The Chicago Bulls (15-8) play the Brooklyn Nets (16-6) Saturday in a battle of the first- and second-place teams in the Eastern Conference. Tip-off from Barclays Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bulls vs. Nets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Chicago has won three of its last four games including back-to-back victories over the Charlotte Hornets Monday and the New York Knicks Thursday. The Bulls are 15-8 ATS and 11-12 O/U with the fourth-best net rating (plus-4.7).
Brooklyn has won six of its last seven games (2-5 ATS) and also enter on a two-game win streak. Those wins were against the Knicks Tuesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday. The Nets are 9-13 ATS and 10-12 O/U with the sixth-best net rating (plus-4.0).
The Nets won two of three regular-season meetings with the Bulls last year (2-1 ATS) and the Under cashed in all three contests.
Bulls at Nets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 1 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Bulls +115 (bet $100 to win $115) | Nets -140 (bet $140 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bulls +2.5 (-107) | Nets -2.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 222.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Bulls at Nets key injuries
Bulls
- SG Alex Caruso (hamstring) questionable
- SG Javonte Green (health and safety protocols) out
- PG Coby White (health and safety protocols) out
Nets (not officially submitted)
- SG Joe Harris (ankle) out
Bulls at Nets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Nets 118, Bulls 111
Money line
BET the NETS (-140) for 1.25 units because their win probability based on that money line is 58.3%. I think Brooklyn wins this game outright more than 60.0% of the time and the Nets should be laying around -160.
This would be an awesome NBA JAM game featuring four of the best scorers in the league, but I’ll go with the team that has two former MVPs (Brooklyn).
Furthermore, F Kevin Durant is a sneaky good defender and I expect KD to win his matchup against Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan handily. If Caruso cannot suit up then Chicago’s perimeter and on-ball defense will be significantly weakened.
Both of these squads like to filter their offense through their scoring options, running a lot of isolation offense and attempting crafty long-mid-range jumpers. However, Chicago’s defense has the third-worst efficiency against isolation offense.
We also have a “Pros vs. Joe’s” scenario in the betting market, according to Pregame.com — slightly more money is on Brooklyn’s money line but there is a higher percentage of actual bets on Chicago at the time of publication.
The bottom line is this game is priced as if these are even teams and I don’t think we’ve seen enough out of the Bulls to say that. I “LIKE” the NETS (-140) to knock the Bulls down a peg Saturday.
Against the spread
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Nets -2.5 (-115) because they are the right side and should cover that number.
However, Brooklyn’s money line is only 25 cents on the dollar more expensive than the Nets -2.5 (-115) so I’d rather stick with that.
Over/Under
PASS with a “lean” to the Over 222.5 (-108) because with all the firepower on both sides I think we could get an explosive offensive outing. Plus both teams are very efficient in isolation offense and very inefficient versus iso ball on the defensive end of the floor.
However, a vast majority of the market has already steamed the Bulls-Nets total up from the 219.5-point opener to the current number. I hate following a crowd of people in sports betting and I don’t have a strong enough handicap of this total to get down money.
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]