Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons in Paris: Who will emerge victorious in French capital? | NBA News

The NBA is heading to Paris this Thursday as the Chicago Bulls take on the Detroit Pistons in a regular-season game in Europe at the Accor Arena.
The French capital will see stars such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and the returning Killian Hayes grace the court. Who will emerge as the victor?

LaVine on a mission

Zach LaVine is a man on a mission, averaging a stellar 30.2 points per game this past week, including hitting over 50 per cent of his three-pointers.

Unfortunately, though the Bulls talisman might be doing the heavy lifting, his team have been slacking. Saturday’s 124-110 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder certainly encapsulated that.

This is his side’s third straight loss, and fifth in eight games, which proves to be even more concerning given the continued absence of Lonzo Ball, as well as the fact that LaVine has also mysteriously hinted at playing through injury himself.

If the Bulls are to snap their losing streak against the Pistons this Thursday, they’ll have to do it with their frontman in scintillating form.

The return of Killian Hayes

Killian Hayes, 21, grew up in Cholet, a small commune in France. His father played for the local professional French basketball club, Cholet Basket. The family name is a well-remembered one in many parts of France, and as such, his return to the capital will garner plenty of attention.

Perhaps because he had such lofty expectations placed upon him coming out of the 2020 NBA Draft. He failed to meet them then, but this year is starting to live up to his promise as a lottery selection.

Chiefly, Hayes has plenty of raw talent, it’s all about channelling that into something fruitful. His pick-and-roll game, for instance, is especially enticing. Hayes knows exactly when to run screens and hit floaters, and he’s also become niftier with assists, ranking 16th in the NBA.

His quick hands, however, aren’t always to his benefits, as evident earlier this month against the Orlando Magic when he punched Moritz Wagner and was handed a three-game suspension.

If he is able to tame that side and bring his silky skills to the forefront, he will impress the Accor faithful.

The battle of the bad defences?

It’s all very good to point out just how talented these two sides have been. But we’d be amiss if we didn’t mention the real culprit in their derailing play-in ambitions: suspect defending.

For Detroit, it’s been a continuous problem, palpable in this week’s defeats as they gave up a whopping 121.8 points per 100 possessions.

Meanwhile, the Bulls have a very specific defensive system, and it relies heavily on things going to plan. There is no plan B.

This essentially involves two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic as the big man acting as a defensive filter and forcing turnovers in the passing lanes. This allows defenders Ball and Alex Caruso to manage the central areas while the rest of the team pick up the wide areas.

Do all of these things perfectly and it becomes very clear why they had the best defensive efficiency in the pre-season.

Yet, as mentioned, these are conditions hard to maintain, and on more than one occasion, it’s become clear that the Bulls don’t always have the tools to do so, especially with LaVine taking up the star role.

This Thursday, they’ll have to rely on it as best as they can, and aim to thrive on their strengths to add more misery to the Pistons’ current concerns. Or as the French say, c’est ce que c’est!