Free NBA Picks Today: Chicago Bulls vs Brooklyn Nets 1/4/23

The Brooklyn Nets (25-12, 12-7 Away) will try to slow down one of the league’s top shooting teams when they head to face the Chicago Bulls (16-21, 9-9 Home) on Wednesday. Brooklyn outplayed the San Antonio Spurs 139-103 at Barclays Center on Monday, their 12th consecutive win.

With 27 points, Kyrie Irving was the scoring leader. Kevin Durant was another key contributor with 25 points and 11 assists. The Nets are second in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Boston Celtics. Chicago lost on Monday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 145-134 in overtime.

DeMar DeRozan had 44 points in the losing effort, leading the team. The Bulls are the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. This is the final meeting of the season between the teams. After winning the only earlier season matchup against Brooklyn 108-99 at Barclays Center in November 2022, Chicago will be looking for a season sweep.

Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 29 points. Durant had 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in defeat. Durant and Irving, averaging 29.6 and 25.3 points per game, respectively, are leading the Nets in scoring this season.

Durant is seventh in the league in scoring. Meanwhile, Nicolas Claxton is grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game, and Ben Simmons is dishing 5.6 assists. DeRozan (26.7 ppg) and LaVine (22.7) have supplied much of the Bulls’ offense. DeRozan also has recorded 4.9 assists per game. Nikola Vucevic has collected 10.5 rebounds per game.

The Nets rank as the league’s most accurate field goal shooting team at 51.5%. The Nets have had the advantage in the last 10 games at United Center, winning six. Brooklyn has won seven straight away from home this season.

Brooklyn is 10-0 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +13.1 (124.7-111.6). For the season, the Nets are averaging 115.2 points per game, compared to 110.8 for opponents. Chicago has split the last 10 (5-5), allowing 120.4 points per game on average while scoring only 116.3 (-4.1 margin).

NETS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
T.J. Warren: 19.2 | 13.1 | +6.1
Points per game:
T.J. Warren: 13.0 | 8.9 | +4.1