Bulls' Carter set for first rookie big man matchup vs. Ayton
Bulls rookie Wendell Carter Jr. was the No. 7 pick of last June's NBA draft, and also the fifth big man selected.
The four centers (or possible power forwards) chosen ahead of him were Phoenix's DeAndre Ayton, Sacramento's Marvin Bagley III, Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr. and Orlando's Mo Bamba.
Carter will get his first matchup against a fellow rookie center on Wednesday when Ayton visits the United Center with the Phoenix Suns.
Ayton comes into this game averaging 16.4 points and 10.4 rebounds, compared to Carter's 11.3 points and 7.4 rebounds.
"He's a monster down there," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said of Ayton. "He's another guy from an impressive rookie class. He's up there at the top with his physical play. He can step out and knock down a shot. Defensively, he has really good instincts. He has a really good around-the-basket game, very good offensive rebounder. He's going to be a handful."
Ayton just had his first tussle with Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, a matchup Carter got on opening night. Embiid piled up 33 points and 17 rebounds in the Sixers' win over Phoenix, compared to Ayton's 17 and 9.
Embiid taunted Ayton on a few occasions after the draft. He tweeted, "Don't compare Ayton to me either … I play defense."
After Monday's matchup in Philadelphia, it was all respect.
"I think a lot people usually misunderstand me," Embiid said. "I talk a lot of trash. I'm always going to do that, but the one thing I've always said about him is that he has a lot of potential. He's going to be really good."
Ayton has struggled defensively against some veteran centers and obviously had trouble slowing down Embiid.
"I thank him for teaching me a lot of things," Ayton said after the game, according to The Arizona Republic. "All these guys are bigger than what I thought. I've been seeing them from a screen. Everyone has been bigger than what I thought. Look at myself, like yo, what the heck? I've got some work to do this offseason."
Markkanen practices again:
There were a couple of injury and illness updates at Tuesday's practice. Lauri Markkanen's status remained the same, while Zach LaVine is on target to play Wednesday against Phoenix.
Markkanen participated in noncontact portions of Monday's practice. Thursday will be the eight-week anniversary of his right elbow sprain, which was given a 6-8 week recovery time.
"It went well. He responded well, feels good," coach Fred Hoiberg said of Monday's practice. "He's going to do another day of noncontact and then we'll evaluate him from there."
LaVine missed Saturday's loss to Toronto with an illness and admitted he probably should have sat out the previous night in Milwaukee.
"Zach was tired, there's no doubt about it, but he did try to battle through most of the practice," Hoiberg said. "He had to take some breaks, which is why it was important to get (two-way player) Rawle (Alkins) in here to be able to give Zach some time out when he did get tired. Looks like he's doing a lot better today."
New holiday tradition:
Now that the Bulls' annual circus road trip is a thing of the past, this weekend will make history: It's the first time the Bulls have played home games on the days before and after Thanksgiving since 1979. The Bulls host Phoenix on Wednesday and Miami on Friday.
Back in '79, the Bulls played in the Western Conference and waited until Thanksgiving weekend was over to begin a six-game road trip against the San Diego Clippers. The Ringling Bros. Circus made an annual visit to the Chicago Stadium or United Center for several decades, thus the "circus road trip," until the tradition ended last year.