Free NBA Picks Today: Brooklyn Nets vs Chicago Bulls 2/9/23

The Brooklyn Nets (32-22, 16-10 Home), one of the league’s top shooting teams, welcome the Chicago Bulls (26-28, 10-17 Away) on Thursday. Chicago was defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies 104-89 at FedExForum on Tuesday. Nikola Vucevic had a standout performance in defeat with 28 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists. The Bulls are ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Brooklyn dropped their last game on Tuesday at Barclays Center, falling to the Phoenix Suns 116-112. Cameron Thomas had 43 points in the losing effort to lead the team. The Nets are the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

This is the final meeting of the season between the teams. Chicago will be looking for a season sweep against Brooklyn after getting the win in both of their previous matchups, the last of which was a 121-112 victory at United Center on January 4.

Patrick Williams led the Bulls with 22 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Durant had 44 points in the loss. The Bulls have been led this season by DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, who are averaging 25.9 and 23.6 points per game, respectively. DeRozan also has dished 5.0 assists per game.

Meanwhile, Vucevic is grabbing 11.3 rebounds per game. Durant and Kyrie Irving have powered the Nets’ offense, averaging 29.7 and 26.4 points per game, respectively. Durant ranks eighth in the league. Nicolas Claxton is averaging 9.2 rebounds per game, and Ben Simmons is recording 6.1 assists.

The Bulls are shooting 49.0% from the field, ranking as one of the most accurate field goal shooting teams in the NBA (5th). The Bulls have come up short more often than not in recent visits to Barclays Center, losing seven of the last 10.

In the last 10 games, Chicago is 6-4 with an average margin of +5.5 (113.4-107.9). For the season, the Bulls are averaging 114.3 points per game, compared to 113.8 for opponents.

Brooklyn has split the last 10 (5-5), allowing 121.0 points per game on average while scoring only 118.4 (-2.6 margin). The Nets are averaging 114.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 112.6.

BULLS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Ayo Dosunmu: 20.6 | 15.6 | +5.0
Points per game:
Nikola Vucevic: 22.6 | 18.0 | +4.6
Rebounds per game:
Andre Drummond: 8.4 | 6.6 | +1.8
DeMar DeRozan: 3.5 | 4.8 | -1.3

NETS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Cameron Thomas: 41.6 | 13.5 | +28.1
Ben Simmons: 12.0 | 19.1 | -7.1
Points per game:
Cameron Thomas: 34.8 | 10.4 | +24.4
Seth Curry: 7.3 | 10.4 | -3.0
Rebounds per game:
Nicolas Claxton: 12.0 | 9.2 | +2.8
Ben Simmons: 4.0 | 6.1 | -2.1