Nets-Bulls Preview

Game 1 Saturday 8pm ESPN

Series number three kicks off in prime time Saturday night. The first ever in the new stadium in Brooklyn. Noah is unlikely to see the floor in game one and on the opposite extreme this is about when the nation falls back in love with Derron Williams. He might be a coach killer, but he is a damn good point guard that typically rises to the occasion.

This might be the most puzzling series there is this round. On one hand we have a team led by Derron Williams, whom comes up big when it matters, mixed with soft Brook Lopez/Joe Johnson, and under performing since he has been in NJ, Gerald Wallace.

On the other hand we have the Bulls, whom seemed to be out of gas for the last month or two. They are without Joakim Noah to start the series and presumably Derrick Rose for the entire series. But they have the coaching staff and personnel capable of putting together a defensive package to shut down the Nets. If they can get Noah back they will be able to cut off their top scorer, Lopez and their on ball defense of their guards will protect against Derron Williams. The rest of the gang is so thin, soft, or injured to make much of an impact against a good defense.

The Bet:

Bulls +125 for the series

The Bulls are the better team on paper. But they have been running out of steam lately. They have been run into the ground due to a lack of depth and energy spent fighting without Rose. But let me throw something out there. Rose probably will not play but why not just say he is going to dress right around 7pm tomorrow night? Now you have Brooklyn scrambling for a new defensive strategy. If he plays you get a version of one of the best players in the league, if not you get some drama and confusion in game one on the road.

This is going to be a tough series with some ugly stretches but ultimately be fun down the stretch if every game. And it has the biggest story overshadowing the series with the Rose absence.

Everyone knows Vegas is in business because they are almost always right. The Nets are favored in the series yet are 35-1 to win the East while the Bulls are only 30-1. Hmm.

mlz
Friday, April 19, 2013