Thursday night’s game between the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center is important for a few reasons. Whether wise or not, the Bulls are attempting to keep pace for the ninth-best record in the Eastern Conference, assuring a home-court appearance in the 9-10 game in the Play-In Tournament.
Another reason for intrigue to watch a 29-40 Bulls team is that they are set to play two of their former core players DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine. Chicago traded DeRozan last summer and sent LaVine away on Feb. 5 as the team starts the process of rebuilding.
With DeRozan and LaVine, the Kings are fighting for a spot in the Play-In Tournament with a 35-33 record, good enough for No. 9 in the Western Conference.
DeMar DeRozan had a message for the Chicago Bulls
Per K.C. Johnson of CHSN, DeRozan said before that game that he trolled Dalen Terry and Patrick Williams on Wednesday night.
“DeMar DeRozan said he jumped on the Bulls group chat last night and told Dalen Terry and Patrick Williams to enjoy their nightmares about getting ready to guard him,” Johnson posted on X.
That’s one way to get into the head of the Bulls before the matchup.
DeRozan is averaging 22.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game this season.
Thursday night could be a special night for DeRozan. He needs just 17 points to become the 27th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points. Per Johnson, DeRozan said he never thought he’d make it as far as he has in the Association.
“It’s still hard for me to believe it at times,” DeRozan said. “I grew up in Compton, man. I never would’ve imagined being mentioned in top nothing in league history. It’s incredible.”
Maybe his trolling Wednesday night will help him score a few extra points and make history against his former team.
The Kings won their first matchup of the season against the Bulls 124-119 at the United Center in Chicago on Jan 12. The Kings did not have LaVine on its roster at that time. DeRozan scored 21 points against the Bulls.
