The Chicago Bulls will look to beat the Brooklyn Nets in the first game since Brooklyn fired head coach Kenny Atkinson. Here are the latest odds and things to watch for.
In a surprising turn of events, Kenny Atkinson is no longer the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. In a less surprising continuation of events, Jim Boylen is still the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
This afternoon, the Bulls and Nets will square off in Brooklyn.
Jim Boylen should feel worried about his job
The fact that the Nets are playing the Bulls in their first game after parting ways with Kenny Atkinson is hilarious. The general perception of Atkinson is that he’s a brilliant coach who does a nice job of establishing a good culture within an organization. The general perception of Jim Boylen is the exact opposite.
Now that Atkinson is a free agent, Bulls fans everywhere are calling for Boylen’s job (even more than they were before). It’s safe to say that the people in Chicago want Atkinson to join Bulls Nation.
Today in Brooklyn, every move Jim Boylen makes will be heavily scrutinized. Hopefully he does some odd things that force Chicago to make a move sooner rather than later. I would be thrilled if the Bulls dumped Jim Boylen and hired Kenny Atkinson as soon as possible.
Bulls odds against the Nets
All odds are courtesy of The Action Network and are current as of 10:45 am CT.
This line seems a bit extreme. Sure, Caris LeVert has been playing on a different level recently, and the Nets are a better overall team than the Bulls. But having the Bulls as 6.5-point underdogs one day after Brooklyn parted ways with their head coach just feels odd.
Prediction: Brooklyn wins the game, but the Bulls cover the spread.