PHIL and BLACK MAMBA in CHI-CITY to take on D ROSE, C BOOZ 5, JOAHKIM, and the BULLS

They only come into CHICAGO to play the BULLS once a year. Tonight the NBA'S Marquee Match-Up is at the UNITED CENTER on Chicago's Near West Side with the LAKESHOW taking in the BULLS.

LAKERS Coach PHIL JACKSON comes into town with a robust 11 RINGS and currently working on an unprecedented 4th Three-Peat. The BULLS are trying to hold up their end of the bargain with just being one of the top 4 teams in the EAST and top 8 in the Association.

Let's check the weigh-in for tonight's battle:

LAKERS ............. BULLS
OVERALL
16-6 ............. 12-8

HOME
10-2 .............. 7-2

ROAD
6-4 ............... 5-6

LAKERS have won their last 3 ball games and so have the BULLS. And if you look closely the achilles heel for both teams are on the road which suprisingly the LAKESHOW have not fared well and the BULLS, without CBOOZ, for the first 17 games, are almost where they should be.

Both Teams are 6-4 in their last 10 ball games with the LAKESHOW scoring over 107 pts. per outing and giving up shade under 100 and the BULLS scoring a little over 100 and giving up right at 98pts. per outing.

Take a closer look position by position

Point Guard
LAKERS .............. BULLS ................EDGE
DEREK FISHER ............. DERRICK ROSE BULLS

SHOOTING GUARD
KOBE BRYANT ..................... RONNIE BREWER LAKERS

SMALL FORWARD
RON ARTEST ............... LUOL DENG TIE

POWER FORWARD
LAMAR ODOM ................. CARLOS BOOZER BULLS

CENTER
PAU GASOL .................. JOAKIM NOAH LAKERS

BENCH
LAKERS ................................ EDGE

BLAKE, BARNES, S. BROWN... KORVER, GIBSON, BOGANS LAKERS

Only Team deeper than LAKESHOW'S BENCH........... GREEN TEAM in BEANTOWN

Tonight's contest should be Playoff-Like Intensity knowing Phil's in town and KOBE always plays the BULLS tough on WEST MADISON. The BULLS will be playing trying to get a measuring stick performance to really see who they are. I know it's a long season but if the BULLS get this one an can go along way with a teams's psyche.

The LAKESHOW just trying to be more consistent on the road as they will be challenging themselves let alone the BULLS to see if they can put a complete game together on the road.

TIPOFF at 8PM ET ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT BASKETBALL