[thanks to blackgallagher for today's game preview. Thread up at 7:08. Check out SBN bro-site At The Hive for their take -yfbb]

Welcome back to the regular season! Tonight in our first game after the All-Star Break, the Bulls welcome the Hornets to the UC. The Bulls will be looking to keep the momentum going after winning two straight before the All-Star break, while the Hornets will be looking to improve on their 8-25 record.

The last time we met...

The Bulls laid the smaketh down all over the Hornets' candy asses. Derrick came back after his first spell of back spasms and played 22 minutes, yet the Bulls, behind Booz's 18 and 6 blew the Hornets out 90-67, though the highlight of the game was Will Farrell's hilarious pre-game intros.

Injury Report

Chicago
CJ's back, Rip is a game-time decision.

New Orleans
Currently have no players listed on their injury report

Leonard Washington's "I Don't Get Butt Naked for Nobody" Four Factors Breakdown

According to Dean Oliver, there are Four Factors of Basketball Success, Shooting(40%), Turnovers(25%), Rebounding(20%) and Free Throws(15%). Using Offensive & Defensive eFG% for Shooting, Turnover ratio for Turnovers(obviously), Total Rebound Rate for Rebounding, and Free Throw rate for Free Throws, we can get an idea of who will possibly win. The Four Factors are explained here.

Shooting

Edge: Bulls

Chicago is the better shooting team and the better defensive team. Considering that New Orleans is near the bottom of the league shooting the ball and about the middle of the pack when it comes to defending, Chicago clearly has the upper hand here.

Turnovers

Edge: Bulls

Chicago does a great job not turning the ball over, as only 23.5% of possessions end in a turnover for the Bulls. For the Hornets, they turn the ball over about 26.1% of the time, which is towards the bottom of the league. While it isn't too big of a difference percentage wise, for every 100 possessions, the Bulls turn the ball over about 3 times less than the Hornets do, which can be a big difference between wins and losses.

Rebounding

Edge: Wash

We have the best rebounding team in the league, which isn't surprising as Jo, Booz, Taj, and the IstanBull are very good rebounders. The Hornets have good rebounders as well with Okafor and Kaman, so if you are one of those people who like to see a battle on the glass, this will be a really fun game to watch.

Free Throws

Edge: Bulls

The Bulls aren't too great at getting to the line, as we are a jump shooting team(I'M LOOKING AT YOU, BOOZ), but fortunately for us, neither are the Hornets. However, we are good at not putting people on the line, which the Hornets are not. We should be able to have a free throw edge here.

Winner: Bulls

Chicago should run away with this game.

White Mamba Appearance Prediction: 95%

Jimmy Butler Minute Prediction: 3

Final Thoughts:

We should have no problem handing the Hornets their 26th loss tonight ahead of our game tomorrow against San Antonio. Bulls win in a rout.