The Bulls are about to SHOCK everyone...

The Bulls are 1-5, the Sixers are 6-1, and tonight in Philadelphia, I think the Bulls can steal one. Yeah, and I know how that sounds after the Bulls just lost 111-125 against Boston, but look at the one game the Sixers lost, 93-106 at home against Detroit on October 25th. The one night VJ Edgecombe was out, so watch VJ Edgecombe tonight. And Joel Embiid is listed questionable with soreness in his right foot, and Norman Powell is about to find out if tonight is his night. So let me earn that pick, because the record says I am crazy. Chicago has played six games and only won one. That one win came at Milwaukee on October 23rd, with Norman Powell scoring 25. Every other game was a loss. Toronto, Washington, the Knicks, and Boston twice. Two of the five losses came against the same Celtics team, and the last one was 111-125 on October 30th. Now, Washington and Toronto are not the Celtics, so I'm not going to pretend like those are good losses or anything like that, and a team that has to beat the teams it's supposed to beat, you know, that's what they need to do to win games, and Chicago has not done that yet. But look at who they played. They played the Knicks, the defending champions, the Celtics twice, all with a new coach, a new roster, and a new system, and even a new group of shooters. The case for tonight is this team has been tested by the best in the NBA, and Philadelphia is certainly one of those teams, and I think we could steal a game tonight. Now flip it. Philly is 6-1. The record looks great, but the last three wins came by exactly five points each. 114-109 at Indiana, 98-93 against the Knicks, 109-104 at Charlotte, which is not exactly a juggernaut, none of that is a blowout. And the one time they lost, they lost by 13 at home, 106-93 against Detroit on October 25th, the same night Edgecombe was out with an abdominal contusion. I'm not saying that the Sixers are bad, they're 6-1, they're a great team, but their winning margins are very small, because a team that wins by 5 can also lose by 5. That is the opening. The Bulls do not need to be better than Philadelphia over the season. They need to be better for 48 minutes tonight. Start with the guy who has not been the problem. Norman Powell signed a two-year $45 million deal with the Bulls in July and he was brought in to shoot. In his first six games as a Bull, he has scored 124 points. That is 20.7 a game in regular And the best one came four days ago, 30 points against the Knicks on 37 minutes, 66.7% from the field with four threes, the Bulls still lost. So Powell shot 66.7% from the field that night and had a really good game, so it just shows the problem is not him, it is everything around him. The thing about this team is that the shooter is working, the team is not, and somebody needs to help him out. Norman Powell is a hot shooter right now and when a shooter is hot, it is the most dangerous thing in the league and it becomes a cheat code. Now the other side, VJ Edgecombe is averaging 11.3 points over his first six games. That does not sound scary, but the Sixers have won all six games he's played and lost the one he missed. He had 17 points and 13 rebounds against Milwaukee on October 24th. So whoever slows Edgecombe down gives the Bulls a real look at this game, and I think Norman Powell can do it because he has the experience to do this, whereas Edgecombe is still learning. That is the Bulls' edge on the perimeter, but the game turns on one man in the paint. If you guys are enjoying this daily Bulls breakdowns like this, go down below, hit that subscribe button. We're on the roll for 6,000 subscribers. And Edgecombe is 17-13 on October 24th and 10 points on 8 rebounds in 37 minutes on October 31st. That's a guy who is not just scoring, he is doing the hard work too. Joel Embiid is questionable for tonight with a right foot issue. That is from reporter Chris Rim last night, so check the final report before tip. If he plays, he has been good. 19.2 points and 9.4 rebounds a game in his first five games, with 28 against Milwaukee as his high this season. And if he plays tonight, I think he will absolutely cook Jalen Smith down below in the post. I think Jalen Smith has been a good big for us this year. He has 12 points a game, but this is Embiid we're talking about. Notice something about his last game before the rest night. On October 30th against the Knicks, he had 10.7 rebounds and 7 assists, and the Sixers still won 98-93. But Smith is not a pushover. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks against the Knicks on October 29th, so he has shown that he can play. Here is the honest part. The Sixers rested Embiid and beat LeBron on Friday at Charlotte and still won 194-104, so even without him, they are not a pushover either. But that was Charlotte. Chicago has the shooter, and their coach just said Boston was one of the best teams in the league off the ball. So here's how I see it. If Embiid is out tonight, we have a real chance, but if he is playing, then Jalen Smith really needs to hold his ground. That is the version I do not want to see. A healthy Embiid tonight, because even if we double him, he can just pass out of it. He's one of the league's best centers, and he could really punish us down low. Either way, we'll know within minutes before the game starts. If he does play, keep an eye on his first possession and how the Bulls defend him down low in the post. And if he's just knocking down shots early, I think we're cooked tonight. The first possession will tell you if the Bulls came ready tonight. And a team that wants to shock everybody will come in and not flinch. Nick Claxton was a full practice participant on Saturday, according to coach Tiago Splitter. If he is back, the Bulls have a real chance frontcourt for the first time in a while. Then it comes down to Powell shooting well, Smith not getting in foul trouble, and the Bulls not turning over the ball. Claxton matters for a simple reason. If Embiid plays tonight, Claxton is a rim protector, and he could really have a solid chance of shutting down Embiid, and then we don't have to worry about our pick-and-pop Jalen Smith getting in foul trouble. So if you only keep three numbers for tonight, keep these. Powell at 20.7 points a game, Smith at 12, and Edgecombe at 11.3, all over their first six games. And the attitude is there. Caleb Wilson said it after Boston, I never have been a loser in my whole life, and I'm never going to accept being a loser. So what do I want to see early? I want to see Norman Powell knock down a couple threes early in this first quarter. I want to see if Jalen Smith can lock up Embiid, or if Nick Claxton is in, if he can lock him up and maybe get a block in one of the first couple possessions. Here is the part people are missing. This is not just one game. The Bulls play Philadelphia again on November the 8th at the United Center at home. That changes everything about how I think tonight because... The Philadelphia 76ers will have film to adjust to on whatever Thiago Splitter throws at them tonight. And if we can sneak out a win, they will be able to adjust by Sunday. And same with us. We'll be able to see whatever Philly throws our way, and we'll be able to adjust back to that as well. And tonight is the better chance because Philadelphia hasn't seen what Splitter and the Bulls can throw at them and what Norman Powell or even potentially the return of Nick Claxton would mean for this team. And think about the Sixers' side. They have a three-game win streak on their own floor, and a win over a 1-5 team is exactly the type of game that people won't show up for. That is how a trap game works, because the Philadelphia 76ers will play the minutes that they need, and the Bulls will play like their season depends on it, and then it will all come down to the fourth quarter. And a fourth-quarter game is all the Bulls need. They have the shooters, they have the young core who refuses to lose, and a bad record that nobody's expecting them to win tonight. Nobody is picking Chicago tonight, so that's exactly why we should be paying attention to them tonight, so stay with me. So here's my pick, even though the Bulls are 1-5 and the Sixers are at 6-1, I think it's the night the Bulls shock everyone. Powell gets going, Edgecombe has a quiet night, either Embiid is out or we get the return of Nick Claxton, which will be able to shut him down, or even we can see Jalen Smith lock him down. I know it's a lot of ifs, but this is the reason why we watch. And if it goes wrong, you get your chance at revenge Sunday at home. So let me know down below in the comment section, do you think we're going to shock everybody or not? I'd love to hear from you guys. This has been another episode of Bulls Digest. If you're enjoying, go down below, hit that subscribe button. We'll be here every day with Bulls content. And as always, I've been your host, KC. We'll catch you in the next one.