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 Friday’s meeting marks the finale of a five-game homestand and the
end of a stretch with nine of 10 games at home for Chicago, which
has picked up six wins in that span so far. The Bulls cruised past
the Memphis Grizzlies 98-85 on Wednesday while the backcourt duo of
Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose combined for 43 points. The Pistons
are not as sharp as Chicago on the defensive end but can score with
anyone at the moment and escaped with a 119-116 win over the Boston
Celtics on Wednesday – their third victory in four games. “We
couldn’t stop them down the stretch,” Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy
told reporters. “We’ve got to get that together. That’s two games in
a row that we have not defended down the stretch, so that was
disappointing.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE PISTONS (15-12): Detroit’s starting backcourt of Reggie
Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined to score 54 points on
Wednesday, including Caldwell-Pope’s career-high 31. “Our guards
have been making great plays,” center Andre Drummond told reporters.
“They’re making a lot of shots right now and it’s fun to watch.”
Caldwell-Pope is logging more minutes (37.5) than anyone else in the
NBA besides Houston’s James Harden due mostly to his prowess on the
defensive end, but he is picking up the pace on the other end of the
floor with at least 18 points in three straight games.
ABOUT THE BULLS (15-8): Jennings and Caldwell-Pope will have to
battle Rose and Butler on Friday, and the two Chicago stars can play
on both ends as well. Rose, who attempted only three shots while
playing through an illness against Philadelphia on Monday, looked as
healthy as he has all season on several explosive drives to the
basket in the first quarter of Wednesday’s win. “You could see the
explosiveness,” Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters of Rose.
“He was getting into the paint, he was finishing, there were a
couple others that he would have loved to finish that I'm confident
he will finish moving forward. But he just set the tone for our team
with his aggressive drives to the basket."
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BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pistons G Brandon Jennings (Achilles) is expected to start a
rehab stint in the D-League over the weekend.
2. Bulls F Doug McDermott scored in double figures in seven of the
last nine games.
3. Drummond collected 20 points and 20 rebounds in a 98-94 home win
over Chicago on Oct. 30.
PREDICTION: Bulls 101, Pistons 95
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