Match Preview - Brooklyn Nets vs Chicago Bulls

On Saturday morning at 6 AM on Sony SIX, the Brooklyn Nets will face the Chicago Bulls. This is a battle of the second and third seeded teams in the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Bulls stand third in the East with a 28-17 record and the Brooklyn Nets are second with a 28-15 record. Even without Derrick Rose, the Bulls have played formidably. Things will only get better as he returns. Here is a preview of this contest -

Momentum

The Bulls have the momentum in this one. The Chicago Bulls have won eight of their last ten games and are on a two game streak while the Brooklyn Nets have had five wins and five losses in the same number of games and are just coming off a loss to the Miami Heat. That was their first home loss under coach P.J. Carlesimo. The Nets and the Bulls have both gone 13-5 from the time when Carlesimo took over.

Amusing quote from Deron Williams about their last game which they lost to the Heat - “We just got flustered and couldn’t really get anything going, and because we couldn’t get anything going, I think our defence suffered because of that.” Good defence does fuel the offence but this is the first time I’ve heard of a player blaming the poor offence of his team for defensive lapses.

Past record

In the last six meetings between these two teams, the Bulls have won five of six. The last time these two teams met the Bulls won 83-82. Deron Williams missed a three which would have won it for them, but he has been averaging 26 points in the last six meetings of these two teams.

Bulls Bench power – Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson

“He’s a big lift,” coach Tom Thibodeau said of Butler who is one of the best defenders for the Bulls. “He can guard, he can score and play multiple positions and make hustle plays. He’s doing a lot for us. He’s a big part of this team.” Also, the Bulls have won the last five games in which Jimmy Butler has scored in double figures. Nate Robinson has been on a tear. He has scored in double figures in a season-high eight straight games and has averaged 20.0 points over the last four, shooting 56.9 percent from the field. “I’m going back to being the old Nate. Having fun and bringing energy and playing as hard as I can and not worrying about making mistakes and looking over my shoulder, playing as hard as I can and for as long as I can no matter if it’s 30 minutes or 30 seconds.” - Nate Robinson said. There aren’t too many sub six foot players running around in the league who do what Nate Robinson does. For every short Indian dreaming of being in the NBA, Nate shows that it is possible to do so even after being five foot nine.

Stifling defence

The Brooklyn Nets rank fifth at 94.7 points allowed per game, while Chicago Bulls is third, allowing 90.9 points against them. Although this won’t make for a high scoring affair, the teams are both entertaining to watch with players like Nate Robinson, Joakim Noah, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez.

Battle of all star centres

Brook Lopez

It’s rare that two all star centres go head to head in the league these days with the removal of the centre spot in the all star game. In this match, Joakim Noah of the Bulls will go up against Brook Lopez who was elected to replace Rajon Rondo in the all star game by David Stern. Brook Lopez is the more talented offensive threat but he can’t average 10 rebounds per game like Joakim Noah does. The Bulls are 18-6 when he gets a double double. But Brook Lopez currently leads all centres in scoring, Player Efficiency Rating, Estimated Wins Added and Value Added. He is averaging 18.6 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the floor while blocking 2.2 shots per game. The Nets fare well when he scores above 20. They are 13-5 this season in those situations and 14-14 when he scores below 20.

Home turf

The Chicago Bulls have the best record on the road with 13-6 and are first in the East in terms of record versus teams in the same conference with 22-7. The Nets have defended their home court well with a 17-8 record. Expect a close contest, my bet is on the Chicago Bulls to take this one.