We continue on with the first round of the NBA Playoffs tonight and we will see the Chicago Bulls try and close out the series vs the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TNT. Currently the Odds for the game have Brooklyn favored by 5.5 points while the total sits at 180.
Analysis: The Bulls went up 3-1 on the Nets after an epic triple-overtime game Saturday in which Nate Robinson sparked an amazing fourth-quarter comeback. The Chicago point guard had 23 points in the fourth quarter alone, to send it to overtime. After Brooklyn dominated in Game 1 of this series, Chicago has won three straight games (2-1 ATS) and completely taken control. The Bulls are 24-18-2 ATS (57%) on the road this season, but just 22-21 SU, scoring a mere 93.3 PPG away from home. In Game 4, Chicago trailed by 12 points with under six minutes left to play, but then it became the Nate Robinson show. He netted 23 points in the fourth quarter on his way to scoring 34 points in the game. Despite Robinson’s late-game heroics, it is PG Kirk Hinrich who is giving the Bulls a huge boost at the point guard position over the past two games, where he's averaging 15.0 PPG (50% FG) and 8.0 APG. He has also played excellent defense on All-Star Deron Williams. Chicago got yet another great performance from PF Carlos Boozer in this series in Game 4. Boozer finished the game with 21 points (10-of-16 FG) and eight rebounds, and is now averaging 20.3 PPG (59% FG) and 11.0 RPG for the series. C Joakim Noah also played his best game since returning from plantar fasciitis. After having just one point and eight rebounds in Game 3, Noah responded with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 39 minutes of play on Saturday. Rose has been speculated as returning for the playoffs, as the Bulls star has been shooting around with the team in warm-ups, but still to this point Rose has yet to see any real time minutes.
The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday 142-134 in OT. The Nets started off strong in the second half and looked like they would take control against the Bulls. Chicago came roaring back in the fourth quarter however, tying things up and bringing the game to OT, where the Bulls eventually defeated the Nets in game four. The Nets are 27-16 SU (63%) at Barclays Center, but just 17-24-2 ATS (42%) on their home floor. After a promising Game 1 performance, the Nets have let the series slip out of their hands. PG Deron Williams put up good numbers in Game 4, finishing with 32 points and 10 assists in 58 minutes of play, but scored just two points after regulation. His defense was sluggish too, as he was the one allowing Nate Robinson to erupt in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn SG Joe Johnson finally woke up in the fourth quarter of Game 4 in the series, hitting some big shots to force more overtime and scoring 22 points (10-of-20 FG) in the game. Johnson will need to use the momentum from the end of Game 4 in order to get himself going earlier in Game 5. C Brook Lopez continued to play well for the Nets, going 9-of-20 from the field and 7-for-9 from the line on his way to scoring 26 points. He also had 11 rebounds and four blocks in the game, and is averaging 22.5 PPG (48% FG), 7.5 RPG and 4.3 BPG in the series.
Pick: I really like the Over in this game. The Nets need this one in the worst way and i expect them to dictate pace and make this an uptempo game. Chicago doesn't really like that pace, but they have shown this year that they can adapt, just like they did in game 3. Net home games this year have 191.2 ppg, while Chicago's road games have put up 188.1 ppg. Let's also note that the Over is 9-1 in Brooklyn's last 10 off a loss and the Over is 5-1 in Chicago's last 6 games on days rest, while the Over is also 12-5 the last 17 meetings here. Should be a bit of an uptempo game as the Nets look to stave off elimination and that should get us at least 190 points here.
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