By Colin Mieczkowski
Tonight it will be the Windy City Bulls taking on the Grand Rapids Drive at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. Both teams are on a winning streak, with the Bulls winning two in a row, while the Drive has won four straight.
In the last game against the Drive, the Bulls lost the game 121-91. They hope to get a little revenge on the Drive, a team that is 16-16 and 5-5 during their last 10 games.
The Bulls are 12-16 and are also 5-5 in their last 10 games. They look to inch closer to winning record if they can win tonight.
The Bulls have also enjoyed some recent success from Jake Layman, one of their newer acquisitions. He has averaged 17 points, and six rebounds to compliment his scoring.
Layman was a very solid player at Maryland, averaging 11.6 points for the 2015-16 college basketball season. He got his shot in the NBA by playing ball with the Portland Trailblazers where he scored 17 points in his NBA debut, including five three pointers.
Layman credits his time, playing with Portland, as a reason for his early success with the WIndy City Bulls.
“My time in Portland, working with the coaches, keeping me ready to playing in the games.” Layman said. “When you’re there, you never know when you’re going to get in, so you have to stay ready, and coming down here (to Windy City), I felt ready from day one”.
Despite his impressive offensive showing, Layman still feels like he could work a bit more on his defense.
“There’s always things you can improve on” Layman said. “For me, it’s on defense for sure, guarding the ball and knowing the right reads”.
Speaking of playing defense, the Bulls will have to contend with one of the D-League’s top five scorers in Jordan Crawford. You may recognize Crawford during his playing days with the Washington Wizards among other teams in the NBA.
In the D-League now, Crawford is averaging 22.9 points per game while a little over three rebounds and assists per game. During his stint with the Wizards (2010, 11 and 12), Crawford averaged 16, 13 and 14 points respectively.
In short, Crawford is no stranger to scoring, but with the additions of Layman among others for the Bulls, it adds some extra depth which is big in the D-League. With so many players bouncing in and out of different locker rooms, it’s hard to keep a deep team.
But, with a team that’s trying to break out of the cellar, and another team hanging around at .500, both teams are hungry. When both teams are anxious, it can lead to a great game, and this could be the case tonight.
Be sure to listen to all home games and read about the team, on the official radio home of Windy City Bulls basketball, SportsTownChicago.com.
Tonight it will be the Windy City Bulls taking on the Grand Rapids Drive at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. Both teams are on a winning streak, with the Bulls winning two in a row, while the Drive has won four straight.
In the last game against the Drive, the Bulls lost the game 121-91. They hope to get a little revenge on the Drive, a team that is 16-16 and 5-5 during their last 10 games.
The Bulls are 12-16 and are also 5-5 in their last 10 games. They look to inch closer to winning record if they can win tonight.
The Bulls have also enjoyed some recent success from Jake Layman, one of their newer acquisitions. He has averaged 17 points, and six rebounds to compliment his scoring.
Layman was a very solid player at Maryland, averaging 11.6 points for the 2015-16 college basketball season. He got his shot in the NBA by playing ball with the Portland Trailblazers where he scored 17 points in his NBA debut, including five three pointers.
Layman credits his time, playing with Portland, as a reason for his early success with the WIndy City Bulls.
“My time in Portland, working with the coaches, keeping me ready to playing in the games.” Layman said. “When you’re there, you never know when you’re going to get in, so you have to stay ready, and coming down here (to Windy City), I felt ready from day one”.
Despite his impressive offensive showing, Layman still feels like he could work a bit more on his defense.
“There’s always things you can improve on” Layman said. “For me, it’s on defense for sure, guarding the ball and knowing the right reads”.
Speaking of playing defense, the Bulls will have to contend with one of the D-League’s top five scorers in Jordan Crawford. You may recognize Crawford during his playing days with the Washington Wizards among other teams in the NBA.
In the D-League now, Crawford is averaging 22.9 points per game while a little over three rebounds and assists per game. During his stint with the Wizards (2010, 11 and 12), Crawford averaged 16, 13 and 14 points respectively.
In short, Crawford is no stranger to scoring, but with the additions of Layman among others for the Bulls, it adds some extra depth which is big in the D-League. With so many players bouncing in and out of different locker rooms, it’s hard to keep a deep team.
But, with a team that’s trying to break out of the cellar, and another team hanging around at .500, both teams are hungry. When both teams are anxious, it can lead to a great game, and this could be the case tonight.
Be sure to listen to all home games and read about the team, on the official radio home of Windy City Bulls basketball, SportsTownChicago.com.