Bulls vs Nets NBA Handicapping
Did beating Miami and ending the Heat’s 27-game winning streak take too much out of the Chicago Bulls?
Chicago Bulls (50-24) at Brooklyn Nets (43-31)
Barclays Center, Brooklyn
7 p.m. EST
Spread – Nets -5 from BOVADA
O/U – 188
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Because since that win a little more than a week ago the Bulls have struggling to find their way. A two-point loss at Dallas was followed by a life-or-death one-point victory over a Pistons team that wins only about once a month. Then the Bulls fell apart in the third and fourth periods in the nation’s capital and took a very tough L against the Wizards.
Tom Thibodeau’s crew now faces a difficult schedule in the home stretch, with 9 games over the final 14 days, including tonight’s tester against the Nets in Brooklyn. The Nets right now have what the Bulls want – namely, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But Thibodeau has already played his core (Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer) steep minutes this year, and making up 2½ games on Brooklyn might not be doable unless they get a win tonight in Flatbush.
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And it’s hard to see how that happens, given the Bulls’ rash of injuries lately:
***Noah has missed six games with a foot injury, and may be finally paying a price for his 24/7 frenetic style of play. He’s doubtful tonight.
***Marco Belinelli also figures to sit tonight as he deals with an abdominal injury.
***Taj Gibson also will probably be in street clothes after re-aggravating a knee injury on Tuesday night. [ad-6571516]
***Derrick Rose? As Billy Crystal would say – “Don’t get me started.”
Though it runs counter to Thibodeau’s run-through-a-wall-and-then-do-it-again approach, the Bulls might decide that discretion is the better part of valor and point toward getting everyone healthy and see what happens in the playoffs. They need only a few more wins to hold off the sagging Celtics for the No. 6 playoff seed, and they have two more games each with Orlando and Toronto.
Without Rose, the whole Bulls organization knew this was going to be a difficult season. They were able to hang around with the top teams (except Miami) in the East. But with water seeking its own level, it’s time to get ready for the playoffs and plot ways to steal a first-round series from either the Knicks or Pacers.
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The Nets are finally home after finishing off a torturous 8-game road swing (not bad – they went 5-3), and need to take care of business in the city. They’re trying to hold off enigmatic Atlanta for the No. 4 seed and home-court edge in the first round of the playoffs.
Reggie Evans, who has double-figure rebounds in 11 straight games, has to be licking his chops as he looks at a Bulls front line that has been decimated.
NETS 99, BULLS 83.
