Kings vs. Bulls Preview – By the Numbers

February 3, 2024

5 down, 7 to go. The Kings longest road trip is coming to an end with game 6 in Chicago to take on the 23-26 Bulls. Sacramento is 4-1 so far on the road trip and coming off a great win against the high scoring Pacers.

The Bulls come into the game with the 22nd ranked offense and 14th ranked defense. They have talent on the roster, but things just don’t seem to be working out in the Windy City. DeMar DeRozan is once again leading the way with 22.0 Points, 4.0 Rebounds, and 5.3 Assists on 46.7/33.6/84.2% shooting splits.

The mid-range king is once again working tirelessly from the area this year, with a league leading 6.8 attempts per game. He’s making them at a 41.7% clip, which is down from his 47.3% from last season. It’s the type of shot where you live with if you’re the opponent. He can hit it at anytime, but I’m ok if he wants to take anywhere between 6-10 FGAs from the area tonight.

One of the biggest storylines for the Bulls this year though has been Coby White. He’s averaging career highs almost all across the board: 19.0 Points, 4.7 Rebounds, 5.1 Assists, 46.1% from the field, 39.1% from 3. It’s been a breakout year for the 23 year old guard and someone the Kings should have a gameplan ready for tonight.

As the Offensive Rating rank suggests, the Bulls struggle in multiple areas on offense. A quick summary of their offensive numbers with ranks:

  • Points: 110.0 (26th)
  • FG%: 46.5% (24th)
  • 3P%: 35.7% (24th)
  • 2P%: 52.8% (26th)
  • FTAs: 20.9 (28th)
  • Assists: 24.5 (28th)

The Pacers scored 122 Points against the Kings, but Sacramento did a great job frustrating them in the passing lanes and being active on defense with 15 Steals and a season high 31 Points off Turnovers.

The Bulls are one of the best teams in the league at doing just that, with 7.7 Steals per game (12th). It’s not the highest number of steals, but they use the opportunities well to score 17.3 Points off Turnovers, 9th most in the NBA.

That officially makes Points off Turnovers the Swing Stat of the game. The Kings are at their best when they are active on defense. You don’t need the advanced stats to know that their offense flows better when they are getting stops on the other end. Stay active against the lackluster Bulls offense and take advantage of it tonight. Likewise, don’t let Alex Caruso, the deflection king and owner of all Kings fan’s hearts, lead to too many easy buckets for the Bulls.

The other thing that stood out against the Pacers was how much the Kings spread the ball around on offense. They had 4 players score over 20 Points. Sabonis led the way with 26, Fox had 25, Monk had 23, and Barnes chipped in 22.

They are such a deep team on offense that they can turn to multiple players on any night. Fox scoring 30+ is great, but I still think this team has the highest potential when they get everyone going in a game.