The Chicago Bulls are set to face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Christmas Day. The Bulls come in in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with their 15-11 record while the Thunder are in third place in the Western Conference with their 20-9 record.
The Bulls have been sputtering lately as they have lost their last three games and they have also had their off the court issues. Jimmy Butler recently called out head coach Fred Hoiberg for not coaching the team hard enough as he looks to take on more of a leadership role.
Butler has been great again this season on the court though as he leads the team with his 21.5 points per game. Butler is coming off a 24 point effort in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets but while he has played at an All-Star level again this season his three point percentage is down from 38 last year to 33 this year.
The Bulls biggest problem though has been Derrick Rose and his failure to find his MVP form again. Rose has played in 24 of the Bulls 26 games so far this season and he has an extremely low PER of 9.8. Rose is third on the team with his 13.5 points per game but he is making just 37 percent of his field goal attempts and 22 percent of his threes. The Bulls need more from the former MVP if they want to compete for the championship in the East.
On the injury front the Bulls are still without Mike Dunleavy who has yet to play this season due to a back injury. Dunleavy suffered a setback and is still out indefinitely. The Bulls will also be without Joakim Noah in this one as he suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him out 2-4 weeks.
The Thunder come into this game red hot as they have won nine of their last ten games and look every bit like the Western Conference contender everybody thought they would be. The Thunder's last game was a blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers as they won by 35 points.
Kevin Durant leads the team with his 26.6 points per game but he is doing a lot more than just scoring this season as he is also averaging 7.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season. Durant's 29.4 PER is third best in the league through 23 games.
One of the two players ahead of Durant in PER is his teammate Russell Westbrook who is second in the league, behind just Steph Curry, with his 30.5 PER. Westbrook has not shot the three well this season so far but his numbers are still outstanding as he is averaging 25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.
The Thunder are a healthy team and should have everybody available for this game.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:30 P.M. Eastern time and to watch the live broadcast go here. For the Bulls radio broadcast go here and for the Thunder radio broadcast go here.
