Whose back to the wall?

So who's got the pressure Thursday night? It would seem to be the Nets. If the Nets lose, their season is over. But the Bulls played poorly in their loss at Barclays Center and the Nets appear to have solved their defense, having scored 111 in regulation Saturday and 110 Monday. Moreover, the Nets frontline have dominated their Bulls counterpart in the paint and on the boards. If the Bulls lose, the series goes to seven games and a dramatic black-
and-white conclusion at Barclays Center. Moreover, there is the Derrick Rose controversy with Steve Kerr saying he should play if he's healthy and CBS Chicago telling fans to push Rose to play.

Still, Game 6 IS at the United Center where there will be 20,000+ Bulls fans and no more than a handful of Nets fans.

The Bulls biggest variable is Kirk Hinrich who is out of a walking boot but admits to being in a lot of pain and remains questionable. Joakim Noah continues to play through pain, too. For how long is the question.

For the Nets, the question is about Gerald Wallace. In the three games where the Nets have scored an average of 109 points --Games 1, 4 and 5-- Wallace has averaged 10 points. In the games where the Nets averaged 79 points, he only put up 3.5. Wallace, who scored five points in a matter of seconds to seal Game 5, says he has his confidence back ... and volunteered that the Nets are the better team. His shooting numbers, horrible all year, are now at the levels he hit right after the joined the Nets last year: 46 percent overall and 35.8 percent from deep. His defense? Ask Luol Deng.

Of course, the Nets will need Brook Lopez, who's been the series' most dominating player, and Deron Williams to continue to play the way they did in Game 5. And somehow, wounded warriors Joe Johnson and Andray Blatche will have to play in pain.

• Brooklyn Nets Post-Season Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Chicago Bulls Post-Season Game Notes - Chicago Bulls
• Nets at Bulls - May 2, 2013 - Andrew Seligman - AP
• In Nets-Bulls, It’s Not, Who’s Hurt? It’s, Who Isn’t? - Zach Schonbrun & Ben Strauss
• Confident Nets determined there will be a Game 7 against Bulls - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Injured Joe Johnson admits he’s playing on one leg as Brooklyn Nets fight for playoff survival - Mitch Abramson - New York Daily News
• Andray Blatche on Nets vs. Bulls playoff series: We are the better team - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• ‘Hindered’ Johnson would sit if season wasn’t on line tonight - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Nets getting some big results - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Nets believe they’re the better team - George Willis - New York Post
• After Off Day, Nets Set for Game Six (Video) - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
  
• Joe Johnson: “I’m just giving them everything I can at this point.” - Josh Newman - SNY Nets
• With Calf Issue, Blatche Expects to Be at 90 Percent for Game 6 - SNY Nets
• Brook Making Statement in Playoff Debut - Jason Schott - Brooklyn Fans
• Joe Johnson: "I'm out there on one leg" - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
  
• 2013 NBA Playoffs -- Kirk Hinrich of Chicago Bulls day-to-day for Game 6 - Nick Friedell - ESPN Chicago
• 2013 NBA Playoffs: Derrick Rose of Chicago Bulls has support of teammates - Nick Friedell - ESPN Chicago
• Hinrich May Try to Play in Game 6 - Bryan Crawford - NBC Chicago
  
• Regarding Derrick Rose return, Thibs doesn’t concur with Kerr - Joe Cowley - Chicago Sun-Times
• Injured left calf makes Bulls’ Kirk Hinrich iffy for Thursday - Joe Cowley - Chicago Sun-Times
• Bulls practice without Hinrich, Deng and Gibson - Chicago Sun-Times
  
• Players, teammates strongly defend Derrick Rose. - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
  
• Kirk Hinrich is expected to miss Thursday's Game 6 - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
• Carlos Boozer not flashy, but big for Chicago Bulls - Jeff Zillgitt - USA Today
• Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls: Anticipating Nets-Bulls Game 6 - Kevin Helliker - Wall Street Journal