The Philadelphia 76ers (19-10) host the Chicago Bulls (12-15) Friday at the Wells Fargo Center for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we analyze the Bulls-76ers odds and lines, with NBA picks and predictions.
Chicago has won back-to-back games over Central Division foes and three of its last four (3-1 ATS) entering Friday. The Bulls have been a tough out behind leading-scorer SG Zach LaVine and are 5-4 overall in February with the 10th-highest net rating thanks to an improvement on defense.
The Sixers snapped a three-game losing streak by holding on to beat the Houston Rockets 118-113 Wednesday to finish a four-game West Coast trip. All four of Philadelphia’s losses this month have come against winning Western Conference teams and the Sixers are 2-5-1 ATS in February.
The Bulls are 1-7 in their last eight games against the Sixers (3-5 ATS) with five of those losses being by double-digits.
Bulls at 76ers: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Bulls +275 (bet $100 to win $275) | 76ers -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Bulls +8.5 (-120) | 76ers -8.5 (+100)
- Over/Under: 228.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Bulls at 76ers: Key injuries
Bulls
- PF Lauri Markkanen (shoulder) out
- SF Otto Porter (back) out
76ers
- PG Ben Simmons (illness) probable
- SG Shake Milton (ankle) probable
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Bulls at 76ers: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
76ers 123, Bulls 110
Money line (ML)
PASS because Philadelphia is the right side but laying -350 with the Sixers or any NBA regular-season favorite for that matter is a terrible long-term strategy.
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Against the spread (ATS)
Slight lean on 76ERS -8.5 (+100) because they match up very well against the Bulls and are due for a bounce-back performance after struggling over their last four games.
Chicago runs a lot of pick-and-roll plays and Philadelphia has a top-10 pick-and-roll defense. Also, the Sixers have the second-highest FT/FGA rate while the Bulls are 25th in defensive FT/FGA rate.
However, Chicago has the third-highest cover percentage and fourth-best ATS margin in the Association. Plus in their two regular-season meetings last year, the Bulls split the four quarters with the difference in each game coming in one lopsided second-half quarter in favor of the Sixers.
Finally, the backdoor is WIDE OPEN in this game. Philadelphia took its foot off the gas against Houston Wednesday and the Sixers didn’t cover as 8-point favorites despite being up 26 points at the end of the first half.
Over/Under (O/U)
GIMME OVER 228.5 (-115) for 1.25 units.
The projected totals for last year’s Bulls-76ers games were 212.5 and 213.5. BetMGM opening this total in the upper 220s suggests the House thinks we are going to see some points here.
There are a couple of trends supporting the Over as well: Chicago has a 5-1 O/U record in its last six as a road ‘dog and Philadelphia has cashed four consecutive Overs.
Also, the Bulls are 29th in both turnover rate and opponent’s points off of turnovers per game and the Sixers are 28th in both of those categories.
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Also see:
- MVP Race: Rudy Gobert enters the Top 10 (Hoops Hype)
- Sixers star big man Joel Embiid voted in as an All-Star starter for 2021 (Sixers Wire)
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