The Charlotte Hornets (41-39) visit the United Center Friday to play the Chicago Bulls (45-35) at 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Hornets vs. Bulls odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Charlotte is 3-3 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in the last 14 days with the most recent being a 128-101 beatdown Thursday of the Orlando Magic.
Chicago has lost 3 consecutive home games (0-3 ATS) to the Miami Heat Saturday (127-109), Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday (127-106) and Boston Celtics Wednesday (117-94).
The Bulls have won and covered 5 straight meetings against the Hornets, including both this season.
The Hornets are the 10th and final play-in seed in the Eastern Conference currently, 1 game behind the Atlanta Hawks. The Bulls are the 6-seed.
Hornets at Bulls odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:35 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Hornets +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Bulls -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Hornets -2.5 (-107) | Bulls -2.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 233.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
Hornets at Bulls key injuries
Hornets
- SF Gordon Hayward (foot) out
Bulls
- PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- SG Alex Caruso (back) questionable
- SG Zach LaVine (knee) probable
[tipico]
Hornets at Bulls odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 119, Hornets 114
Money line
LEAN BULLS (-145) only because it’s a little pricey and I’m confident enough to lay the points with Chicago. That said, the Bulls are 24-4 SU as home favorites and the Hornets are 12-18 SU as road underdogs.
Furthermore, these teams are neck-and-neck in non-garbage time net efficiency with Charlotte ranked 16th and Chicago 17th, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG). But, the Bulls perform much better against mid-tier teams.
Chicago is 20-7 SU versus mid-tier teams with a plus-4.2 adjusted net rating (ranked seventh) while Charlotte is 13-13 SU with a plus-0.9 adjusted net rating (ranked 14th) in those spots, per CTG.
LEAN BULLS (-145) since I’d prefer to save money and bet Chicago’s spread.
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Against the spread
BET the BULLS -2.5 (-115) for 1.25 units because this is a buy-low spot for Chicago and sell-high spot for the Hornets +2.5 (-107).
The Bulls have been destroyed in their last 3 games, but those were against elite teams and this season Chicago has always been outclassed when it steps up in competition. The Hornets aren’t a step-up in competition; they are in the same tier as Chicago.
On top of that, the Bulls are more profitable in these spots. Chicago is 21-7 ATS as home favorites and has a plus-2.8 ATS margin versus mid-tier teams while Charlotte has a plus-1.3 ATS margin, per CTG.
Also, the Bulls are better in tight games. Chicago is 9-5-1 ATS as 1-to-2.5-point favorites and has the third-best “clutch” net rating in the NBA whereas Charlotte is 18th in “clutch” net rating at minus-3.0. “Clutch” is defined by games within a 5-point margin inside of five minutes to play.
The BULLS -2.5 (-115) is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
PASS ON THE TOTAL because Chicago’s offense has been too inconsistent lately and the market has been flooded with Over money. But, I wouldn’t bet the Under here either since both defenses are terrible.
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