The Nets take their 12-game win streak into Chicago to take on a struggling Bulls team.
The Brooklyn Nets face a tough test on Wednesday night as they take their 12-game win streak into Chicago to take on a struggling Bulls team.
Chicago is on a 2-game losing streak and has won just 5 of their last 10 games, dropping them to 11th in the East.
They are just 9-9 at home this season, but – yes, BUT – they have enough talent to put up plenty of points. Sure they aren’t a good defensive team, but they do have lots of offensive talent.
Still, there’s no team hotter than the Nets right now and as they head on a mini-road trip we’ll hopefully get to see them continue to ball out.
Speaking of: Lonzo Ball remains out. So, you know, Chicago… Ball out. No? OK, moving on.
WHO: Brooklyn Nets (25-12) at Chicago Bulls (16-21)
WHEN: 8:00 p.m. est
WHERE: YES Network (app and tv), WFAN-FM (radio)
Since the beginning of December, the Nets have been middle of the pack in the rebounding category. The Bulls have been one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA during that stretch, and whoever controls the boards will have a chance to control the tempo of tonight’s game. Nikola Vucevic is eighth in the league in rebounding, and will pose a unique challenge for Nic Claxton tonight. Claxton has been one of the best rim protectors in the league this season, and Vucevic will look to draw him away from the basket as much as he can. Vucevic is shooting a pretty solid 36.9 percent from deep, so he has to be respected from outside of the paint.
We won’t see that many 3-pointers (relatively speaking) tonight. The Bulls are 30th in threes attempted per game while the Nets are 26th. Brooklyn is second in efficiency while the Bulls are 11th. Having Joe Harris back will help the Nets 3-point attack and he looked spry in his return to action on Monday. Harris had been out for a week with knee soreness and we’ll see how he handles the workload of four games this week. O’Neale figures to be back so Jacque Vaughn and company will have more depth to work with tonight.
For more on the Bulls, check out Blog a Bull.