We continue on with the first round of the NBA Playoffs tonight and we will see the Chicago Bulls take on the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. The game is scheduled for an 8:05 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on TNT. Currently the Odds for the game have Brooklyn favored by 7 points while the total sits at 181.
Analysis: The big mystery is who will be healthy enough to play for the Bulls in the series finale. Forward Luol Deng missed Game 6 with an illness and it remains unclear whether he will suit up Saturday. Point guard Kirk Hinrich (calf) missed the last two games and is a game-time decision. Guard Nate Robinson and forward Taj Gibson are battling illnesses and forward Joakim Noah has been plagued for weeks with a foot injury. Meanwhile, former MVP Derrick Rose continues to sit out due to his concerns about his surgically repaired knee despite being medically cleared by the club. Game 4 star Nate Robinson was so ill during Game 6 that he vomited on the bench during timeouts on multiple occasions. Robinson persevered to play nearly 42 minutes and had 18 points, second-most on the squad behind Marco Belinelli’s 22. Robinson has averaged 24 points over the past three games and has stepped up with Hinrich ailing. Forward Carlos Boozer is averaging 17.5 points and 11.2 rebounds and has four double-doubles in the series. Noah has three double-doubles while being physically hampered. “This has been a hard year, a really hard year,” Noah said after Game 6. “But I’m really proud of this team. We’re a team of fighters.”
The Brooklyn Nets attempt to become the ninth team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit and win a postseason series when they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round series. The Nets have had an up-and-down series. They dominated Game 1, only to look lifeless in Games 2 through 4. But the Nets have now won two straight games with strong defense (91.5 PPG on 44.5% FG allowed), and have committed just 10.0 TOPG during this pair of victories. Deron Williams hasn’t shot well this series (41.6% FG), but has still managed to post three straight double-doubles, averaging 24.0 PPG and 10.3 APG during this stretch. He's done a great job running the offense in the past two victories with 21 assists and just seven turnovers in a combined 80 minutes of action. Williams' great performance on Thursday helped compensate for C Brook Lopez who had somewhat of an off-night with 17 points (7-of-18 FG) and just three rebounds in 37 minutes. Lopez had scored more than 20 points in each of the previous five games in the series and had pulled down 30 rebounds over his previous three contests. SG Joe Johnson had a strong game for Brooklyn on Thursday, scoring 17 points (7-of-13 FG) while also dishing out four assists. For the series, Johnson has 16.3 PPG on 46% FG, but just 30% threes.
Pick: I will look to the Nets in this one. Chicago just has too many injuries to overcome in this one and the Nets have been playing so good of late. Look for Brooklyn to move on after this one.
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