A six-game streak is the aim for the Bulls tonight.
That goes on both sides of this matchup; the Bulls have won five in a row and the Nets have lost five consecutive games.
The third of those five wins for the Bulls was a sloppy 90-81 win over the Nets at the United Center; New Jersey is only 3-16 on the road, and nearly as bad (6-9) at home, where the Bulls will face them tonight in the first of a two-game swing through the East that will take them to Philadelphia on Friday night. It's possible they could get snowed in there; another nor'easter storm is expected somewhere on the East Coast beginning on Friday.
The Bulls are in the middle of an 11-game stretch in which they play 10 teams with losing records (the exception: the Celtics on Jan. 8). They are 5-0 so far and really ought to make it 6-0 tonight. The Bulls got some more good news when it was announced that Joakim Noah's cast will come off next week; he's already begun preliminary workouts. He's still a few weeks away from playing again, but as long as the Bulls can pile up some wins without him, they'll be in good shape when he returns.
Tonight's game begins at 6 p.m. CST and will be televised on CSN Chicago.