Tiago Splitter hypes up Nic Claxton, Jalen Smith duo

Tiago Splitter has a lot on his plate, eight games into his new role as head coach of the Chicago Bulls. They are 1-7 and face the daunting task of playing the dominant Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Bulls have a real vulnerability at center.

Both Nic Claxton and Jalen Smith are battling back from injuries. However, Splitter says a Claxton-Smith tandem in the paint is real, per Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic.

In his own words, Splitter said we are “definitely gonna see” Claxton and Smith feeding off one another. Splitter also talked about switching up the roles if needed.

“Jalen could start; he could start with Nic,” Splitter said. “We could do different things.” Splitter also expects Claxton to be productive on the offensive end by passing and pushing the tempo in transition.

Going into the season, the Bulls were anticipating Claxton to be in the starting rotation. However, Claxton has been out with a hamstring injury sustained during a preseason practice. As a result, Claxton hasn’t suited up during the preseason or the regular season thus far. Nevertheless, Claxton expects to return before Sunday.

Conversely, Smith has been the starting center. However, Smith went out with a hand injury on Wednesday against the New York Knicks. Smith is also expected to return on Sunday.

On Friday, Claxton and Smith both practiced.

Spiltter is working with a young team that is rebuilding, but still needs to get its bearings. The Bulls will play the 76ers at home on Sunday at 2:30 pm CST/3:30 pm EST.