Bulls @ Nets Preview

There are a lot of interesting ways to frame the narrative on the upcoming game between the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets.

Certainly it is worth noting that the NBA’s first open gay player, center Jason Collins, will be making his home court debut in this game, though he is only likely to play a few minutes.

However, the narrative that truly makes this a marquee game tonight is the fact that the Nets and Bulls are among the hottest teams in the NBA right now.

The Chicago Bulls have won four games in a row and are 9-1 on their last ten.  They have began re-establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference, despite the ongoing injury issues of Derrick Rose and managements apparent attempt to get the team to tank when they traded away Luol Deng.

The Nets are not quite as hot as the Bulls.  They are 6-4 on their last ten and have only won back-to-back consecutive games.  However, Brooklyn’s recent road trip was the most successful the team has had all season, which could signal a big change for the how the Nets will play for the rest of the season.

Brooklyn won the final two games of it road trip cruising past both Denver and Milwaukee. The Nets will not be able to use cruise control against the Bulls, but the wins definitely gave them some momentum coming into what is going to be a tough game.

Marcus Thronton has really stepped up in Kevin Garnett’s absence.  Garnett is on the bench with back spasms.  Thornton scored 25 points in his last outing.

The Nets will be playing for several things tonight. First, knocking off the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference will be a huge notch in their belts.  They will also be looking for their fifth consecutive home-game win. Lastly, they will be looking to hit the .500 win percentage.  The last time they had a .500 was on Nov. 5.

The Bulls will be stampeding into the Brooklyn like they have been all season.  The Bulls have defeated Brooklyn twice already this season.

The last time the Bulls played the Nets was on Feb. 13.  In that game the Bulls handily defeated the Nets, 92-76 at home.

The Nets are not the only ones with a hot big man, as Joakim Noah recently recorded his fifth career triple-double.  He picked up 14 assists, 13 points and 12 rebounds.  His assist stat set a franchise record for the center position.  It is also the most assists a center has recorded since 1986.

The Nets are favored to win this game with a –3 point spread over at Bovada.  The game begins at 7:35 p.m. ET and you can watch it on the NBA Network.