johnson start another road trip tonight in Chicago (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs play their first game of a four-game road trip tonight against the Chicago Bulls. The Spurs will hope that this road trip goes better than the 1-3 road trip they had back in December. After playing the Bulls, the Spurs take on the Milwaukee Bucks followed by two games against the Los Angeles Clippers.
San Antonio has played well recently. After blowing out the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio beat the Nuggets in Denver before losing in overtime to the Nuggets in San Antonio. At 18-17, the Spurs are tied with the Golden State Warriors for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
At 16-19, the Bulls are currently the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference. Chicago has won three of their last four games, including impressive victories over the Bucks and the New York Knicks. In his last two games, Zach LaVine has averaged 32.5 points per game.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
With nobody on San Antonio’s injury report, it’s very likely that acting head coach Mitch Johnson will start Victor Wembanyama at center, Jeremy Sochan at power forward, Harrison Barnes at small forward, Devin Vassell at shooting guard and Chris Paul at point guard.
Barnes has played well recently. In his last four games, he’s averaging 16.3 points on 57.1% shooting from the field and 52.6% shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Off the bench, expect the coach staffing to go with Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, Tre Jones and Stephon Castle. If the coaches decide to use a backup center behind Wembanyama, expect either Zach Collins or Charles Bassey to get playing time.
Chicago Bulls Injury Report
The Bulls will be without Ayo Dosunmu tonight — and that’s a big loss for Chicago. In Chicago’s 139-124 victory in San Antonio a month ago, Dosunmu had arguably the best game of his career. In 35 minuets, he finished with 27 points, 11 assists and ten rebounds, while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor, 3-for-3 from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the line. That was the first triple-double of Dosunmu’s career.
The Bulls will also be without Torrey Craig. Both Dosunmu and Craig have been out since Christmas.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Bulls
The Spurs are favored by three points and the over/under is 236 points. The smart money is on the under. San Antonio’s defense has been good lately, especially when they’ve been at full health.