The Chicago Bulls look to remain perfect at home when they host the Indiana Pacers in an NBA Central Division battle in Chicago. See what the
sportsbook
odds makers are offering us tonight, and find out which NBA picks we expect to cash.
Pacers vs. Bulls
Sportsbooks opened with Chicago favored by -8.5 points with the total at 184. Early sports betting action has now lifted the spread to -9 and even -9.5 as some NBA betting shops with a total of 184.5. Lets take a look at this matchup and determine where we should place our NBA picks tonight.
The Chicago Bulls (16-3 SU, 12-7 ATS) have won eight straight in the Windy City and four in a row
overall. In their last outing on Monday night, Chicago crushed New Jersey
110-95 at the UC. Derrick Rose returned to the lineup after missing four games
with a sprained left big toe and had 22 points and eight assists while Rip
Hamilton also had 22 and 10 helpers. Joakim Noah chipped in with 16 points
and 10 rebounds for the Bulls who keep on winning despite a plethora of
injuries.
Luol Deng (Deng 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) is the latest
Chicago casualty. Deng suffered a torn wrist ligament in Saturday night’s 95-89
win over Charlotte and is listed as week-to-week. Bulls coach Tom
Thibodeau says his star forward is going to be out for a while and that
its more of a pain tolerance issue right now. There’s even a chance he’ll be
forced to undergo surgery, although Deng calls that an option of last
resort. Ronnie Brewer will start in his place putting additional pressure on an
already thin bench that’s without John Lucas III (sprained groin) and Taj
Gibson (sprained ankle).
The Pacers (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS) have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season but
turned in one of their worst efforts of the year dropping a 92-74 decision to
the Orlando Magic as a -3 point favorite. Dwight Howard scored 14 points to
become Orlando’s all-time leading scorer, but it was Ryan Anderson who did the
damage scoring 24 points. Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 12 rebounds while Danny
Granger also had 16 points for Indy which had nine shots blocked in the game.
It marked Orlando’s fourth straight victory at Indiana.
The Pacers, who suffered their first home loss in six games, were
their own worst enemies. Indy had 19 turnovers and was just 3 for 13 shooting
from beyond the arc but did turn in a stellar performance at the free throw
line going 18 for 18.
Tough stretch
We’ll soon find out if the Pacers, who are off to their best start
in eight years, are a serious contender or just a pretender. After tonight’s
game, they’ll visit Boston and Orlando all within a four- day period. Not
including their impressive road win over the Lakers, Indiana has played a relatively
soft schedule. They’ve beaten the Cavaliers, Charlotte, Detroit, New Jersey,
Golden State and Toronto twice en route to their quickest start since opening
13-2 in 2003-04.
The series
This will be their first matchup this season, with the Bulls winning three of
the four regular season games last season and taking the first-round playoff
matchup.
In the last regular season meeting, the
Pacers prevailed 115-108 in overtime at
home despite Derrick Rose's 42 points.
Trends
Chicago is 12-5 ATS in its last 17 games and 5-3 at home but is
just 2-4 vs. Indiana in the past six meetings. The ‘under’ is 7-2-1 in the
Bulls last 10 home games.
Harvey’s Take: Chicago continues to find ways to win. They survived while Rose
was sidelined with the toe injury and I’ve got no doubt they’ll keep it going
without Deng. I’m making a small play on the Bulls and a sprinkle on the
‘under’.
Good luck!