The Chicago Bulls travel to Barclays Center to take on the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Friday night in Eastern Conference action in the NBA. Both clubs are under the .500 mark for the season and will look for a win here to help point them in the right direction. Here, I've broken this game down from all angles. You will find my preview of the action below, along with my Bulls vs Nets prediction for Friday's matchup.
Our Bulls vs Nets Pick
Pick:
Over 226.5 ATS PRO
Confidence:
2/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: Chicago Bulls @ Brooklyn Nets
Date & Time: Friday, January 16, 2026, 7:30 p.m ET
Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Broadcast: NBA League Pass
Key Storylines
The Nets have lost five consecutive games, dropping to 11-27 on the season. Brooklyn’s recent defeats include blown leads and poor rebounding, contributing to a lack of consistency on both ends of the floor. Their most recent loss came on the road to a New Orleans Pelicans team that is in last place in the Western Conference this season.
Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernàndez has experimented with his lineup, inserting rookie Drake Powell into the starting rotation to spark energy and offense. Michael Porter Jr. leads Brooklyn in scoring with solid averages this season, but the lack of supporting contributions and interior presence has limited the Nets’ ceiling and Fernandez will hope that shaking things up will help Porter get some help from his teammates.
The Bulls have shown some toughness recently, highlighted by a dramatic 128-126 win over the Utah Jazz behind a team-high 35 points from Nikola Vucevic. But the Bulls have been struggling mightily away from home, entering this contest with a 7-12 road record for the year. While the Bulls have been decent at home, wins like the one over Utah on their home floor don't mean much when Chicago leaves United Center.
Chicago’s injury report lists Josh Giddey and Zach Collins as out, which impacts ball-handling and frontcourt depth, but other contributors like Matas Buzelis and Tre Jones have stepped up in their place. Ziaire Williams and Haywood Highsmith are out for the Nets.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
The Nets defeated the Bulls 113-103 in their first meeting of the season.
Brooklyn is 18-19-1 against the spread so far this season.
Chicago is 20-20 against the spread going into this matchup with the Nets.
The under is 23-15 in Bulls games this season.
Chicago has stayed under the total 22 times in 40 games (55%).
Bulls vs Nets Model Projection
Score Projection: Chicago Bulls 112 – Brooklyn Nets 119 ATS PRO
Win Probability: Chicago Bulls 45%, Brooklyn Nets 55% ATS PRO
Final Thoughts
Brooklyn has been struggling of late, but I think there is some value in betting the Nets in this matchup at Barclays Center. The Bulls have been a terrible basketball team away from home, especially since Josh Giddey went down with his injury. I'll lay the points with Brooklyn in anticipation of that trend continuing.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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