Friday's game is the 1 thing Chicago has left to settle. The Bulls host the Hawks first, so this is the back half of a back-to-back with a flight to Minneapolis in between. A win there would end the skid. A loss would stretch it before they ever see the Wolves. Either way they arrive having played the night before, and Minnesota will have had 2 days off since the Dallas game.
The Spurs game showed what Chicago can do and what it can't. The Bulls put up 41 points in the 1st quarter and led 70-56 at the half. Then Wilson went down, San Antonio won the 3rd quarter 34-19, and the lead was gone. The Bulls have scored in every game. Stopping people is the problem: none of the 5 opponents in Chicago's last-5 window scored fewer than 124. That's a bad fit against a Wolves offense that just dropped 30 or more on Dallas in every quarter.
Minnesota is still missing a lot. Edwards is expected to be out about 2 months, and Donte DiVincenzo is still out recovering from his Achilles. That puts a lot on Ball and a supporting group that includes Ayo Dosunmu, who helped push the streak to 4 against Utah. For now the Wolves have the healthier roster, the rest edge and the home floor. Tipoff is 7:00 PM CT. For Chicago, getting through Friday and keeping this close for 4 quarters would count as progress.
