Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets Betting Pick

The Chicago Bulls continue a three-game road trip with a visit to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Chicago is coming off an overtime loss at Indiana, while Brooklyn topped Detroit in its last outing.
Coming into the season, you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody that would predict these teams would be only one win apart at this juncture of the season. Chicago has not sustained a winning streak of more than two games, yet it trails only the Nets for the final playoff spot.
The Bulls have gone 45 games without their top small forward and have their third- and fourth-string centers taking all the minutes. Also, Lauri Markkanen is going to miss four to six weeks, leaving them extremely short-handed.
There is no doubt that the Nets have not met their expectations through 46 games. Though they have played more than 60 percent of their games without Kyrie Irving, and 100 percent without Kevin Durant, there really aren’t any excuses.
The Nets play most teams close, so it is the fact that they implode at the end of games that is truly their detriment. There is a lot of work to be done with this year’s group to simply make the playoffs. They’d like to get the win Friday night and add some distance from Chicago.
The Nets are 5.5-point favorites at home for this one, with the over/under set at 220.
Bulls Looking To Rebound
If the Bulls had just covered Victor Oladipo a little tighter on Wednesday, they would have 20 wins already and would not have tasted defeat in their last game. Such is life, and they have to move on to this game.
Zach LaVine has been on a tear of late and has raised his scoring average to 25 points per game, as he’s continuing to get better and better, still just 24 years of age.
The only issue is that there is no clear No. 2 scorer on this team now that Markkanen is hurt. The goal will be to try and find somebody to run with him. Whether it be Coby White, Tomas Satoransky, or even Thaddeus Young, the Bulls will need two guys to come through to win this game.
LaVine has won some games on his own this season, but it will be strong play from the supporting cast that will ultimately decide the Bulls’ fate against a determined Brooklyn team.
Trying To Separate
With five fewer losses than Chicago, there is still a great deal of distance between these teams. But the Nets would love to get this win so that should they struggle a bit down the road, they’ll have the temporary tiebreaker over the Bulls team they still play two more times after this one.
Irving missed the Nets’ game on Sunday to deal with emotions following the death of his long-time mentor and friend, Kobe Bryant. He returned with a vengeance to help them knock off the Pistons.
If there is one player in this league that truly possesses the Mamba Mentality with his effort on each possession, it is Irving. He is fearless and unstoppable when he’s locked in.
The Nets should feed Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan whenever possible in this one. The Bulls’ Luke Kornet and Cristiano Felicio are not known for their defense.
Bulls Win A Shocker
Chicago will knock off the Nets in a tight game, surprisingly. Bet on them, for sure, as LaVine will drop 40.
Free Play: CHI +5.5.