The Chicago Bulls (41-27) travel to Salt Lake City Wednesday to play the Utah Jazz (42-26). Tip-off at Vivint Arena is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bulls vs. Jazz odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Chicago is 3-6 straight up (SU) and 2-7 against the spread (ATS) since the All-Star break with the latest outing being a 112-103 road loss to the Sacramento Kings Monday as a 4.5-point favorite.
Utah has alternated between winning and losing over the past eight games (4-4 SU and 1-6-1 ATS), most recently losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 117-111 at home as a 2-point favorite.
The Bulls beat the Jazz 107-99 in Chicago Oct. 30 as 3.5-point home underdogs. Chicago All-Star wings DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine combined for 58 points on 22-for-41 shooting and only committed 1 turnover.
Bulls at Jazz 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 1:53 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Bulls +205 (bet $100 to win $205) | Jazz -260 (bet $260 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Bulls +6.5 (-120) | Jazz -6.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 223.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Bulls at Jazz key injuries
Bulls
- PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- SG Zach LaVine (knee) probable
Jazz
- SF Bojan Bogdanovic (calf) out
[tipico]
Bulls at Jazz odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 115, Jazz 113
Money line
Slight LEAN to the BULLS (+205) because the Jazz have been one of the toughest teams at home over recent seasons. However, I see value in Chicago’s spread so it’s either Bulls or “pass” on the ML.
Chicago matches up well with Utah and the Bulls outperformed the Jazz in three of the “four factors” in their first meeting when both teams were at full strength.
Furthermore, the Jazz have clumsy ball security (minus-2.0% in turnover differential) and the Bulls’ second-ranked defensive rebounding rate negates Utah’s sixth-ranked offensive rebounding rate.
Chicago also has a strength-on-weakness edge in fastbreak basketball. The Bulls have the best offensive efficiency in the fastbreak while the Jazz are 24th in transition defensive efficiency.
The Bulls are much better in tight games than the Jazz. Chicago is 22-15 SU in the “clutch” with a plus-12.3 net rating (ranked fifth) and Utah is 15-19 SU with a plus-2.6 net rating (ranked 12th). “Clutch” is defined by games within a 5-point margin inside of five minutes to play.
It’s only a LEAN to the BULLS (+205) because their spread is a much sharper play.
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Against the spread
Definitely BET BULLS +6.5 (-120) instead of or heavier than their ML because of the aforementioned logic and there’s a suspect line freeze in the betting market.
According to both Pregame.com and VegasInsider.com, a majority of the action is on Utah’s spread but the Jazz haven’t really budged as 6-point opening favorites.
It seems like the oddsmakers are prepared to take more pro-Utah money and we don’t want to play into the House’s hand. However, I’d wait before betting Chicago since, eventually, the sportsbooks will make Utah more expensive.
Finally, I have a long-standing theory that the Jazz are frauds and turtle in big games. Since neither team has profitable ATS trends in this spot, I’ll stick with my matchup- and market-based analysis.
The BULLS PLUS THE POINTS is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
LEAN OVER 223.5 (-108) since I have a hunch without a lot of analysis that this Bulls-Jazz meeting goes Over since the previous meeting went Under the total by 12.5 points.
Most of the market is betting the Under according to pregame.com which has steamed the total down from the 226-point opener because the Under has cashed in five consecutive Bulls-Jazz meetings.
Since I prefer to fade recent trends and the market, I LEAN OVER 223.5 (-108) but I like Chicago’s spread a whole lot more.
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