Match Preview - Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets

It’s the Bulls’ weekend in the NBA for Indian fans. The Chicago Bulls will play on Friday and Saturday on Sony SIX. Here’s a preview of their match-up versus the Denver Nuggets on Friday. The match will be shown live on Sony SIX at 9 AM.

The Nuggets are on a roll right now. They have won seven straight games to register their longest winning streak in over two years. Of their last 15 games, they have won 13 and have been steamrolling the opposition during this streak with an average of 113.1 points scored. When they have two or more players scoring above 20 points, they are 11-4 for the season. They have won the last 9 games in which two or more players have scored above 20.

The Nuggets currently stand at 31-18.

“As a team, I think we’re one of the top four in the West,” point guard Ty Lawson said. “I guess right now we’re proving it.”

The Denver Nuggets have consistently had one of the best home records in the league. They play in the mile-high city, Denver, which plays host to a mile-high altitude and that makes it difficult for visiting teams to get their feet under them. This season, their home record stands at 21-3. Here’s a read into how altitude affects home court advantage in sports. The Nuggets are coming off a great comeback win where they overcame a 15 point deficit at half-time to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-104. They outscored the Bucks 33-18 in the fourth quarter of that game.

“I feel like we’re short-handed right now, but we’re competing hard and that’s all you can ask for and I feel like our best basketball is yet to come,” Noah said. “We’ve just got to keep fighting and I think we’ll be all right.”

The Bulls are 14-8 on road games and are holding down the fort well in the absence of Derrick Rose. In the last five games, Nate Robinson has come in averaging 18 points, 7.2 assists and 4 rebounds. In the absence of Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich, the 5″9 Robinson has had to step up to the challenge and man the back court for the Bulls. Luol Deng has been taking on a heavier shooting load, putting up at least 18 attempts in each of the last four games, but he has hit just 34.7 percent in that stretch. The Bulls have also missed Kirk Hinrich (elbow injury) and Joakim Noah (foot injury). Derrick Rose or no Derrick Rose, as long as the Bulls are helmed by Tom Thibodeau, they will field a good defence.

The Chicago Bulls are thriving on their defence, averaging 91 points allowed, which is good enough for third best in the NBA. The Bulls still have a shot at winning this one if they can slow down the red hot Nuggets.

Here’s how the starting lineups stack up:

Nate Robinson vs Ty Lawson

Ty Lawson

Robinson is averaging 11.8 points with 4.0 assists per game in 22.8 minutes of action. Lawson is netting 15.2 points with 6.9 assists in 34.4 minutes of action. It’s rare that either of those two go up against fellow sub six foot point guards. Robinson stands at 5″9 and Lawson is 5″11.

Advantage - Nuggets. Lawson is a shade taller and plays more minutes.

Richard Hamilton vs Andre Igoudala

Iggy is one of the best defenders in the NBA and he’s averaging 13.5 points with 5.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He’s averaging 34.7 minutes to Rip’s 23. Rip averages 11.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Advantage - Nuggets.

Luol Deng vs Danilo Gallinari

Deng is averaging 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Gallinari matches him well with 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Advantage - Bulls. Deng usually plays well vs the Nuggets.

Carlos Boozer vs Kenneth Faried

Boozer is averaging 15.7 points per game with 9.6 rebounds. Faried averages 12 points with 9.7 rebounds. Both power forwards are a trifle undersized, being 6″9 and 6″8 respectively.

Advantage - Bulls.

Joakim Noah vs Kosta Koufos

Noah is listed as a game time decision for this one. He won’t be hundred percent healthy if he ends up playing. Noah is averaging 12.1 points with 11.3 rebounds per game. Koufos is getting 8 points with 6.5 rebounds per game.

Advantage - Bulls. Even a Noah at less than hundred percent can outplay Koufos.

By the looks of it, the Nuggets back court has the number of the Bulls while the latter fields a more potent front-line. The Nuggets are on a roll and playing this one at home. Expect them to pull away. The Bulls stand at 21-19 right now, and will probably drop to 21-20 tomorrow.