Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls: Game preview, time, TV channel, how to watch free live stream online Chicago Bulls vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction & Match Preview - January 5th, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21 Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls: Preview, injury report, and how to watch In their first matchup of the 2020-2021 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls make their way to Rip City for a showdown against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Chicago Bulls enter this contest off a 118-108 win against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls' young star, Zach Lavine, had one of the best games of his career, dropping 39 points in 39 minutes. With the win, Chicago improved their season record to three wins and four losses. On the other hand, the Portland Trail Blazers are coming into the game off a loss to the Golden State Warriors. The game saw former league MVP, Stephen Curry, buried the Trail Blazers single-handedly, ending the game with a career-high 62 points. For Portland, Damian Lillard led the effort with 32 points, followed by CJ McCollum with 28 points. With the loss, the Portland Trail Blazers have split their season 3-3 and will be eager to take the win against the Chicago Bulls on their home court. Six games into the season, the Portland Trail Blazers have introduced fans to every part of themselves. Borderline unmatched offensive versatility, late-game mastery, serviceable team defense, you name it. The only problem? Those characteristics have seldom come together in the same game. It appeared Portland set the stage for 2021 with their 123-98 victory over the Warriors — the first time they kept an opponent under 100 points since Jan. 7, 2020 — but two nights later they were subject to public ignominy as victims of Stephen Curry’s 62-point night. It’s back to the drawing board against the Chicago Bulls, a team that could be on the uptick as winners of three of their last four. Statistically, the Bulls are about as average as it gets across the league. But under new head coach Billy Donovan, they’ve quickly become one of the NBA’s craftiest at drawing fouls, the No. 4 team league wide. They also roster a dynamic backcourt that should both test Portland’s discipline, and provide fans with shootout potential. Zach LaVine comes in averaging 24.6 points, and Coby White complements him up with 15.7 points per night, as well as up-and-coming first-round pick Patrick Williams. Last season, the two played their sets over a four-day span, the Portland Trail Blazers winning 117-94 and 107-103. For those in search of positivity, one of the supporting causes of Portland’s blowout victory came in their pick-and-roll defensive and communication on LaVine. The talented two-guard went as far as to credit the Blazers’ defense after the game, as noted in Phil Thompson’s piece for the Chicago Tribune. It also provides something to watch for. Match Details Fixture: Chicago Bulls vs Portland Trail Blazers - NBA Season 2020-21 Date & Time: Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 10:30 PM ET. (Wednesday 9:00 AM IST) Venue: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon Chicago Bulls Preview The Chicago Bulls put in one of their better performances of the season against the Mavericks. They are a team infused with young talent, and it will take some time and experience before they can set high goals for themselves. The Bulls have five players scoring in double digits, with the possibility of small forward Patrick Williams (9.6 points) joining them soon. It is the defensive end where the Bulls have the room for most improvement this season as they are 29th in the league in points allowed. Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen and shooting guard Tomas Satoransky (COVID-19 health and safety protocols) will be out for this one and could miss several games. Small forward Chandler Hutchison and Ryan Arcidiacono are out with injuries as well. Zach LaVine is red hot from his last game against the Mavericks, where he dropped 29 points in the first half of the game. He is undoubtedly the key player for this matchup as well. LaVine is playing well for the Chicago Bulls and is leading their side with 24.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in seven games so far. He is shooting 46.1% from the field and 30.2% from beyond the arc. Watch out for this young star as he may light up once again versus the Portland Trailblazers. Portland Trail Blazers Preview After beating them in their first game of the season, the Portland Trail Blazers suffered an embarrassing loss to the Golden State Warriors (137-122) in their last outing. Their record of .500 is not what fans would have hoped for to start their new season. The Trail Blazers had an excellent offseason with key acquisitions that brought over some much-needed support for their star players in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. They traded away Mario Hezonja and Trevor Ariza and brought in Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr., and Enes Kanter.