The Chicago Bulls (36-40) visit the Charlotte Hornets (26-51) Friday. Tip-off from Spectrum Center is at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Bulls vs. Hornets odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
This is a huge game for the Bulls, who currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. Chicago is 2 games clear of the 11th-placed Washington Wizards but can’t afford any more slip-ups after dropping its last 2 games. The Bulls lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 121-110 Wednesday as 3.5-point underdogs.
The Hornets are out of playoff contention but they’re playing some quality basketball right now, winning each of their last 3 games outright despite being double-digit underdogs in all 3. Charlotte beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 137-134 Tuesday as a 10-point underdog to improve to 4-1 against the spread (ATS) over its last 5 games.
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Bulls at Hornets odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:41 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Off the board (OTB)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bulls -8.5 (-120) | Hornets +8.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 224.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Bulls at Hornets key injuries
Bulls
- G Alex Caruso (foot) questionable
- C Andre Drummond (personal) questionable
- G Javonte Green (knee) questionable
Hornets
- G LaMelo Ball (ankle) out
- F Gordon Hayward (thumb) doubtful
- F Cody Martin (knee) out
- F Kelly Oubre Jr. (shoulder) questionable
- G Terry Rozier (foot) out
- G Dennis Smith Jr. (toe) questionable
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Bulls at Hornets picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 112, Hornets 109
Moneyline
The moneyline was OTB at the time of publication, but when it does open it’ll be too large to warrant a wager on the Bulls who need the win Friday and will be a PASS.
Against the spread
The Hornets have easily covered the spread in each of their last 3 games, winning all 3 outright as underdogs of 10 points, 12.5 points and 15.5 points. Two of those wins were impressive victories against the Dallas Mavericks, a team fighting for playoff positioning.
With the way Charlotte is currently playing and with this being the Bulls’ 5th road game in the last 7 outings, BET HORNETS +8.5 (+100) to cover the spread.
Over/Under
The Hornets hadn’t been scoring at a very high clip until Tuesday’s win over the Thunder in which they scored 137 points, but they had recorded 5 straight Unders prior. These are two banged-up teams that could be fatigued from recent road games, so this should be a lower-scoring game in Charlotte.
BET UNDER 224.5 (-115).
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