When: Monday, December 10th; 5:00 pm PST

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

TV: NBCSCA

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM

What to Watch For

The Chicago Bulls are a team in chaos. The team fired Fred Hoiberg on December 3rd and handed the reins to Jim Boylen. Since taking over, Boylen has publicly criticized his team’s conditioning, instituted 2 hour practices to try to build conditioning, and inspired an all out mutiny by his players. The Bulls weren’t good under Fred Hoiberg, but it was unrealistic to expect them to be very good based on their current roster and their current injuries. They’ve gone from bad to worse, and it’s an important reminder that change doesn’t always lead to improvement.

Given the Sacramento Kings own ongoing issues in the front office and the questions surrounding Dave Joerger’s standing with the team, it’s worth watching how hard the Sacramento Kings play, how much fun they’re having, and how well our young players are developing. The next time somebody is 100% happy with a coach’s rotations will probably be the first. Hopefully the Kings front office can stop worrying about minor minutes squabbles, and begin appreciating how fun the Kings are to root for right now. It should be a stark contrast to the Bulls.

Prediction

Given the unrest in Chicago there are two possible Bulls teams we could see tonight. The first would be an inspired roster hellbent on winning in spite of their coach. The other is a defeated, broken roster being run into the ground by their coach and their front office. My money is on the latter.

Kings 122, Bulls 95