Lauri Markkanen is indeed out vs. Trail Blazers, per Bulls updated injury report. He joins the holdovers (Carter, Valentine, Hutchison, LaVine, Porter, Dunn) as out. Bulls are calling up 2-way players Rawle Alkins and Brandon Sampson even though Windy City Bulls have playoff gm.<doc-sep>The Portland Trail Blazers (46-27) host the Chicago Bulls (21-53) Wednesday night at the United Center. Here are the details: What: Blazers vs. Bulls, 5 p.m. TV channel: NBC Sports Northwest (Comcast/Xfinity channel 37, or 737 for HD) Online: Watch a live stream on NBA League Pass (Subscription is required. League Pass is not available locally and is blacked out for nationally televised games.) There are a variety of other streaming options, which are listed at www.nba.com/blazers/watch Listen: Radio on KPOJ 620 AM in the Portland area. ABOUT THE BULLS This is the second game of a back-to-back for Chicago, which was scheduled to visit the Toronto Raptors Tuesday night. Before that matchup, the Bulls were 4-8 in March. ... After reeling off consecutive wins last week, the Bulls lost 114-83 to the Utah Jazz Saturday at the United Center. Lauri Markkanen recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds and Robin Lopez scored 10 points, but the Bulls made just 2 of 16 three-pointers and shot just 36 percent from the field in the blowout loss. ... ... The Bulls feature the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference and fourth-worst record in the NBA. ... Chicago is 9-28 at the United Center this season and features the second-fewest home victories in the NBA. Only the New York Knicks (7-31) have fewer home wins. ... Markkanen had scored in double-figures in 32 consecutive games heading into Tuesday night’s game, the longest streak by a Bulls player in eight seasons. He also had logged 20 double-doubles, the Bulls’ most since Pau Gasol in 2015-16. ... Before facing the Raptors, Chicago had been averaging 113.1 points per game in March, which ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference. ... Markkanen is one of four players in the NBA averaging at least 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds, while also making two or more three-pointers per game. ... The Bulls feature the youngest roster in the NBA at an average age of 24.1 years old. Chicago has 11 players on its roster who are younger than 25. ABOUT THE BLAZERS Portland’s season was dealt a sobering blow Monday night when starting center Jusuf Nurkic suffered compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula during a double-overtime victory against the Brooklyn Nets at the Moda Center. Nurkic will miss the rest of the season. ... In the midst of the depressing news, the Blazers clinched a playoff spot thanks to Monday night’s win, ensuring they will reach the postseason for the sixth season in a row and 35th time in franchise history. ... Damian Lillard finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and Seth Curry added 20 points in the win over the Nets, which was the Blazers’ fourth in a row and seventh in the last eight games. ... The Blazers entered Tuesday’s play in fourth place in the Western Conference, one-half game behind the third-place Houston Rockets and 2 1/2 games ahead of the fifth-place Utah Jazz. ... The Blazers are 4-0 since starting shooting guard CJ McCollum suffered a left knee strain. In those four games, Lillard is averaging 30.5 points, 12.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals. ... The matchup against Chicago is the first of a four-game East Coast trip for the Blazers and McCollum did not travel with the team. He remained in Portland for rehab. ... This is the second and final meeting between the Blazers and Bulls this season. Portland won the first meeting, 124-112, Jan. 9 at the Moda Center. ... Curry, who has seen an uptick in playing time because of McCollum’s injury, is averaging 16.8 points and shooting 47.8 percent from three-point range over the last four games. ... The Blazers have nine games left in the regular season and just three are against teams with winning records, including only one — at Detroit on Saturday — during this four-game trip. INJURIES For the Blazers, McCollum (left knee strain) and Nurkic (left leg) are out. For the Bulls, Wendell Carter Jr. (left thumb surgery), Chandler Hutchison (right toe injury), Zach LaVine (right thigh contusion and right patellar tendonitis), Otto Porter Jr. (right shoulder strain) and Denzel Valentine (left ankle surgery) are out. Also, Kris Dunn (mid back strain) was listed as doubtful before the Raptors game. Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox<doc-sep>March 27, 2019 - 5:00 p.m. PT Blazers injuries: CJ McCollum (out), Jusuf Nurkic (out) Bulls injuries: Denzel Valentine (out), Wendell Carter Jr. (out), Chandler Hutchison (out), Kris Dunn (game-time decision), Zach LaVine (game-time decision), Otto Porter Jr. (game-time decision) How to watch on TV: NBCSNW, NBA League Pass (outside of Portland) How to stream: YouTube Live TV, Playstation Vue, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV, NBA League Pass (outside of Portland) Radio: 620 AM SBN Affiliate: Blog A Bull On Monday, the Portland Trail Blazers suffered a world-class gut punch when center Jusuf Nurkic went down for the rest of the season. On Wednesday, the Trail Blazers will have to regroup without their Bosnian Beast. Portland’s 148-144 double overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets was about as hollow as it gets. For the Chicago Bulls, it’s a race to the bottom of the Central Division. They have lost seven of their last ten games, including a 114-83 shellacking at the hands of the Utah Jazz last Saturday. Lauri Markkanen had 18 points for the Bulls, who were undeniably short-handed. What to watch for The elephant in the room. The biggest question will be who steps in at center for the Blazers. Enes Kanter seems the logical choice, but his questionable skills on defense could leave a lot of holes. Zach Collins brings an edge defensively, but his offensive output leaves much to be desired. Meyers Leonard sort of splits the difference. There is obviously no replacing Nurkic, but Portland will have to figure something out. The biggest question will be who steps in at center for the Blazers. seems the logical choice, but his questionable skills on defense could leave a lot of holes. brings an edge defensively, but his offensive output leaves much to be desired. sort of splits the difference. There is obviously no replacing Nurkic, but Portland will have to figure something out. Abuse the second unit. Speaking of injuries, the Bulls are a walking intensive care unit at this point in the season. They only suited up ten healthy players against Utah, and may go as low as nine versus the Blazers. Their second unit is a cobbled together hodge podge of players. Portland can definitely find an advantage there. Speaking of injuries, the Bulls are a walking intensive care unit at this point in the season. They only suited up ten healthy players against Utah, and may go as low as nine versus the Blazers. Their second unit is a cobbled together hodge podge of players. Portland can definitely find an advantage there. Don’t panic. It’s easy to join the chorus of writers calling the Trail Blazers’ season dead in the water. But the Blazers still have Damian Lillard , and the team has come together well this season. Don’t ever count a Lillard-led team out. What they’re saying Mark Karantzoulis of Blog A Bull writes that the Bulls are finally starting to trust coach Jim Boylen: LaVine learning to trust in Boylen was as unlikely as the recent upswing the offense has taken since February. Much has been made about a decrepit offense vaulting from the league-worst troughs of shit it once resided in, to finishing February as a top-five ranked offense. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune talks about forward Lauri Markkanen and his adjustment in his second season:<doc-sep>
Blazers vs. Bulls Prediction Following a major blow to the team in their last game, will the Portland Trail Blazers be able to rebound tonight when they take on the Chicago Bulls at 8PM ET? Game Snapshot & Odds 579 Portland Trail Blazers vs. 580 Chicago Bulls Wednesday, March 27, 2019 8PM ET – United Center Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new NBA Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Trends According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Blazers are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -5.5 points against the Bulls. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 219.5 points. The public betting for this game currently is unavailable. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game. Blazers on win streak, but lose Nurkic Portland won its fourth straight game on Monday in a 148-144 OT win over the Brooklyn Nets, but the team lose Jusuf Nurkic for the rest of the season and most of next after suffering a compound fracture in his leg. The Blazers are right in the mix for a home series to start the playoffs. Portland comes into tonight 46-27 on the season, 17-18 on the road, 40-32-1 against the spread and 39-33-1 with the over. The Blazers are a strong offensive team, averaging 114.6 points per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. Defensively, Portland is giving up 110.9 points per game while allowing opponents to shoot 45.7 percent. Along with Nurkic being out, CJ McCollum is also currently out with an injury. Those two combine for 37 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Damian Lillard is leading the team right now with 26.4 points and 6.8 assists per game. Bulls fall again Chicago suffered a 112-103 loss at Toronto last night for a second straight loss. The Bulls did manage to cover for the third time in four games. Chicago is now 21-54 on the season, 9-28 at home, 34-40-1 against the spread and 39-34-2 with the under. The Bulls haven’t been very good offensively, averaging just 105.3 points per game on offense while shooting 45.4 percent from the field. Defensively, Chicago is allowing 113.2 points per game while opponents shoot 47.1 percent against them. Injuries have piled up and it’s unclear just who will play for Chicago tonight. Seven are listed on the injury report as questionable or out. Zach LaVine is among the questionable. He is averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game to lead the team. NBA Betting Trends Portland The Blazers are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 road games and 18-7-1 against the spread in their last 26 against Eastern Conference opponents. Chicago The Bulls are 6-18 against the spread in their last 24 home games, but 5-1 ATS in their last six on no rest. Prediction: The Blazers are beat up, but so are the Bulls. It’s hard to know just how Portland will respond to the Nurkic injury. They were able to find a way to get an OT victory after he was hurt on Monday. I think they will be able to handle the Bulls tonight, even on the road. Chicago has a whole roster that seems questionable and the Bulls don’t have anything to play for. Portland is still in the thick of playoff positioning and can’t afford to drop a game to the likes of the Bulls. NBA Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers -5.5