Lakers vs. Bulls Predictions

Kobe Bryant expects another tough game against the Chicago Bulls even though they aren’t as formidable as Detroit, the team that broke the Lakers’ winning streak.The Lakers will play the Bulls, who have started their season with injuries and are 5-5, tonight at Staples Center and after losing to Detroit 106-95 Friday Bryant told the L.A. Times it will be another chance at a “gritty” team from the East. “That’s what makes the season exciting. You have these runs where it looks like you’re just unbeatable, you might go 82-0 or win 70 games. Then you lose one, it’s like ‘[They're] fighting for an eighth seed.’ But for us, it’s a nice and steady pace,” Bryant explained to the Times.

An ironic choice of words for Byrant, as the Bulls’ season has been anything but steady. Bulls’ guard Kirk Hinrich is out for three months after undergoing thumb surgery, forward Tyrus Thomas hasn’t matched up to his fourth pick (in the 2006 draft) expectations and the team has failed to take advantage of an early schedule full of home games. Chicago does have rookie guard Derrick Rose, however, who is averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 assists and five rebounds a game (only seven players in NBA history have averaged over 18 points, five assists and five rebounds as rookies-Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, LeBron James, Grant Hill, Steve Francis and Alvin Adams).

Get all your Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com.

Posted in General on November 18, 2008

Leave a comment