Wizards vs Bulls preview: Bulls run into Washington's staunch defense again

Hey Chi City, John Wall and Co. are in town and ready to win their second game in a row against your beloved Bulls - and we can't wait to see how it plays out on national television.

This is the third game of four this season (the teams have split the two meetings so far), which features two of the Eastern Conference's best teams.

Though the Bulls have won eight of 10 home games in the series vs the Wizards, they've dropped three of their last four games overall, including a loss Monday at Orlando. They also want to avoid their second loss to the Wiz in six days.

Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10, however - plus Washington is heading into tonight's game coming off of a back-to-back, having taken down the San Antonio Spurs last night.

Where and when? We don't blame you for not going to Chiberia for tonight's game. Catch it on both ESPN (Yay Wiz TV time) or CSN Washington at 8 p.m. EST.

Who's out? No one for the Wiz :) - Mike Dunleavy remains out for the Bulls.

Are they good? Not much has changed since the Bulls last played the Wizards, which need we remind you was a win for the latter.  They've hit a bit of a rough patch - especially defensively - but they're still one of the powerhouses of the East and threats to the Wizards in the playoffs. Their 11th in the league in points per game (102.1), 3rd in rebounds (46.0), 13th in assists (21.8) and 14th in points allowed (99.1).

What about the big men? This is my favorite matchup of the night! Washington's Marcin Gortat vs Chicago's Joakim Noah is insanely fun to watch. In last week's matchup, Gortat had his way with Noah, shooting 10-16 for 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. For the season vs Chicago, he's averaging 48% from the floor and grabbing 12 rebounds per game. Noah on the other hand, probably isn't looking forward to this matchup again. He was 1-5 from the field in Friday's game for just three points - but he did manage to grab 10 rebounds. Up against Washington, he's shooting 29% with 5.5 points per game, well below his season average of 7.8.

Standings, please? Washington is 26-12 and in sole possession of second place in the Eastern Conference - just four games behind leading Atlanta. But Chicago isn't far behind - at 26-13 they are just one half of a game behind Washington. This makes tonight matchup all the more great.

Bring me back to 2014... If the Wizards win tonight, it'll be their fifth straight victory at the United Center, dating back to the three won in last season's playoff series.

Were you really going to forget about John Wall vs. Derrick Rose? Sorry! After six tries, JW got his first win against DR last week. WOO. Let's hope our All-Star point guard, who dropped 25 points, 8 assists and 2 blocks last night against the Spurs can continue the hot streak against Rose and the Bulls tonight. The two both play well against each other and their importance to their respective team will be far from diminished in tonight's matchup.