Chicago Bulls vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction, 1/16/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs Brooklyn Nets

Date: Friday, January 16, 2026

Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

TV: ESPN

The Brooklyn Nets (11-27) will play the Chicago Bulls (19-21) at Barclays Center on Friday.

The Bulls faced off with the Jazz and went home with a win by a final score of 128-126 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Bulls walked away with 19 and the Jazz accumulated 20 personal fouls. They also converted 8 of 28 attempts from beyond the arc. Utah finished 88.9% when shooting free throws by making 24 of their 27 attempts. Additionally, Utah collected 36 rebounds (8 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 5 blocked shots. Utah distributed 30 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. With respect to defending, Chicago allowed the other team to shoot 54.7% from the field on 47 of 86 shooting. They also dished out 36 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing 13 turnovers and having 10 steals. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they compiled 43 with 13 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Bulls knocked down 17 of their 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. Chicago walked away from the game having earned a 51.1% FG percentage (47 of 92) and knocked down 17 out of their 43 3-point attempts.

Nikola Vucevic is someone who was a contributor in this contest. He finished with 35 points on 14 of 22 shooting. He saw the court for 31 mins and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Vucevic finished the game shooting 63.6% from the field and earned 5 dimes.

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Chicago enters this game with a mark of 19-21 so far this season. They are turning it over 14.5 times per contest and as a squad they commit 19.0 fouls per game. As a team, Chicago is grabbing 45.6 rebounds per game and has racked up 1,177 dimes this season, which is 5th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Bulls are connecting on 35.9% from downtown (562 of 1,566) and 78.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 117.5 points per contest (12th in the league) while shooting 47.3% from the floor.

Defensively, the Bulls are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 22nd in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,104 surrendered for the season. The Bulls defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 47.5% (1,776 of 3,737) and they relinquish 45.3 rebounds per contest as a unit. They give up 36.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 27th in basketball in points per game from their opponents (120.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Nets took a defeat with a final score of 116-113 when they faced the Pelicans. The Nets collected 33 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 43 for the contest. They gave up possession 11 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. The Pelicans were called for 11 fouls in the matchup which got the Nets to the free throw line for a total of 12 shots. They were able to knock down 7 of them for a clip of 58.3%. Concerning three-point shots, Brooklyn made 16 of their 43 attempts (37.2%). Overall, the Nets ended up going 45 out of 95 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.4%. The Nets permitted the Pelicans to bury 43 of their 97 tries from the floor which had them shooting 44.3% in the game. They finished 33.3% from behind the 3-point line via 11 of 33 and finished the contest at 19 of 25 from the charity stripe (76.0%). When talking about attacking the glass, Brooklyn permitted New Orleans to collect 53 in total (18 offensive).

Michael Porter Jr. ended up being a major contributor for the Nets for the game. He made 7 of 20 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 35.0%, and accumulated 7 rebounds. Porter scored 20 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in the game.

Brooklyn has a mark of 11-27 on the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Nets are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which is 29th in the league. Brooklyn has scored 4,136 points this season (108.8 per game) and they average 40.2 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 25.3 times per game (20th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.5 times per contest. The Nets are committing 20.2 fouls per game and they hit 78.0% from the free throw line.

The Brooklyn defense allows 37.2% on 3-pointers (464 of 1,248) and their opponents are making 79.5% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 27.3 assists and 43.4 rebounds per game, which is 21st and 12th in the NBA. The Nets defensively are ranked 10th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 113.9. They are able to force 14.3 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 48.5% from the floor (26th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Chicago

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