On Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls will be in Los Angeles to face off against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
The Bulls are coming off a thrilling 130-124 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on Tuesday. Rookie sensation Matas Buzelis stole the show with a career-high 41 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. The 20-year-old shot an impressive 16-of-28 from the field and 5-of-15 from three-point range while logging a hefty 45 minutes.
Chicago Bulls Announce Players Available For Thursday’s game, the Bulls will be without several key contributors. Head coach Billy Donovan confirmed that Isaac Okoro, Collin Sexton and Patrick Williams are all out against the Lakers. However, forward Jalen Smith is available to play.
Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation reported: “Billy Donovan says Isaac Okoro, Collin Sexton and Patrick Williams are all out tonight against the Lakers. Jalen Smith is available to play.”
Underdog NBA has now released the complete list of Bulls players who will be available for the contest:
- Josh Giddey
- Matas Buzelis
- Jalen Smith
- Tre Jones
- Nick Richards
- Leonard Miller
- Rob Dillingham
- Yuki Kawamura
- Lachlan Olbrich
With the injury absences, the Bulls will lean heavily on their young core and available veterans to battle a Lakers team fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. Buzelis is expected to draw another heavy workload after his explosive performance in San Francisco.
The tip-off is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT).