Lakers vs. Bulls Preview and Game Thread: Could LeBron James and Rui Hachimura return to the lineup?

The Lakers’ starting five could be complete again as they take on the Bulls on Saturday.

The Lakers will play their fifth straight game at home against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. This is the first time these two teams will see each other this season and L.A.’s last home game before they go on five game road trip.

The purple and gold look to bounce back after being shorthanded in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls

When: 7:30 PDT, Mar 22

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum SportsNet

The Lakers’ most brutal stretch of the season, which saw them play six games in eight nights, is finally over. They ended up with a 3-3 record, which isn’t bad per see, considering that they were also recently bitten by the injury bug. This stretch also didn’t significantly impact their place in the Western Conference standings as they still have sole possession of the No. 4 seed.

Now, with a brand new week ahead and a stretch of games that’s less intense, the Lakers are also expected to be healthier with the possibility of LeBron James and Rui Hachimura returning to the lineup. Head coach JJ Redick did say prior to Friday’s game that he’s hopeful James and Hachimura will be back for this one and that tracks with the fact that both starters are listed as questionable on the injury report.

If James and Hachimura are indeed back, that’s obviously good news for the Lakers. The team will really need them in the upcoming road trip and it’s ideal that they continue getting as many reps as possible and build much-needed chemistry with the playoffs around the corner.

Friday’s playdate with the Bulls is the perfect appetizer for another challenging week ahead.

Speaking of the Bulls (30-40), the East Coast team comes into this one as losers of six of their last 10 games. Like it has been for most of the last decade, Chicago continues to be in basketball purgatory and it feels there’s no way out of it for them. The version of this Bulls team that the Lakers will see twice in the next week, though, is the one without Zach LaVine.

So while this Chicago team is figuring out life after him, expect a more balanced offensive effort from them across the board. The likes of Coby White, Nikola Vučević, Josh Giddey and Kevin Huerter will take on the scoring duties which, with all due respect, shouldn’t be a threat to a Luka Dončić-, LeBron James- and Austin Reaves-led Lakers offense. Note that this Bulls team is a bottom-tier defensive squad, too, so it should be very difficult for them to keep up.

This game is more about easing James and Hachimura into the lineup and perhaps getting the starting five to adjust to each other again. It’ll be nice to see the defense go back to where it was before James suffered his groin injury.

It’ll also be interesting to see who leads the way on offense for this one: Will it be Dončić who is coming off a superb 31-game performance against the Nuggets? Or Reaves, who has been superb over the last few games? Or perhaps James could waste no time in making his presence felt again.

Whoever it will be, it’s just nice to see the team get healthy again and, hopefully, it stays this way. Let’s enjoy this next week of Lakers basketball as they aim to stack more wins and gear up for the playoffs and see if they can start the week on an ideal note with a win against the Bulls on Sunday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Dončić (right ankle sprain), Reaves (right ankle sprain), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury management) and Jarred Vanderbilt (right groin strain) are probable.
• Meanwhile, Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), James (left groin strain) and Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management) are questionable.
• As for the Bulls, Lonzo Ball (left wrist sprain) and Ayo Dosunmu (left shoulder surgery) are out. Tre Jones (left midfoot sprain) is questionable while Kevin Huerter (right thumb sprain) is probable.
• Another note worth keeping in mind: LeBron James needs to play seven more games in order to qualify for an individual award this season which he likely will. The Lakers have 13 more games to play.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.