Bulls at Nets Picks and Game 7 NBA Odds
by Dave Schwab - 5/4/2013
It all comes down to winner-take-all showdown when the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets square off this Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Game 7 of this opening-round playoff series. This Eastern Conference matchup is set to tip off at 8 p.m., and it will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
The Bulls were blown out by 17 points as 4.5-point road favorites in Game 1 before going on a three-game tear to take a commanding lead in this best-of-seven series. They now find themselves pushed to a seventh game after blowing a golden opportunity this past Thursday night with a 95-92 loss as one-point underdogs at home.
Brooklyn lost its home-court advantage in a 90-82 loss as a five-point favorite in Game 2 but stormed back into this series with a dominating 110-91 victory in Game 5 as a 6.5-point home favorite followed by Thursday’s win on the road. The total has gone “over” in the last three games.
Bulls at Nets Betting Storylines
Chicago will need to quickly regroup to avoid becoming just the ninth team in NBA history to lose a playoff series after leading 3-1. It went into Game 6 without Kirk Hinrich, who has missed the last two games with a bruised calf, and Luol Deng, who was sidelined with the flu. Both remain questionable for Saturday night, but at the very least the Bulls should have Deng back in the lineup. Both these players have already had a major impact in this series with a combined 25.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.6 assists a game.
What Chicago really needs to win this game is another shut-down effort on defense that held the Nets to just 82 points in Game 2 and 76 points in Game 3. The Bulls ended the regular season ranked third in the league in points allowed in giving up an average of 92.9 points a game. They will also have to do a much better job with their shot selection after shooting just 40.4 percent in Game 6.
The never-say-die Nets returned to form just in time to avoid an early exit from the playoffs as favorites to win this series. Brook Lopez and Deron Williams have been a two-man wrecking machine with a combined 44.5 points a game, but a key to turning things around has been the improved play of Joe Johnson, especially this past Thursday with 17 points in the series-saving win.
Overall, Brooklyn has been all over the board as far as scoring points, but it appears to have found some much-needed consistency in the last two games. It shot 50 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range in Game 5. This dropped to 43 percent in Game 6. However, the Nets’ defense picked-up the slack by holding Chicago to just 38 points in the second half.
Bulls at Nets NBA Game 7 Betting Odds and Trends
BetOnline has opened the Nets as 6.5-point home favorites for Saturday night’s Game 7 with the “over/under” set at 184.
The Bulls are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 4-10 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The total has gone over in five of their last seven games.
The Nets are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a winning record but just 1-4 ATS in their last four games following an ATS win. The total has gone over in five of their last seven games following a SU win.
Head-to-head in this matchup, the home team is 7-3 SU in the last 10 meetings but just 4-6 ATS. The total has gone over in 13 of the last 18 games played in New Jersey/Brooklyn. Chicago is 5-2 ATS in its last seven road games against the Nets.
Bulls at Nets Picks and Betting Predictions
This series has been primarily dictated by momentum, and that has clearly swung back in the Nets favor with the added bonus of playing this deciding Game 7 at home. This could be just too much for Chicago to overcome, but the play in this matchup is still with the Bulls and the 6.5 points as they go down fighting to the bitter end.
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