It will be quite the treat for the United Center crowd on Monday night.

They once again have the opportunity to plop down in a seat, grab some popcorn, and watch the best duo in the East go to work.

Bulls All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine will too, because it isn’t them.

While DeRozan and LaVine can make the argument about being a top five duo in the conference, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown require no debate.

If the East is Gotham, Tatum and Brown are Batman and Robin, and it’s not really close.

Not only because of their age and scoring ability, but the one department that DeRozan and LaVine fall severely short in the comparison – the defensive end.

That’s what makes Boston (3-0) once again a threat to play into June. Not only are Tatum and Brown capable of lighting an opposing defense up for 30 a piece on any given night, but just as easily play prison warden and put opposing scorers in lockdown for 30-plus minutes of hard time.

That’s why their star power shines brighter than anything the Bulls have.

The latest concern coming out of the Saturday loss to Cleveland? How can the Bulls get enough defense from their two stars to make sure the bleeding stops after two straight losses?

DeRozan is what he is at this point of his career. He’s not a lockdown one-on-one defender, but his team defense is above average, and his IQ a strength.

That was on full display late in the loss against the Wizards, when DeRozan stepped in front of a Bradley Beal pass with 33.1 seconds left in the game, and took it to the house for the unopposed dunk. A play that was anticipation more than anything, but one that also gave the Bulls a chance by tying the game.

The issue for the Bulls remained getting LaVine to be a serviceable defender.

Last season at this time, that wasn’t a question. In fact, LaVine was coming off a summer showcase in Team USA’s run for an Olympic gold medal in which he not only emerged as one of the better defenders for that group, but embraced those duties.

That had a carryover effect when he put the red and white jersey back on.

Along with Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, LaVine helped the Bulls become one of the more disruptive backcourts in the league. Then when the left knee started flaring up for LaVine, his defense started trending down.

That was supposed to be a distant memory this summer, however, after LaVine had a cleanup surgery in the knee and claimed he felt 100%. The Bulls sure believed it, committing to a five-year, $215 million max contract.

Now, it’s hard to figure out what to believe.

LaVine’s knee issue has him back on a managing schedule, and his defense is back to shaky at best.

Look no further than the third quarter against Cleveland, when coach Billy Donovan pulled LaVine earlier than usual in his rotation. He wouldn’t admit that it was solely because of LaVine’s defense, but also didn’t deny it.

“I think for our team, not just Zach, but collectively as a team, we all need to be better defensively,” Donovan said. “I would throw Zach in there with our team.

“I took him out in the third because I left him in too long in the first. I just wanted to give him off to try and recover.”

Maybe, but it didn’t help that Donovan was also watching a 16-point halftime deficit stretch out to 19 when he made the move. And unfortunately for the Bulls, the uncertainty with LaVine’s knee doesn’t scream for the defensive issues to become a quick fix.

The good news? LaVine and DeRozan will get the opportunity to see how the best duo in basketball does it. Tatum and Brown will make sure of that.

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Mount Carmel at Loyola lived up to the hype, providing a spectacular ending to the regular season. The Caravan’s win also keeps things simple at the top of the Super 25.

Everything remains stable to No. 20, where Naperville North returns. The Huskies were highly ranked in the preseason and looked very good picking up a road win at Naperville Central on Thursday. The Redhawks have dropped out.

Two other teams fall after losing in Week 9: St. Francis and Kankakee.

The decision to drop St. Francis was easy, the Spartans lost to IC Catholic. The Knights are one of the most consistent programs in the state and slot into the rankings in St. Francis’ place.

It was more difficult deciding what to do with Kankakee. The Kays are loaded with individual talent and played in the Class 5A state championship last season. Kankakee lost to Nazareth early in the season and to Crete-Monee on the road in Week 9. Both games were close, but the Kays didn’t look like a team ready for playoff success on Friday. Too many penalties and far too much reliance on big plays. They remain a threat in Class 5A, but are out of the rankings for now.

Week 10’s Super 25

1. Mount Carmel (9-0) 17A: vs. Buffalo Grove

2. Loyola (8-1) 28A: vs. Plainfield South

3. Lincoln-Way East (9-0) 38A: vs. Conant

4. York (9-0) 48A: vs. Oswego East

5. Simeon (9-0) 56A: vs. Oak Forest

6. Glenbard West (8-1) 68A: vs. Lockport

7. Hersey (9-0) 77A: vs. Argo

8. Lemont (9-0) 86A: vs. Eisenhower

9. Prospect (8-1) 97A: vs. Reavis

10. Marist (6-3) 108A: at No. 20 Naperville North

11. St. Rita (7-2) 117A: vs. Geneva

12. Warren (8-1) 128A: vs. Stevenson

13. Maine South (7-2) 138A: vs. Bolingbrook

14. Crete-Monee (7-2) 146A: vs. Centennial

15. Prairie Ridge (8-1) 156A: vs. Crystal Lake South

16. St. Charles North (8-1) 167A: vs. Maine West

17. Wheaton North (8-1) 177A: vs. Willowbrook

18. Batavia (6-3) 187A: at Guilford

19. Lake Zurich (8-1) 207A: vs. Larkin

20. Naperville North (7-2) NR8A: vs. No. 10 Marist

21. Plainfield North (9-0) 218A: vs. Rich

22. Sycamore (9-0) 255A: vs. Westinghouse

23. Brother Rice (6-2) 237A: at Jacobs

24. South Elgin (9-0) NR8A: vs. Belleville East

25. IC Catholic (8-1) NR3A: vs. King

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Three people were killed and two others seriously hurt after gunfire erupted during a large unauthorized drag race early Sunday in Brighton Park, according to Chicago police.

Around 100 cars had taken over an intersection in a “drag racing and drifting incident” when about 13 shots rang out around 4 a.m. at Archer and Kedzie avenues, Police Cmdr. Don Jerome told reporters at the scene.

Five people were involved in the shooting, Jerome said. Three males, all around 15 to 20 years old, were killed, he said. Two others were listed in serious condition at hospitals.

The shooting happened at one of several “car caravans” that police were monitoring overnight, Jerome said. Police had been monitoring the one at Archer and Kezdie on surveillance cameras, he said. The other car caravans that night did not turn violent.

Police were still looking for one or two gunmen, Jerome said. No weapons were recovered at the scene, he said.

A man, 20, was shot in the chest and left thigh and went to Holy Cross Hospital, where he died, police said. Another man, also 20, was shot in the chest and upper body and went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died. A third person went to Holy Cross Hospital with gunshot wounds to his neck and chest and was pronounced dead. Another man, 21, was shot in the right thigh and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.A 19-year-old man was shot in the abdomen and was taken to Mount Sinai in critical condition.

Twelve people have been killed in Brighton Park this year, according to data kept by the Chicago Sun-Times. The community area recorded two fewer homicides last year in the same period.

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Loyola’s loss to Mount Carmel on Saturday dropped the Ramblers to a No. 6 seed. Lincoln-Way East, York, Plainfield North and South Elgin are unbeaten, so slotted in before Loyola. But the Ramblers are still the heavy favorites to win the Class 8A state championship in Champaign.

Class 8A pairings

#32 Conant (5-4) at #1 Lincoln-Way East (9-0)#17 Neuqua Valley (7-2) at #16 Lane (7-2)#25 Stevenson (6-3) at #8 Warren (8-1)#24 Andrew (6-3) at #9 Huntley (8-1)#29 Belleville East (5-4) at #4 South Elgin (9-0)#20 Bolingbrook (6-3) at #13 Maine South (7-2)#28 Lockport (5-4) at #5 Glenbard West (8-1)#21 Homewood-Flossmoor (6-3) at #12 Glenbrook South (8-1)

#31 Oswego East (5-4) at #2 York (9-0)#18 Marist (6-3) at #15 Naperville North (7-2)#26 Downers Grove South (6-3) at #7 Palatine (8-1)#23 Minooka (6-3) at #10 Glenbard East (8-1)#30 Rich (5-4) at #3 Plainfield North (9-0)#19 Naperville Central (6-3) at #14 Lyons (7-2)#27 Plainfield South (6-3) at #6 Loyola (8-1)#22 Edwardsville (6-3) at #11 O’Fallon (8-1)

Class 8A Preview

Favorite: Loyola

Top Contender: Lincoln-Way East

Darkhorse/Bracket Buster: Bolingbrook

Best first round game: Bolingbrook at Maine South

Toughest path to title game: Glenbard West

Class 8A Predictions

First round

Lincoln-Way East defeats Conant

Neuqua Valley d. Lane

Warren d. Stevenson

Andrew d. Huntley

South Elgin d. Belleville East

Maine South d. Bolingbrook

Glenbard West d. Lockport

H-F d. Glenbrook South

York d. Oswego East

Marist d. Naperville North

Palatine d. Downers Grove South

Glenbard East d. Minooka

Plainfield North d. Rich

Naperville Central d. Lyons

Loyola d. Plainfield South

O’Fallon d. Edwardsville

Second round

Lincoln-Way East d. Neuqua Valley

Warren d. Andrew

Maine South d. South Elgin

Glenbard West d. Homewood-Flossmoor

York d. Marist

Palatine d. Glenbard East

Naperivlle Central d. Plainfield North

Loyola d. O’Fallon

Quarterfinals

Warren d. Lincoln-Way East

Glenbard West d. Maine South

York d. Palatine

Loyola d. Naperville Central

Semifinals

Glenbard West d. Warren

Loyola d. York

Championship

Loyola d. Glenbard West

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As the curtain rose, revealing basketball was back at the United Center on Saturday night, cheers erupted at the sight of Zach LaVine in uniform, delivering the pregame address.

After two games in street clothes and some ambiguous messaging about ”management” for a left-knee injury that was supposed to be a non-issue this season, the relief from the Bulls’ fan base was palpable.

On the Bulls’ first possession, LaVine drove hard to the basket and dished to Nikola Vucevic, who put down a dunk to get things started. The next trip down the floor, LaVine made a 25-foot step-back three-pointer.

In the opening minutes of his season debut, LaVine played like a guy whose knee hadn’t come into question during the last 72 hours. By the half, he had 17 points while the rest of the starting lineup combined for 19.

In the end, it was all for naught in the Bulls’ 128-96 loss to the Cavaliers in their home opener.

“When I play, I’m not going to try and hold anything back,” LaVine said. “It felt good to get out there. My first real-time going 100% since last year.”

“He was really decisive and aggressive offensively,” coach Billy Donovan said. “Our team, Zach, everybody has to be better defensively.”

LaVine wasn’t playing on a minutes restriction against the Cavs, but Donovan said he wanted to avoid him playing anything beyond 38 minutes. After his 11 minutes in the first quarter, he was on the bench for most of the second.

There was no indication of any knee discomfort. LaVine moved confidently with the ball, was active off the ball and got out and ran in transition.

He led the Bulls with 23 points and had four assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 32 points.

In the Bulls’ first two games, there was no sign of rolling over. After a poor start against the Heat, they battled back to control the second half and pick up the unlikely victory. They trailed by 17 against the Wizards on Friday night and put themselves in position to win on the last possession.

DeMar DeRozan, who had 13 points against Cleveland, stressed the importance of not allowing opponents’ runs to extend beyond 17 points after the loss Friday. Even with LaVine back in the fold, they were down by 19 in the first half. Donovan’s starting five looked like they were trying to find their cohesion with LaVine back in the mix.

The Bulls mounted a comeback in the third quarter with LaVine on the bench, closing the deficit to nine. LaVine played only four minutes in the third, which Donovan said was a result of overplaying him in the first quarter.

Ultimately, the Bulls looked like a team that just couldn’t keep up with the Cavs, who shot 56.5% from the field, including 59.3% from three-point range. The Bulls shot 40.5% from the field and 24.1% from three.

“We struggled to shoot the ball,” Donovan said. “That cannot dictate our spirit defensively.”

Patrick Williams had another ineffective night, scoring only six points and shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. His lone three came during garbage time. With four minutes left, DeRozan was ejected after picking up consecutive technicals as fans started heading for the exits.

Rookie Dalen Terry subbed in for LaVine in the final minutes and went 0-for-1 in his NBA debut.

As far as the plan for LaVine, it’s still hazy. But Donovan said they’ll continue to manage him in back-to-backs.Asked whether he’ll get to a point where he can play back-to-backs, LaVine answered with more ambiguity.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s for us to go and talk about. Obviously, you guys know I like playing all the time, but you have to think big picture.”

Lavine expects to play Monday against the Celtics.

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The Illinois High School Association state football playoff pairings have been revealed. Only the pairings have been released so far, dates and times of the games will be posted on Monday afternoon.

In the first round, the higher seed hosts the game. In subsequent rounds, the school that has hosted fewer times during the current playoff series hosts the game. If both teams have hosted an equal number of times, the higher seed hosts. The game must be played on Saturday, unless both schools agree to play the game on Friday.

One playoff round will take place each week, starting with the first round games on Friday, Oct, 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. This season’s state championship games will be held at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The Class 1A thru 4A title games will take place on Friday, Nov. 25. The Class 5A thru 8A title games will be Saturday, Nov. 26.

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The Illinois High School Association state football playoff pairings have been revealed. Only the pairings have been released so far, dates and times of the games will be posted on Monday afternoon.

In the first round, the higher seed hosts the game. In subsequent rounds, the school that has hosted fewer times during the current playoff series hosts the game. If both teams have hosted an equal number of times, the higher seed hosts. The game must be played on Saturday, unless both schools agree to play the game on Friday.

One playoff round will take place each week, starting with the first round games on Friday, Oct, 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. This season’s state championship games will be held at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The Class 1A thru 4A title games will take place on Friday, Nov. 25. The Class 5A thru 8A title games will be Saturday, Nov. 26.

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