The Brooklyn Nets (2-3) are returning to Brooklyn after an impressive win over the Memphis Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday. Brooklyn will be looking to continue their winning ways when they face the Chicago Bulls (3-2) at Barclays Center on Friday and if you’re wondering how you can watch all the action live, you’ve come to the right place!
The Nets enter this matchup following a 119-106 win at the Grizzlies in which Brooklyn took it to Memphis despite missing center Nic Claxton as he was under his own injury maintenance plan for his left hamstring. Dennis Schroder had himself another incredible game as he dropped 33 points and eight assists while Ziaire Williams got some bragging rights over his former teammates for a few days with a 17-point, four-steal performance.
The Bulls come into this game after a 102-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday in which Chicago had six different players score in double-figures, led by Coby White’s 21 points in the contest. The Bulls are riding a two-game winning streak after also beating the Grizzlies earlier in the week so the Nets will have their work cut out for them as well.
The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
Notable Injuries
Nets: OUT: Bojan Bogdanovic (foot), Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring), Jaylen Martin (G League), Tyrese Martin (G League), Dariq Whitehead (G League), and Yongxi Cui (G League). PROBABLE: Trendon Watford (hamstring).
Bulls: OUT: Lonzo Ball (wrist), EJ Liddell (G League), and DJ Steward (G League). QUESTIONABLE: Zach LaVine (shoulder) and Jalen Smith (knee).
Advice and Prediction
This is one of the closest spreads that the Nets have seen this season as they have had one of the tougher schedules to begin the campaign. With Brooklyn favored in this home game, take the Nets to win by more than two points as they have been one of the more surprising teams this season.
In terms of the money-line, Brooklyn is favored in this one as they will be facing a Bulls team that is already missing Lonzo Ball and could be missing Zach LaVine as well. Chicago has some impressive wins on its resume so far as well, but take Brooklyn to win this game in front of its fans at Barclays Center.
For the over/under, the Nets have been one of the best offensive teams in the NBA this season as they rank sixth in offensive rating (117.0), but the Bulls are one of the worst offensive teams in the league as they rank 27th (106.3) in the category. The squads are almost flipped in terms of defense as the Nets rank 20th in defensive rating (116.6) while the Bulls rank seventh (108.9) in the metric. What should help this game reach the over is that both teams want to play fast and Chicago is first in the NBA in pace (106.7).
Prediction: Nets 115, Bulls 112
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets vs. Bulls betting preview: Prediction, point spread, odds
