Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Wednesday’s Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The Chicago Bulls travel to face the New Orleans Pelicans to open their 2024-25 season Wednesday. Tip-off from Smoothie King Center is set for 8 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NBA odds around the Bulls vs. Pelicans odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Pelicans won 2-0 last season

Chicago clearly is headed towards rebuild mode after losing both G Alex Caruso and F DeMar DeRozan in the offseason. Fans in the Windy City still have a few things to be excited about with the long-awaited return of G Lonzo Ball from injury and the continued development of G Coby White.

New Orleans had an eventful offseason, losing C Jonas Valanciunas and trading for G Dejounte Murray. The Pelicans have a lot of experimenting to do with their current roster to see how, or if, pieces like F Brandon Ingram and G CJ McCollum will fit with this roster. NOLA will also be seeing if Zion Williamson can play real minutes as the full-time center.

Bulls at Pelicans odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NBA odds. Lines last updated Tuesday at 11:28 p.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Bulls +220 (bet $100 to win $220) | Pelicans -275 (bet $275 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Bulls +6.5 (-110) | Pelicans -6.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 225.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Bulls at Pelicans key injuries

Bulls

  • Lonzo Ball (knee) available

Pelicans

  • Jose Alvarado (knee) questionable
  • Trey Murphy III (hamstring) out
  • Dejounte Murray (personal) questionable
  • Zion Williamson (illness) questionable

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

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Bulls at Pelicans picks and predictions

Prediction

Pelicans 118, Bulls 110

Moneyline

PASS.

The Pelicans are the much better team, but they are not worth the risk of betting on as -275 favorites, so I recommend betting on the spread and/or total instead.

Against the spread

LEAN PELICANS -6.5 (-110). 

The Pelicans got better this offseason, and with their perimeter defense likely being even better with the addition of Murray, they are a safe bet to cover here. On the other hand, the Bulls got much worse this offseason, and they simply will not have enough to cover here vs. a healthy New Orleans team.

This is a lean because of the potential missing players for New Orleans, but if even 2 of those 3 questionable players suit up, then expect for the Pelicans to cover here.

Over/Under

BET OVER 225.5 (-110).

Chicago’s defense got much worse with the loss of Caruso, whereas New Orleans got better on both sides of the ball and will be able to put up points at will on the Bulls.

The Over has also hit in 8 of the last 10 matchups between these squads, also being 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in New Orleans.

The only worry with this bet is whether or not Chicago’s offense will be good enough to help this game hit the Over.

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Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Wednesday’s Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Chicago Bulls (6-8) take a trip down South to visit the New Orleans Pelicans (7-6) on Wednesday with tipoff from Scotiabank Arena set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Bulls vs. Pelicans odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

The Bulls come into this game on a 2-game losing streak, the last setback a 126-103 loss Sunday to the Denver Nuggets. All-Star G Zach Lavine scored 21 points, but the Bulls lost the game because they shot worse from the field and from behind the arc, and they also committed a whopping 19 turnovers.

The Pelicans are coming off a huge 113-102 home win Tuesday vs. the Memphis Grizzlies as 1.5-point underdogs. They won without F Zion Williamson, who sat out with an injury. All-Star G C.J. McCollum scored 30 and F Brandon Ingram chipped in with 19 points on 50% shooting from the floor. The Pelicans held the Grizzlies to only 25% shooting on 3-pointers as a team.

The Pelicans beat the Bulls 115-111 in Chicago on Nov. 9 as 1.5-point favorites.

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Bulls at Pelicans odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:26 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Bulls +140 (bet $100 to win $140) | Pelicans -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Bulls +3.5 (-103) | Pelicans -3.5 (-117)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 226.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Bulls at Pelicans key injuries

Bulls

  • Lonzo Ball (knee) out
  • Coby White (quad) out

Pelicans

  • Not yet submitted

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

Bulls at Pelicans picks and predictions

Prediction

Pelicans 117, Bulls 111

Moneyline

LEAN PELICANS -175.

The Pelicans should win this game and are a team that has looked very solid to start the season, especially when fully healthy. The health of Williamson will impact the Pelicans and that is a trend that will likely be seen throughout the rest of his career. Even without him the Pelicans have looked like the more consistent team in this game.

Against the spread

LEAN PELICANS -3.5 (-117).

This bet comes with a fair amount of risk, but I think for the Pelicans to win this game they will have to do so by covering the spread. The Bulls have multiple players that will show up during crunch time if this proves to be a close game, and that should worry the Pelicans and motivate them to try and put this game away as early as they can.

Over/Under

BET UNDER 226.5 (-110)

This bet appears the safest in this game because of the strength of both  defenses, especially on the interior. Both defenses rank just outside the top 10 in opponent ppg and while the Pelicans have a top-10 offense, the Bulls offense is just outside the bottom 10. Most of the Bulls offense is generated by Lavine and F DeMar DeRozan and if either one of them has an off night then so does the team’s offense.

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Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s Chicago Bulls at New Orleans Pelicans and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Chicago Bulls (42-30) head down to the Big Easy Thursday to play the New Orleans Pelicans (30-42). Tip-off at Smoothie King Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bulls vs. Pelicans odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.

Chicago has lost four of its last five games — 1-4 against the spread (ATS) — with the latest being a 126-98 blowout loss at the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday.

NOLA had its two-game win streak snapped Monday in a 106-103 loss to the Hornets in Charlotte but covered as a 5.5-point road underdog and is 4-1 ATS in its last five games.

The Bulls smacked the Pelicans 128-112 at home Oct. 22 as the Bulls’ All-Stars SF DeMar DeRozan and SG Zach LaVine scored a combined 58 points on 20-for-39 shooting and PG Lonzo Ball put up a 17-10-11 triple-double.

Bulls at Pelicans 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 7:47 a.m. ET.

  • Money line (ML): Bulls -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Pelicans -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Bulls -1.5 (-105) | Pelicans +1.5 (-120)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 227.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Bulls at Pelicans key injuries

Bulls

  • PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
  • SF DeMar DeRozan (hip) questionable
  • SG Zach LaVine (knee) probable

Pelicans

  • SF Brandon Ingram (hamstring) doubtful
  • PF Larry Nance Jr. (knee) probable

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Bulls at Pelicans odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Pelicans 115, Bulls 110

Money line

GIMME the PELICANS (-105) for 1 unit because the Bulls have been terrible lately and this is a much better spot for NOLA.

The Bulls rank 28th in adjusted offensive rating, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG) over the last two weeks.

NOLA could be getting a little healthier for this game and has the depth and length at wing to give Chicago’s two All-Stars a tough time.

I wouldn’t be surprised if DeRozan or LaVine sat Thursday because DeMar has missed just four games this season and LaVine was iffy heading into Chicago’s previous game versus Milwaukee.

Chicago is just 7-9-1 ATS on the road versus teams with a losing record while NOLA is 11-9 ATS at home versus winning teams.

The Pelicans are better rested than the Bulls. NOLA is 12-6-1 ATS when playing with a rest edge with a plus-6.3 ATS margin. Chicago is 5-7-1 ATS when playing with a rest disadvantage with a minus-4.3 ATS margin.

I’d BET the PELICANS (-105) all the way up to -135 after which I’d lay up to 3.5 points with NOLA.

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Against the spread

PASS since there isn’t a big enough margin between NOLA’s ML and spread to bet the Pelicans +1.5 (-120).

Over/Under

LEAN UNDER 227.5 (-110) because of Chicago’s aforementioned offensive struggles and the Bulls are 1-8 O/U in their last nine games. Also, NOLA is 6-13 O/U when playing with a rest advantage and 18-23 O/U versus teams with a winning record.

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