The Brooklyn Nets wrap up their five-game road trip, the longest of the season, Saturday night in Chicago against the Bulls.
They’ve dropped the last three after opening the trip with a win in Portland. The Nets had 15-point second half leads against two 50-win teams from a year ago, Utah and Denver, but couldn’t hold on.
The trip has also shown a team still in flux, with growing roles for young players Dzanan Musa and Nic Claxton, and the loss of guard Caris LeVert. LeVert has missed the last two games and underwent surgery Thursday to repair ligaments in his right thumb.
On Thursday, the Nets also signed veteran guard Iman Shumpert, though he did not play in the loss to Denver. It’s possible Shumpert could make his Nets debut Saturday night against Chicago.
ABOUT THE BULLS
The Bulls were known for a conservative style after head coach Jim Boylen took over during the season last year, but they’ve opened things up a bit this season. After ranking 20th in pace last season (99.30), they’re ninth (104.13) after their first 12 games. Chicago is also fourth in fast break points (16.3), second in steals (9.9) and second in points off turnovers (21.8).
After attempting 25.9 3-pointers a game last season, 27th in the league, the Bulls are launching 35.3 so far, eighth in the league.
Zach LaVine leads Chicago with 20.4 points per game and averages 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds.