Five storylines to watch ahead of highly anticipated Lakers-Bulls rematch

Three days removed from an unexpectedly tense and rather venomous showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, the two play-in-hungry squads are set to face off again, this time in the Windy City.

Chicago took the first matchup 118-108, spoiling LeBron James' return from the foot injury that kept him out for 13 games.

Though James didn't seem too down after the loss, going so far as making the joke that he had seen the "LeBron James of feet" in his recovery process, he likely won't be in a humourous mood if they drop another outing to the 36-39 Bulls.

Whether schedule-makers understood how pivotal the March 29 matchup between the Lakers and Bulls would be is something only they and Adam Silver know. However, what seemed to be just another game on the schedule a couple of weeks ago, has now become a game with ample storylines and serious ramifications in the playoff race.

Here are five storylines to keep an eye on in the Lakers-Bulls rematch:

With the play-in race in full effect in both conferences, the game between the Bulls and Lakers presents some fun inter-conference conference jockeying, pitting two stories that would otherwise be on parallel lines at a crossroads.

As it currently stands, the Los Angeles Lakers have been playing well since the All-Star break, going 10-6 in that span. Moreover, they're 12-8 and have the second-best defensive rating in the league at 112.1 since drastically revamping their roster at the trade deadline on Feb. 9. They've climbed from the 13th seed in the West to the ninth.

The Bulls meanwhile have been on an eerily similarly solid run since the All-Star break, also going 10-6. That solid play has moved them from the 11th seed in the East to ... *checks notes* ... 10th seed in the East. Well, at least it's a play-in spot.

Neither team can afford to lose as the races for the final play-in seeds are as tight as can be in both conferences. Los Angeles is only half a game above the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks, who sit in the 10th and 11th seed respectively. The Bulls have got more of a safety net, sitting two and a half games above the Washington Wizards, however, they'll likely want to push for the eighth seed and a more favourable position in the single-elimination tournament.

Chicago Bulls point guard Patrick Beverley was on an absolute hot streak with his antics during Sunday's outing.

After hitting a turnaround hook shot over James, Beverley hit his former teammate with a "too small" taunt, held it for a few seconds and made sure to punctuate it with a hard smack of the court afterward.

"I do it to everybody, I was just having fun, getting lost in the game," Beverley said to The Athletic following the game. "We’re not construction workers. We’re not guys who have to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning. We’re professional basketball players. It’s all about having fun. That’s what I tried to do.”

However, quotes from earlier in the year make the taunt feel just a tad bit more personal.

After the three-time All-Defensive guard was traded from the Lakers on deadline day, he made it clear what his goals were for the rest of the season: "knock them out of the playoffs," he said on his podcast.

In the same episode, he also made it clear that one of the reasons why he chose to sign with the Bulls after being bought out by the Magic was that they still had two games against the Lakers. To say that the matchups were circled on his calendar might be an understatement – a dart board might be more fitting.

Though he seems to play with an extra chip on his shoulder against the Lakers, extra motivation hasn't felt necessary for Beverley since joining the Bulls. Whether by his hand or not, since heading to the Windy City on Feb. 21, they've been humming.

In hindsight, choosing Russell Westbrook over any other option, let alone choosing him over DeMar DeRozan, may have been one of LeBron James' worst choices as the "I'm not really the GM" GM.

The other highly prodded-at move from that Summer was the Chicago Bulls maneuvering a sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs. The three-year, $81.9 million contract, in the eyes of many, seemed like an overpay.

Two All-Star appearances and an All-NBA second-team selection later, he's done more than enough to silence those doubts. The issue in Chicago has been with the rest of the team, with the Bulls ending last season in a gentleman's sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Next season will be his last under contract with the Bulls, and if they end their current campaign on another note of mediocrity, the direction of the franchise will likely come into question. DeRozan, and the one year left on his contract, could become a major player over the Summer or leading up to next year's trade deadline.

Should the Lakers want to secure another star to cement a big three alongside James and Anthony Davis, the Compton native could be the name floated, much like he was in the Summer of 2021.

The Los Angeles Lakers have hardly been a pillar for health and consistency so far this season. Entering the final stretch here, that likely remains their biggest detractor.

Since drastically changing their rotation at the deadline, acquiring Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Mo Bamba and D'Angelo Russell, injuries to LeBron James have prevented them from having a complete look at their final form.

James made his return to the lineup on Sunday after a 13-game absence, however, he came off the bench – only the second time he's done so over his 20-year career. He finished with a team-leading 19 points along with eight rebounds and three assists.

While James was out, coach Darvin Ham made another tweak to the lineup, promoting shooting guard Austin Reaves to the starting five. Reaves has been hot as a blowtorch since James went down, scoring in double-digits in all but one of the Lakers' last 14 games.

Now, with only seven regular season games remaining, Ham seems to have settled on what could be the starting lineup from here on out barring injuries.

D'Angelo Russell – Austin Reaves – LeBron James – Jarred Vanderbilt – Anthony Davis

Only issue: that group of five has played a whole three minutes together this season.

After Sunday's match against the Bulls, forward Troy Brown Jr. had mixed feelings about how James' return will affect the rotations and team chemistry.

"I feel like there's some good to it and there's some bad to it," Brown said. "Just him being so quick, you kind of got to get used to it. Obviously, he plays a certain way and moves the ball. We were playing a certain style and then he comes back and it's like we have to adjust."

However, he added that in the two days between games against the Bulls will be good for helping the team figure it out.

This game and the ones that follow it will likely be the last chance the Lakers get at finding some degree of consistency before the playoffs roll in. Let's see if it clicks.

NBA fanbases can be pretty ruthless, Lakers fans are certainly not an exception. After Beasley turned in an 18-point performance against the Bulls, fans took to the wing's Instagram profile, posting some rather negative comments on a post he made that day about his four-year-old song's birthday.

After getting backlash on his social media, he posted a comment on the post saying that "It's my sons bday and I'm trying to enjoy that.. obviously I want to be making shots myself ...

"Love y'all and just show some respect to me and my family."

Just to touch on it though, 18 points tied for the second-most points scored by any Lakers player that game. Most might point to him shooting six-for-14 from the field, but all those shots were from long range, and well 42.8 per cent from deep is actually a pretty solid mark efficiency-wise.

However, the frustration with Beasley is likely more a compounding of all his performances so far with his new squad. Since being dealt to Los Angeles, the shoot-first guard is scoring 11.7 points per game on 38.1 per cent from the field and 34.9 per cent from deep.

Since James suffered his injury on Feb. 26, Beasley's numbers have been a bit worse, averaging 10.6 points on 33.0 per cent from deep – not exactly a glaring difference.

If Beasley can recapture his shooting stroke in time for the playoffs, the entire feeling in his comment section could see a drastic change – hopefully. Could that shift begin Wednesday night?