Flickr | Scott McLeod
Coming off of their best offensive performance of the year, the Bulls visit Brooklyn on Christmas in a game everyone involved hopes isn’t just a giant lump of coal.
Losers of 7 of 10 and 11 of 15 since the Derrick Rose injury, the Bulls have gone from a touted contender in the Eastern Conference to being a game out of the playoff picture. In the Eastern Conference. Since apparently everyone (Deng, Butler, Hinrich) is questionable and I’m writing this just after midnight on Christmas Day, I’m not entirely sure what to expect from this game other than it being bad. It is entirely possible that this is the first game all season in which the Bulls are actually less of a sad, ruined mess than their opponents (the exception being the Knicks, of course). After mortgaging pretty much the entirety of the next half decade to win now, the Nets sit at 9-18, tied with the Knicks for 10th in the East. They’ve been playing better relatively over the last couple weeks, but after losing Brook Lopez to a broken foot this past Friday and after getting absolutely dismantled by the Pacers, they’re not exactly in a good place. Kevin Garnett seems to be at the end of his rope, Joe Johnson is still shockingly overpaid, Paul Pierce is losing his mind, Andrei Kirilenko is hurt, Deron Williams is marginalized, and, worst of all, Jason Kidd seems to have no idea what he’s doing. Really not much more to say than this. Remember that weirdly competitive seven game series these two teams had seven months ago? These two teams are not those two teams. This game is not going to be fun.
Probable Starters
Chicago Bulls (10-16, 3rd in Central, 9th in East)
C- Joakim Noah: 7th season. 10.6 points per game, 9.9 rebounds per game.
PF- Carlos Boozer: 12th season. 14.9 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game.
SF- I Dunno LOL.
SG- See Forward, Small.
PG- See Guard, Shooting.
Brooklyn Nets (9-18, T-4th in Atlantic, T-10th in East)
C- Kevin Garnett: 19th season. 6.7 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game.
PF- Mirza Teletovic: 2nd season. 6.7 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game.
SF- Alan Anderson: 5th season. 8.5 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game.
SG- Joe Johnson: 13th season. 16.5 points per game, 2.8 assists per game.
PG- Deron Williams: 9th season. 12.5 points per game, 7.6 assists per game.
Key Matchup(s)
Me vs. Alcohol.
It’ll be a struggle, but if I can avoid getting blackout drunk in misery before halftime, I might be able to write something cogent on this giant turd of a game. I’ll have to come out strong to avoid temptation and play great man defense on my better judgement to carve out the small advantage I’ll need to avoid sleeping through the later games, three of which might be decent.
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