Bulls vs. Pistons: Breaking Down the Matchup at Every Position

Tonight the Chicago Bulls match up against their Central Division rival Detroit Pistons in Chicago. The Bulls head into this game with a 41-11 record, good enough for tops in the NBA this season. The Pistons are 18-32, which puts them 22 games behind the Bulls and ranks them 10th in the Eastern Conference. 

The Bulls and Pistons have played two times so far this season. The Bulls came out victorious in both contests, winning by 16 and 24 points, respectively. There is a reason that the Bulls have the best record in the league, and they continue to show it against the Pistons. 

For the Bulls, Luol Deng is listed as day-to-day with his left wrist, but should play. Derrick Rose is listed as day-to-day and probably will not play with his right groin injury. Rip Hamilton is listed as questionable, and will probably not play with his shoulder injury. C.J Watson is listed as day-to-day with a left ankle injury, but will probably play. 

For the Pistons, Rodney Stuckey is listed as questionable with a sore left hamstring. Also, Ben Gordon is listed as questionable with a sore groin. 

The Bulls and Pistons meet up two more times during the regular season. This is how they match up:

Point Guard: Derrick Rose vs. Brandon Knight

This is one of the easiest positions to judge between the two teams. 

Derrick Rose is flat out the top point guard in the NBA right now. He is averaging around 23 points and eight assists per game while leading the Chicago Bulls to the top record in the NBA so far this season. 

On the other hand, Brandon Knight is a great young point guard. He is absolutely a player who is on the rise, averaging 12.6 points and 3.7 assists in his rookie season. However, at this point, he isn't even in the same stratosphere as the defending MVP of the league. 

Advantage: Rose

Shooting Guard: Ronnie Brewer vs. Rodney Stuckey

Ronnie Brewer is the starting shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls at this point in Rip Hamilton's absence. He is one of the best perimeter defensive players in the NBA, using his strength and athleticism to stay in front of his man and cause turnovers. His offensive game is rather limited, but he has the ability to hit the open mid-range jump shot. 

The starting shooting guard for the Pistons is Rodney Stuckey, who is the leading scorer on the Pistons. He averages 16.1 points per game on 44.5% shooting from the field. He also leads the Pistons with 4.1 assists per game. 

Even though Brewer is a very valuable role player, he just isn't as strong of a player as Stuckey offensively. 

Advantage: Stuckey

Small Forward: Luol Deng vs. Tayshaun Prince

The starting small forward for the Chicago Bulls is first time All-Star Luol Deng. Deng is having a solid year as always this season, He's nearing the 40% mark from the three-point line this season and is averaging 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has also played a high level defensively all season long. 

The starting small forward for the Detroit Pistons has been Tayshaun Prince. Prince is having one of his average seasons, averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He has been fairly mediocre offensively, and average defensively by his standards. 

Luol Deng is flat out the better player, both offensively and defensively at this point. 

Advantage: Deng

Power Forward: Carlos Boozer vs. Jason Maxiell

The starting power forward for the Chicago Bulls is Carlos Boozer. Boozer is the only player on the Bulls who has started every game for the Bulls this season. He has averaged 15.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season for the 41-11 Bulls. 

Jason Maxiell, on the other hand, is more of a bench player than a starter. He makes the occasional super-athletic play, but does not bring much consistency, averaging only six points and five rebounds per game. 

While Maxiell brings the occasional energy, he is not a true threat on the court like Carlos Boozer. 

Advantage: Boozer

Center: Joakim Noah vs. Greg Monroe

This is perhaps the closest race between two starters on these rosters. 

Joakim Noah is having a monster season this year. Even though his averages are just under 10 and 10 in 30 minutes, his importance to this team cannot be understated. He is the anchor of one of the best defenses in the league this season. He also is a very underrated passer. 

However, Greg Monroe is likely the most important player on the Pistons at this point. He is averaging 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Monroe has one of the more refined offensive games in the league at the center position and could be a borderline All-Star for years to come. 

However in the end, Joakim Noah just does so many things for the Bulls, while Monroe doesn't provide as much outside of scoring. 

Advantage: Noah

Bench

Chicago Bulls bench: C.J Watson, Kyle Korver, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik.

Detroit Pistons bench: Ben Gordon, Will Bynum, Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye.

The Pistons have a couple of solid players on their bench, but those players have played averagely this season. Will Bynum and Austin Daye are both solid players having terrible seasons—both are shooting under 35% from the field and under 25% from three! Ben Gordon and Jonas Jerebko have been decent off the bench, but nothing special. 

The Chicago Bulls on the other hand have arguably the best bench in the entire NBA. The Bulls' "Bench Mob" plays incredible defense during their time in the game. They also have players on the bench that can give the team a completely different look. If the Bulls want defense, they can switch Gibson for Boozer. If they want shooting, they can switch Korver for Brewer. There is no bench that can fill almost any role in a lineup quite like the Bulls. 

Advantage: Bench Mob

Coach: Tom Thibodeau vs. Lawrence Frank

I would like to point out that Lawrence Frank is an EXCELLENT coach. He has made every team that he has coached better, and he is a great leader of men. There is no question that Frank deserves to be a coach in this league for many years to come. 

However, Tom Thibodeau is just in a class of his own. This season, he became the quickest coach to 100 regular-season wins, taking merely 130 games to do so. He has led the Chicago Bulls to the top record in the league, despite the fact that his starters have missed so many games. 

At this point, there's no way you could go any way but Thibs. 

Advantage: Thibodeau

Overall

The Detroit Pistons have turned into a scrappy team under Lawrence Frank. They are playing much better as a team than last year, but they still can't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the Chicago Bulls. 

The Bulls will take this one easily tonight, whether or not Derrick Rose plays, and jump to 42-11 on the season.