The Golden State Warriors (30-11) stop by the Windy City Friday to play the Chicago Bulls (27-12) at United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Warriors vs. Bulls odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Golden State lost two straight road games, falling at the Memphis Grizzlies 116-108 Tuesday and at the Milwaukee Bucks 118-99 Thursday.
Chicago has lost two of its past three games, both by double digits, with the most recent being a 138-112 beatdown at home Wednesday administered by the Brooklyn Nets.
The Warriors crushed the Bulls 119-93 in their first meeting this season as 5.5-point home favorites Nov. 12 with the Under cashing on a 223-point total.
Warriors 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 4:37 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Warriors +133 (bet $100 to win $133) | Bulls -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Warriors +3.5 (-107) | Bulls -3.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 221.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Warriors at Bulls key injuries
Warriors
- SG Klay Thompson (rest) doubtful
- PF Draymond Green (calf) doubtful
- SG Gary Payton II (back) doubtful
Bulls
- SG Alex Caruso (health and safety protocols) out
- SF Derrick Jones Jr. (knee) out
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Warriors at Bulls odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 116, Warriors 107
Money line
PASS. I’d love to bet the Bulls straight up, but Chicago (-165) is a little too expensive, especially against a team as good as the Warriors even though Golden State has played horrible recently.
Against the spread
BET 1 unit on the BULLS -3.5 (-115) because Golden State and PG Steph Curry have struggled in January. The Warriors are just 3-4 overall and 2-5 ATS this month with the 19th-ranked net rating at minus-3.1.
Curry is scoring just 21.2 points per game on 33.7% shooting (27.5% from behind the arc) with a minus-13 net rating in January. Also, Golden State was obliterated by Milwaukee Thursday night and just doesn’t have all its ducks in a row.
The Bulls are 4-2 in January with the 11th-best net rating at plus-3.5. Granted, Chicago hasn’t beaten any tough teams but it is 5-4 ATS at home against teams with a winning record.
Furthermore, the Warriors are missing two of their championship core (Green and Thompson) and a solid defensive role player (Payton), who would be helping out against Bulls’ wings DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
Effectively, Golden State is missing three players that would be instrumental in its defensive game plan versus Chicago’s two leading scorers.
We know what Draymond and Klay’s absence means to the Warriors, but Payton is in the 72nd percentile of combo guards on adjusted on/off net rating at plus-4.6.
Lastly, this is just a better spot for Chicago, which is 11-5 ATS as a home favorite, including 5-1 ATS in its last six as a home favorite, while Golden State is 0-4 ATS in its last four on the road.
CHICAGO -3.5 (-115) is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight lean toward the Over 221.5 (-108) because my prediction isn’t far different than the projected total. The Bulls are 16-10-1 O/U as home favorites and the Warriors are 4-3 O/U as road underdogs.
However, Golden State’s offense has been terrible this month, owning the second-worst offensive rating in the league. For the season, the Warriors have played the highest rate of Unders in the NBA at 13-26-2 O/U.
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