Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports
On paper, the Brooklyn Nets seemed to have a clear talent advantage over their NBA playoffs first round opponent the Chicago Bulls. But after falling behind three games to one, the Nets had to fight back to force a game seven and are now are on the verge of advancing in a winner-takes-all game on their home court, during their first season in Brooklyn at that.
The Nets have gotten big contributions from their star players Brook Lopez and Deron Williams, with Williams averaging 22.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.17 blocks and Williams scoring 20 points per game with 8.7 assists to go along with it.
On the other end, the Bulls have had to grind out their three wins in the series behind the scoring of Nate Robinson and Carlos Boozer but have gotten little else, specifically from starters Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, although to his credit Noah has been slowed by a nagging plantar fasciitis injury.
Brooklyn will need much of the same balanced production from their entire lineup that they have gotten over the last two games in order to close out this series at home. The Nets had six players score in double figures in game five and followed that up with five players scoring 10 or more in game six, including 17 each from Lopez, Williams and Joe Johnson.
The Bulls will need to hold Brooklyn to less than 90 points if they are to have a legit shot at winning on the road. Outside of game one and the triple-overtime game four thriller, Chicago has struggled to generate much offense and will need to rely on their defensive prowess to keep the game low scoring and close.
Ultimately game seven of this series comes down to talent against heart. The Nets are the healthier team with more talent at this stage of the series, and while the Bulls have a ton of heart it may not be enough to keep their season alive.
