Preseason Preview: MACC Fund game vs. Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls @ Milwaukee Bucks– BMO Harris Bradley Center 7:30 PM CT 

Two Chicago superstars will meet for the first time tonight as both the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks gear up for the Bucks 38th annual MACC Fund Game (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer). One of the longest running charity games in the NBA and has raised nearly $1.4 million for the MACC Fund to support research aimed at ending childhood cancer and blood-related disorders.

For the first time in his NBA career, Jabari Parker will take on his hometown team — the Chicago Bulls. Parker, who led Simeon Career Academy to four straight state championships, will face fell Simeon alum Derrick Rose.

The Bulls are 0-2 in the preseason, including a loss to the Pistons in overtime. The Bucks are coming off a tough fourth quarter loss Detroit as well, and are 1-1 on the preseason.

The Intangibles

Radio: 620 WTMJ-AM (Ted Davis/Dennis Krause)

TV: NBATV/WGN-TV (Bulls Coverage)

Online: League Pass Audio

Social Media: @BehindTheBucks | @BullsBeatBlog

Last Time Out

As most teams do on back end of a back to back, the Bucks started strong against the Pistons on Thursday, outscoring them 29-19 in the first quarter. From that point though, The Bucks faded and couldn’t ever get a grip on the interior offense of the Pistons.

Playing a completely different lineup, the Bucks watched their first quarter lead slip to 50-45 at halftime. Fueling the fire was 23 Milwaukee turnovers that led to 26 Detroit Pistons points.  Former Pistons Khris Middleton and Brandon Knight led Bucks scorers with 13 and 11 apiece.

New Faces in the Windy City

The Milwaukee Bucks aren’t the only team that will roll out a revamped roster when the regular season starts at the end of this month. For Chicago, this off-season has been a busy one. Gone from a string of playoff runs is now Laker forward Carlos Boozer. The Bulls also said goodbye to point guard D.J. Augustin, who played a major role for them last season after Derrick Rose re-injured his knee and missed the rest of the regular season. Augustin will fight Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum and Spencer Dinwiddie for time at point guard in Detroit.

Veterans Ronnie Brewer, Jimmer Fredette, Lou Amundson and Mike James have also moved on from the Windy City.

Currently, the Bulls have 17 under contract for this season, including newcomers Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic, who will be looked upon to bolster up the new look interior.

Rookie Doug McDermott will also some outside shooting spark, something that was missing from last year’s squad. The Bulls finished 28th in the league in three point attempts and 24th in three point percentage.

Tonight’s Starters/Injuries

The new look Bulls offense has had some success in the preseason with their new look interior. Nikola Mirotic showed his range in the Bulls’ opener against the Wizards. He went 3/5 from downtown and scored 17 points. Pau Gasol has been a force on the glass in his 25 minutes per game.

Taj Gibson has proved that he is a much better option defensively than Carlos Boozer would have been if he stayed in Chicago. He only started 8 games last season, but will be a catalyst for the Bulls this season. Last time out against the Pistons, Gibson went 8/10 from the floor and scored 17 points.

For the Bucks, Khris Middleton continues to torch the Net. His .833 3-point percentage (5-for-6) is the highest this preseason for any player with over three attempts from behind the arc. Alongside him, rookie Jabari Parker has shot 38% from the floor (10/26) so far in the preseason. The Chicago native scored 11 points against the Pistons on Thursday  on 4/11 shooting.

Head Coach Jason Kidd will continue to mix up the lineups tonight, as he searches to see who plays best with each other.

Ersan Ilyasova will return after a brief bout with Illness. After an injury plagued season, Ilyasova’s role with the Bucks is still uncertain. Some believe that he could start at power forward, while others think that he will come off the bench, depending on the match ups presented to Jason Kidd.

Injury Report

While the Bulls come into this game relatively healthy, projected starter Mike Dunleavy will sit out tonight’s contest with some slight knee soreness. Most likely, the rookie Doug McDermott will get the start in place of Dunleavy.

The Bucks will be without two of their three rookies tonight. Damien Inglis is still recovering from surgery on his broken foot. The first selection in the second round of this year’s draft, Inglis is not expected to return to the floor until the start of November at the earliest.

Fellow rookie Johnny O’Bryant had to leave Thursday’s game with the Bucks after a right knee sprain. O’Bryant needed assistance off the court. According to Charles Gardner at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, O’Bryant was expected to see a specialist about the injury today.

Common Ground

For being in the same division, there are not too many connections between the new look Bucks and Bulls.

• Jabari Parker and Derrick Rose both played their high school basketball at Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. Parker won four state championships while at Simeon. Rose won Simeon it’s first state championship since 1984 during his Junior campaign. He also led them to a championship during his senior season. Overall, Rose was 120-12 during his time at Simeon.
• Former Milwaukee Buck forward Mike Dunleavy was projected to start for the Bulls before being declared out because of knee soreness. He played for the Bucks after the lockout in 2011 through the 2012-13 season.
• Former Marquette Golden Eagle Jimmy Butler will once again play at the Bradley Center, after starring there for two years. Butler averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds during his senior season at Marquette.

Three Things to Watch

1.) The Return of Ersan Ilyasova

This preseason is full of question marks for the Bucks, including where Ersan Ilyasova will fit in the rotation after the worst season of his career.

The big man averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds last season in a injured shortened 55 games.  John Henson has had a jump on Ilyasova in the first two games and there is still questions on what the Bucks organization really thinks of Ilyasova’s future.

It’s unclear how many minutes he’ll get tonight, but he needs to impress at every opportunity.

2.) The Pride of the South Side

One superstar who’s ability has been questioned after two severe injuries, and a budding superstar that is already being compared to the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Paul Pierce.

Both alums of the same high school on the south side of Chicago.

That has to create some interesting basketball fireworks.

The only thing that would make it better is if they both played the same position.

Jabari Parker is going to have something to prove tonight at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

3.) Bucks Defense at Guard

It will be interesting to see who head coach Jason Kidd will wheel out at guard to try and stop Derrick Rose and if it will be an indication of who he will lean on in situational defensive sets this season. Brandon Knight is a hard working guard with a quick first step and should get the first crack at it.

Yet Kidd could go completely unconventional and put the Greek Freak right on Rose to start things off.

This could start the quirkiness that Bucks fans have been anticipating matchup wise from Kidd. Kendall Marshall and Jerryd Bayless could also have their chance to guard Rose at points. Bayless has shown speed on defense in past seasons and is generally considered a solid defender of point guards.