The Dallas Mavericks (7-3) visit the “Windy City” Wednesday for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off against the Chicago Bulls (7-3) at the United Center. Below, we look at the Mavericks vs. Bulls odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Dallas has won four of the past five games including three straight against the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, and New Orleans Pelicans. The Mavs are 3-7 ATS and 1-8-1 O/U with the 21st-ranked net rating (minus-2.3).
Chicago lost a back-to-back home-and-away to the Philadelphia 76ers before crushing the Brooklyn Nets 118-95 as 1-point home underdogs Monday. The Bulls are 7-3 ATS and 4-6 O/U with the fourth-best net rating (plus-6.9).
The Bulls have beaten the Mavs in three consecutive meetings (3-0 ATS). Chicago guard Zach LaVine put up 24.5 points and 7.5 assists per game with a plus-20 net rating in the two Mavericks-Bulls games last season.
Mavericks at Bulls odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Mavericks +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Bulls -170 (bet $170 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Mavericks +3.5 (-107) | Bulls -3.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 215.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Mavericks at Bulls key injuries
Mavericks
- PF Maxi Kleber (oblique) out
Bulls
- PF Patrick Williams (wrist) out
Mavericks at Bulls odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 108, Mavericks 106
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Mavericks (+135) because I’m going to place a small wager on Dallas plus the points and generally like to sprinkle on an underdog’s money line when taking them to cover. However, I see a lot more value in the Mavericks’ spread and the total.
Against the spread
“LEAN” to the MAVERICKS +3.5 (-107) because the Bulls struggle to defend what Dallas does frequently.
For instance, the Mavs attempt the highest volume of shots from the post, the sixth-most off-the-dribble 3-pointers, and the eighth-most catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (according to ShotQuality.com). Dallas is going against a Bulls team that ranks 20th or worse in defensive efficiency vs. those three shot types.
Furthermore, according to Pregame.com, more than 90% of the cash is on Chicago at the time of publishing. It’s far more profitable to fade a crowd of people in sports betting rather than follow it.
Over/Under
BET the UNDER 215.5 (-110) and this is my best bet in the Mavericks-Bulls game for various reasons.
First, both offenses run a lot of action through the pick-and-roll ball handler and both defenses are above-average in points per possession vs. the pick-and-roll ball handler. Also, both teams do a good job preventing opponents from shooting 3-pointers and each operates at a bottom-10 pace.
Additionally, the Under has cashed in eight of Dallas’s previous 10 games overall and eight of Chicago’s past ten games vs. teams with a winning record.
Finally, more than 90% of the action is on the Over (according to Pregame.com) despite all of this.
Presumably, the market sees elite scorers like Dallas’s Luka Doncic and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan and figures more points. But, since the contrarian mindset is profitable in sports betting, let’s fade that notion.
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