“Bulls -6 ½ back to winning ways as home chalk against 76ers”
by "Reload" Joe Freda
The Chicago Bulls have lost two in a row but come into Saturday night with two days of rest and get a conference opponent at home in the Philadelphia 76ers who are playing their third game in four days. Look for some solid defense by the Bulls to hold a big lead wire to wire and get the cover in their last home game before their grueling annual “circus” road trip starts.
The East in the NBA has seven teams with winning records but the Bulls and 76ers are not among them. Both stand at 4-4 and 4-5, respectively, but each were above .500 just a week ago before the Bulls dropped two in a row and the 76ers only got one victory in their last four games. With both squads feeling some urgency, the Bulls look to be in a much better situational spot to get a big win tonight.
Last night, the 76ers were blown out at home by the Utah Jazz 112-90 with the visitors piling up a big halftime lead and pouring it on even more in the third quarter. The 76ers allowed 51% shooting and were outrebounded 44-33 in what should have been a win-able game for them going into Friday night’s action. Andre Iguodala’s 10 assists and 4 blocked shots were not even close to enough in staying close with the Jazz and the 76ers bench did not look solid even in mop-up time with only three of seven players shooting above 35%.
It will not get any easier for the 76ers tonight in Chicago as they face a Bulls team with frustration of their own. In a Tuesday-Wednesday back to back spot, the Bulls dropped both ends of it with a controversial buzzer-beater 90-89 loss to the Denver Nuggets at home and a 99-89 defeat to the Raptors in Toronto. The fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Toronto told the story for the Bulls as they were outscored 22-11 there and cost them the defeat after keeping it close for three quarters.
Anytime you get done playing a team like the Nuggets, your roster will generally not have much left in the tank on the following night and it showed on Wednesday for the Bulls. Emotionally, it also had to be difficult to regroup after such a tough loss the night before and where some sharp defense holding the Nuggets to only 90 points had to drain the team. I am willing to draw a line through the result against the Raptors for these reasons and think we will see a recharged Bulls team at home tonight.
The Bulls have had one of the top ten defenses in the NBA this season allowing an average of only 93 points a game and it means even more than the numbers show as they have faced quite a few opponents that can really put up the points. At home, they have allowed even less than this giving up 86 points a game on average and I feel they will hold the 76ers to around this amount tonight.
It is also the last home game for the Bulls tonight before they go on their annual “circus” road trip where they have historically not done well as the long time away from home drags on. Last year in tonight’s same spot during mid-November, Chicago blew out the Indiana Pacers 104-91 before going a losing 3-4 away from home while the circus was in town. They know every win matters even this early in the season and tonight they have a chance to get a sizeable one for firing them up before hitting the road as they did last year.
Unlike the Bulls, Philadelphia has not played good defense this season and will be even softer tonight than usual with this back to back spot. The 76ers have given up an average of over 103 points a game putting them in the bottom ten of the league there and they have especially allowed high three point shooting from opponents giving up over 41% of buckets from long range there.
The line for tonight’s matchup opened at Bookmaker favoring the Bulls by 6 ½ points. It then dropped to 6 points as more sportsbooks put the line up but has now risen as high as 7 on some boards. Although it can look tempting to take the points here, remember that Philadelphia got crushed in Boston by the Celtics 105-74 the last time they were a 7 point underdog and blown out back on their opening night 120-106 as a 10 point dog in Orlando.
In their two back to back spots this season, the 76ers found themselves and their defense blowing halftime leads to the Suns and the Knicks on the second night. Even if they are lucky enough to keep it close in the first half against the Bulls, I can see the same destruction coming down the stretch and it will be hard for Philadelphia to even stay within a single digit margin here. Poor defense is generally not worth taking any number of points with – especially when there is no stellar effort expected on offense to make up for it.
Lay the points and take the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night to get the bankroll built up for Sunday.
Four games on the board for Sunday
Although the NBA only has four games on the board Sunday, some of them look like interesting matchups to keep an eye on when the lines come out for them this afternoon.
In Detroit, the Pistons will have their third home game in a row hosting the Dallas Mavericks who will be in their third straight road game. That situation, in itself, could make the Pistons a home chalk play if the line is low enough.
The Toronto Raptors will be traveling to the southwest in a matchup with the Phoenix Suns which should have some seriously high scoring. It is likely that whatever the total comes out as, it will just go even higher with the last three games for the Suns going comfortably over so get in early.
In the most lackluster game of Sunday’s card, the Oklahoma City Thunder and LA Clippers will meet with the Thunder as likely home chalk here. The Clippers have dropped three in a row, including a close 83-79 loss in LA just a few days ago so look for the Thunder to get most of the action early here even being in a back to back spot facing the San Antonio Spurs tonight.
The main event for Sunday night will have the LA Lakers hosting the Houston Rockets in a rematch from two weeks ago. It was an overtime thriller with the Lakers outlasting the Rockets 103-102 last time out when meeting in Houston. With the Lakers off an embarrassing blowout loss in Denver on Friday night and the Rockets coming in revenge-minded, look for both teams to be giving their all at the Staples Center. I am holding off on an opinion here until seeing the spread and total come out, but if you want the Lakers or over you should get it in early.
by "Reload" Joe Freda
The Chicago Bulls have lost two in a row but come into Saturday night with two days of rest and get a conference opponent at home in the Philadelphia 76ers who are playing their third game in four days. Look for some solid defense by the Bulls to hold a big lead wire to wire and get the cover in their last home game before their grueling annual “circus” road trip starts.
The East in the NBA has seven teams with winning records but the Bulls and 76ers are not among them. Both stand at 4-4 and 4-5, respectively, but each were above .500 just a week ago before the Bulls dropped two in a row and the 76ers only got one victory in their last four games. With both squads feeling some urgency, the Bulls look to be in a much better situational spot to get a big win tonight.
Last night, the 76ers were blown out at home by the Utah Jazz 112-90 with the visitors piling up a big halftime lead and pouring it on even more in the third quarter. The 76ers allowed 51% shooting and were outrebounded 44-33 in what should have been a win-able game for them going into Friday night’s action. Andre Iguodala’s 10 assists and 4 blocked shots were not even close to enough in staying close with the Jazz and the 76ers bench did not look solid even in mop-up time with only three of seven players shooting above 35%.
It will not get any easier for the 76ers tonight in Chicago as they face a Bulls team with frustration of their own. In a Tuesday-Wednesday back to back spot, the Bulls dropped both ends of it with a controversial buzzer-beater 90-89 loss to the Denver Nuggets at home and a 99-89 defeat to the Raptors in Toronto. The fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Toronto told the story for the Bulls as they were outscored 22-11 there and cost them the defeat after keeping it close for three quarters.
Anytime you get done playing a team like the Nuggets, your roster will generally not have much left in the tank on the following night and it showed on Wednesday for the Bulls. Emotionally, it also had to be difficult to regroup after such a tough loss the night before and where some sharp defense holding the Nuggets to only 90 points had to drain the team. I am willing to draw a line through the result against the Raptors for these reasons and think we will see a recharged Bulls team at home tonight.
The Bulls have had one of the top ten defenses in the NBA this season allowing an average of only 93 points a game and it means even more than the numbers show as they have faced quite a few opponents that can really put up the points. At home, they have allowed even less than this giving up 86 points a game on average and I feel they will hold the 76ers to around this amount tonight.
It is also the last home game for the Bulls tonight before they go on their annual “circus” road trip where they have historically not done well as the long time away from home drags on. Last year in tonight’s same spot during mid-November, Chicago blew out the Indiana Pacers 104-91 before going a losing 3-4 away from home while the circus was in town. They know every win matters even this early in the season and tonight they have a chance to get a sizeable one for firing them up before hitting the road as they did last year.
Unlike the Bulls, Philadelphia has not played good defense this season and will be even softer tonight than usual with this back to back spot. The 76ers have given up an average of over 103 points a game putting them in the bottom ten of the league there and they have especially allowed high three point shooting from opponents giving up over 41% of buckets from long range there.
The line for tonight’s matchup opened at Bookmaker favoring the Bulls by 6 ½ points. It then dropped to 6 points as more sportsbooks put the line up but has now risen as high as 7 on some boards. Although it can look tempting to take the points here, remember that Philadelphia got crushed in Boston by the Celtics 105-74 the last time they were a 7 point underdog and blown out back on their opening night 120-106 as a 10 point dog in Orlando.
In their two back to back spots this season, the 76ers found themselves and their defense blowing halftime leads to the Suns and the Knicks on the second night. Even if they are lucky enough to keep it close in the first half against the Bulls, I can see the same destruction coming down the stretch and it will be hard for Philadelphia to even stay within a single digit margin here. Poor defense is generally not worth taking any number of points with – especially when there is no stellar effort expected on offense to make up for it.
Lay the points and take the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night to get the bankroll built up for Sunday.
Four games on the board for Sunday
Although the NBA only has four games on the board Sunday, some of them look like interesting matchups to keep an eye on when the lines come out for them this afternoon.
In Detroit, the Pistons will have their third home game in a row hosting the Dallas Mavericks who will be in their third straight road game. That situation, in itself, could make the Pistons a home chalk play if the line is low enough.
The Toronto Raptors will be traveling to the southwest in a matchup with the Phoenix Suns which should have some seriously high scoring. It is likely that whatever the total comes out as, it will just go even higher with the last three games for the Suns going comfortably over so get in early.
In the most lackluster game of Sunday’s card, the Oklahoma City Thunder and LA Clippers will meet with the Thunder as likely home chalk here. The Clippers have dropped three in a row, including a close 83-79 loss in LA just a few days ago so look for the Thunder to get most of the action early here even being in a back to back spot facing the San Antonio Spurs tonight.
The main event for Sunday night will have the LA Lakers hosting the Houston Rockets in a rematch from two weeks ago. It was an overtime thriller with the Lakers outlasting the Rockets 103-102 last time out when meeting in Houston. With the Lakers off an embarrassing blowout loss in Denver on Friday night and the Rockets coming in revenge-minded, look for both teams to be giving their all at the Staples Center. I am holding off on an opinion here until seeing the spread and total come out, but if you want the Lakers or over you should get it in early.
