Getty Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls take on the Detroit Pistons in their season opener.
The Chicago Bulls head to Little Caesars Arena to face the Detroit Pistons in what will be the season opener for both teams.
The game (7 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago for those who live in the Bulls market and Bally Sports Detroit for those who live in the Pistons market. It will also stream live on NBA League Pass for everyone out of market.
Here’s a full rundown of how you can watch a live stream of the Bulls vs Pistons, with your options depending on where you live:
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If the Game is in Your Market
DirecTV Stream
Note: This option is for viewers in the Bulls and Pistons markets
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NBC Sports Chicago and Bally Sports Detroit (both live in local markets) are included in “Choice” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Bulls vs Pistons live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
FuboTV
Note: This option is for viewers in the Bulls market
You can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Chicago (live in local markets) and 100-plus other live TV channels (TNT not included) on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Bulls vs Pistons live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch most games on-demand within three days of their conclusion, even if you don’t record them.
If the Game is out of Your Market
Amazon Prime’s NBA League Pass Channel
Note: This is ultimately the same as regular NBA League Pass (more info on that below), but with this option you’ll be able to watch games on the Amazon app, which tends to be available on more devices than the NBA app
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market NBA game via Prime Channels. You can try both Amazon Prime and the NBA League Pass channel at no cost with a free trial:
NBA League Pass on Amazon Prime
Once you’re signed up for the Prime NBA League Pass channel, out-of-market viewers can watch the Bulls vs Pistons live or on-demand on the Amazon Video app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
NBA League Pass
Again, this is mostly the same as the Amazon Prime option above, with the big difference being you’ll watch on NBA’s platforms rather than Amazon’s:
Once signed up for NBA League Pass, out-of-market viewers can watch the Bulls vs Pistons live or on-demand on the NBA app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or 5, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, Android tablet or other compatible device.
You can also watch on your computer via the NBA website.
Bulls vs Pistons Preview
The Bulls went 31-41 last year, scoring 110.7 points a game while allowing 111.6 points a game on defense. Chicago went 4-0 this preseason, and a solid core of young players led by Zach LaVine has people excited about watching the Bulls again for the first time in a while.
“This training camp, he’s been off the chart,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said about Levine, via The Daily Herald.
“He’s been absolutely incredible. And not from a playing standpoint, but what’s coming out of his mouth is really, really great. He’s seeing the game in a way that I would say are the things impacting winning and losing. I think sometimes when you’re a talented player, you can rely a lot of times on your own individual talent and scoring. He’s starting to realize, ‘OK, how do I lead? How do I bring four guys with me? How do I stay locked in defensively?'”
On the other side, Detroit finished with a 20-52 record last season. The Pistons averaged 106.6 points a game (27th in the NBA) and allowed 111.1 points a game on defense — and that’s where the team is going to focus its energy, at least to start the season.
“Defense, I think, has got to be our calling card until we catch up and get an opportunity to get everyone healthy and get a chance to play together and get our timing,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said, via NBA.com. “We’ve got to hang our hat on playing hard.”
All eyes will be on rookie No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham, who has been dealing with an ankle injury this preseason. The outlook has been good that he’ll play, but it could very well be a game-time decision.
“He is on course (to play),” Casey said leading up to the game. “He is working. We’re all on the same page with his people. With Cade, he is on course. We’re going to wait and hold out. One thing we’re not going to do, if he is not 100% we’re not going to rush him back out there where he can get reinjured and be out more time. We’ll see where everyone is by Wednesday and make that proclamation come Wednesday.”
Here’s a look at the predicted starting lineups for both teams heading into the season opener:
Bulls Projected Starting Lineup: Lonzo Ball (PG), Zach LaVine (SG), DeMar DeRozan (SF), Derrick Jones Jr. (PF, at least until Patrick Williams returns from his ankle injury), Nikola Vucevic (C)
Pistons Projected Starting Lineup: Saben Lee (G) Killian Hayes (G) Josh Jackson (F) Jerami Grant (F) Kelly Olynyk (C)