The Bulls (16-21) welcome the Brooklyn Nets (25-12) to the Windy City to play the second of four games scheduled between them this season. Chicago visited Bed-Stuy back on November 1st, and cut down the Nets on their home floor, 108-99, thanks to Zach LaVine torching the twine for 20 of his team-high 29 points in the fourth quarter. The victory was the Bulls’ second straight in Brooklyn dating back to last season, a year in which Chicago won two of the three games played between the teams.

As for this evening, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as the Bulls and Nets tipoff (7:00 pm CST – NBC Sports Chicago):

After suffering back-to-back heartbreaking losses to Cleveland to close-out 2022 and ring-in 2023, rumor has it the Bulls can’t get Taylor Swift’s hit song, “Shake It Off” out of their heads.

“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake it off, I shake it off.”

For the third time this season, including the last two, back-to-back against the Cavaliers, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report (L2M) admitted the Bulls got the short-end of the stick on a handful of game-changing calls (or in this specific case, non-calls) down the stretch that helped determine the final outcome.

That information and $2 might get you a cheap cup of coffee somewhere, but not much else. So what’s next for Chicago?

How about a date against basketball’s hottest team, the Brooklyn Nets, who come to town tonight having won 12 straight and 16 of their last 17 games.

The best thing and the worst thing about the NBA is there seems to always be another game popping up on the schedule. And in this case, Chicago’s busy week keeps rolling along as after tonight’s game, the Bulls travel to Philadelphia to play the 76ers on Friday and return home 24 hours later to meet up with the Utah Jazz at the United Center. So with the Cleveland games now in the rearview mirror and Brooklyn, Philly, and Utah smack dab in front of them, the Bulls don’t have time to feel sorry for themselves. They just gotta “Shake it off, shake it off.”

GOTHAM CITY’S REAL DYNAMIC DUO – KD and KYRIE

Without question, the Nets have two of the best players in the game today in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. In Brooklyn’s last outing Monday night, Irving led the charge with 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while Durant added 25 points and dished 11 assists. Seth Curry also chipped in 16 points for good measure as the Nets shot a sizzling 62% from the field.

Brooklyn hit the ground running, never trailing, and never looking back, dominating the opening half to lead 74-47 at the break. Not a whole lot changed over the last 24 minutes, with the Nets continuing to dominate San Antonio, 65-56, to come away with a 139-103 victory.

During its current 12-game hot streak, the Nets rank first in offensive rating (124.2) and eighth in defensive rating (112.1), sporting an NBA-best +12 net rating.

Durant ranks 6th in scoring at 29.6 per game. He scores most of his points outside, while Irving, who averages 26.2 points, likes to mix things up with drives to the hoop and pull-up jumpers from behind the arc.

Great scorers like Durant and Irving will always hunt shots and post big numbers. It’s far easier said than done when it comes to actually slowing them down. But what Chicago can try to do is make life as uncomfortable as possible for 48 minutes by sticking close and denying them the space and freedom to move freely about to wreak havoc. Patrick Williams will draw the defensive assignment on Durant while Ayo Dosunmu and Alex Caruso will tag-team covering Irving.

THE NEED FOR SPEED … AND REBOUNDING

In order for both the Bulls, and for that matter, the Nets to thrive, each team has to play fast and attack the paint, consistently finding a way to get the ball to the rim and making their way to the free throw line. Against Cleveland the other night, Chicago’s commitment to share the ball and aggressively attack the rim propelled them to a fast start, ending in a 34-27 lead at the end of the first quarter. Chicago shot 61.9%, going 4-for-6 from 3-point range while making sure everyone was engaged in the action by freely skipping the ball in posting eight assists on 13 made baskets while committing only one turnover.

The Bulls’ defense also came out firing, especially during the second quarter. Chicago recorded seven points off five Cleveland miscues and held everyone not named Donovan Mitchell to just nine points on 4-for-13 shooting during the stanza. At one point, the Bulls led by as many as 21, but finished the half up 18 at 65-47. The Bulls had bagged eight steals, forced eight turnovers (which turned into 13 points) and had done a terrific job filling gaps defensively to limit the Cavs from behind the 3-point arc to 30% (6-for-20).

Not a whole lot of positive things after that, that’s for sure.

Cleveland turned the tables, giving the Bulls a heavy dose of what they received in the opening two quarters. The Cavs were now the aggressors, turning momentum entirely in their direction while the Bulls fell back on their heels.

Once again, the offensive glass was a major problem for Chicago, as the Bulls allowed Cleveland 13 offensive boards and 24 second-chance points. It was the fourth game in a row a Chicago opponent was able to post 20-plus second-chance points. Extend this a little further, in the Bulls’ last five games, they’ve  been outrebounded on the offensive glass 68-42, and outscored in second-chance opportunities 104-51.

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