The Chicago Bulls pulled off an impressive win on Tuesday in their first game without Zach LaVine since he was dealt to the Sacramento Kings.
Chicago erased a double-digit second-half deficit to beat the Miami Heat at home, but now it hits the road to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back.
The No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, Minnesota has dropped two games in a row, including a matchup against the Washington Wizards. The Wolves are favored by 11.5 points at home, but they’ve also posted one of the worst against the spread record in that spot this season.
Should we trust them against Chicago?
Here’s a breakdown of the latest odds, players to watch in the prop market and my prediction on Wednesday night.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis is going to get some serious playing time the rest of the season with Zach LaVine gone, and he put up a career-high 24 points on perfect 10-of-10 shooting on Tuesday.
The rookie now has 12 or more points in four straight games, and he played over 31 minutes against Miami. He should be in line for another sizable workload in this matchup.
This prop is well above Gobert’s season average of 10.3 rebounds per game, but Chicago ranks 29th in the NBA in opponent boards per game and plays at one of the fastest tempos in the NBA – leading to a ton of possessions.
Gobert has at least 12 boards in three of his last six games, including 29 boards in his last two games. With Randle out, Gobert should have even more uncontested rebounds on Wednesday.
Minnesota is down a pair of key rotation players in DiVincenzo and Randle, and it’s been one of the worst teams in the NBA as a home favorite this season, going just 4-17 against the spread.
I can’t get behind the Wolves in this spot, especially since Chicago has been much better at winning games on the road (12-13) versus at home (10-16).
Chicago erased a double-digit deficit on Tuesday against Miami to pull off an upset win, and while it doesn’t have LaVine, it still plays at a torrid pace that could take a more methodical team like Minnesota (26th in pace) out of its rhythm.
The Bulls are pretty bad on the second night of back-to-backs this season – 2-6 against the spread – but I can’t lay 11.5 points with the Wolves at home.
Pick: Bulls +11.5 (-108 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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