The Chicago Bulls try to right the ship when they hit the road and visit the Denver Nugget at Ball Arena on Wednesday night.
Chicago won thrice in their last 12 games played and they have fallen 2 games off the play-in tournament pace. With 17 games left to play, the Bulls need to start picking up the “W”s to catch up. They are just 1-3 SU in their last 4 games played.
Denver is seven games up on their closest rival in the Western Conference team standings. Ever since they joined the NBA, Denver has not held the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Barring any major collapse, they should finally get that top seed this year.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have dropped three out of their last four games, including a 125-122 home defeat against the Indiana Pacers last Monday. In that game, the Bulls surrendered the game-winning three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in the game.
Zach LaVine is scoring at an elite level right now.
42 points | 13-23 FG | 5-8 from three pic.twitter.com/HlMexQwwug
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 5, 2023
Zach LaVine scored 42 points to lead the Bulls but he missed an important free throw with 23 seconds left. Chicago shot 60.8% from the floor and 45.5% from deep but they surrendered an early lead as the Pacers used a 17-2 run in the second quarter to take the lead.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets are 46-19 SU on the season and they are 7 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies in the race for the Western Conference. Denver has won four in a row and they defeated the Toronto Raptors 118-113 on the road last Monday.
Michael Porter Jr. is listed as probable with a non-COVID illness:
Injury Report for tomorrow's game vs. Chicago ⬇️#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/FFu3GBLZQJ
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 8, 2023
Jamal Muray led Denver with 24 points as Denver went on a 6-0 run to close out the game after trailing the Raptors by one point with just over a minute left in the game. The Nuggets are 5th in the NBA in scoring at 117.1 points per game. They are also 1st in shooting percentage or three-point shooting.
Bulls vs Nuggets SU Prediction
The Bulls are 2-8 SU in their last 10 games played against the Nuggets. Chicago is also 1-3 SU in their last 4 games played in Denver.
Chicago Bulls SU trends:
- The Bulls are 3-9 SU in their last 12 games played.
- The Bulls are 11-21 SU in 32 road games played this season.
- The Bulls are 10-5 SU in their last 15 games played against the Northwest Division.
- The Bulls are 6-14 SU in their last 20 games played against the Western Conference.
- The Bulls are 1-8 SU in their last 9 road games against the Western Conference.
Denver Nuggets SU trends:
- The Nuggets are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games played.
- The Nuggets are 8-0 SU in their last 8 games played at home.
- The Nuggets are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games played against the Eastern Conference.
- The Nuggets are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games played on a Wednesday.
- The Nuggets are 38-11 in their last 49 games played as betting favorites.
The Bulls remain in the playoff hunt despite losing 9 out of their last 12 games played. But Chicago needs to right the ship right now if they want to catch up as they are now two games off the 10th-seeded Washington Wizards. Chicago is seven games below the .500 mark but still has 17 games left to play to make up for lost ground.
In their last game, Chicago dropped a 125-122 contest at home against the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls lost that game despite Zach LaVine scoring 42 points. LaVine also scored 27 points during last Friday’s loss to the Suns and put up 41 in a win over the Pistons last March 1. He is second on the team in scoring at 24.7 points per game this season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are headed to their 5th straight postseason appearance. Denver is eyeing to earn the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs for the first time since joining the league. They have 17 games left to play including seven at home, where they have won eight in a row.
Last Monday however, the Nuggets needed overtime to beat the Toronto Raptors. Nikola Jokic was an assists cohort of a triple-double but it was his defense in the end game that won the game for the Nuggets. Jokic’s steal off Fred VanVleet sparked a 13-2 run to finish the game. The reigning MVP is averaging a triple-double and is a cinch to win a third straight MVP award.
These teams are playing on opposite poles right now with the Nuggets rolling and the Bulls struggling to find their form. Look for Denver to continue its dominance at home on Wednesday as they pick up this win over the Nuggets.
Prediction: Chicago Bulls
Bulls vs Nuggets ATS Prediction
Chicago is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 game played in Denver.
Chicago Bulls ATS trends:
- The Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
- The Bulls are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- The Bulls are 17-36 ATS in their last 53 games following a straight-up loss.
- The Bulls are 8-18 ATS in their last 26 games versus a team with a winning % above .600.
- The Bulls are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Bulls are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 2 days’ rest
- The Bulls are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Bulls are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight-up record.
- The Bulls are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Bulls are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games following an ATS loss.
- The Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games against a team with a home winning percentage of greater than .600.
- The Bulls are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games versus a team with a winning home record.
Denver Nuggets ATS trends:
- The Nuggets are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall.
- The Nuggets are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 home games
- The Nuggets are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games following an ATS loss
- The Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Nuggets are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 Wednesday games.
- The Nuggets are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games against a team with a losing road record.
- The Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 day’s rest.
- The Nuggets are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Nuggets are 22-8 ATS in their last 30 games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Nuggets are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The Nuggets are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight-up win.
- The Nuggets are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games versus a team with a losing straight-up record.
The Bulls have dropped their last four against the betting spread and are just 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games played. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games played. Denver has also covered the betting spread in eight out of their last 9 games played at home.
Denver has looked impressive at Ball Arena this season where they are 30-4 SU and 22-11-1 ATS. The Nuggets have won their last 9 games played at home while the Bulls are just 11-121 SU when playing away from their stadium.
The Nuggets also blew out the Bulls 126-103 during their first meeting of the season last November 13, 2022, in Chicago. I don’t think the result will be any different here.
Prediction: Nuggets
Bulls vs Nuggets Over/Under Prediction
The over is 15-5 in the last 20 games played between these two teams. The total has gone over in each of their last 7 meetings played in Denver.
Chicago Bulls over/under trends:
- The under is 15-6 in the Bulls’ last 21 overall.
- The under is 9-3 in the Bulls’ last 12 road games.
- The under is 5-0 in the Bulls’ last 5 road games versus a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- The under is 5-1 in the Bulls’ last 6 games against a team with a winning % above .600.
- The under is 13-3 in the Bulls’ last 16 games after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The under is 4-1 in the Bulls’ last 5 road games versus a team with a winning home record.
- The under is 8-3 in the Bulls’ last 11 games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The under is 12-5 in the Bulls’ last 17 games after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The under is 15-5 in the Bulls’ last 20 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The over is 8-2 in the Bulls’ last 10 games against a team with a winning straight-up record.
- The over is 3-1-1 in the Bulls’ last 5 games playing on 2 days’ rest.
- The over is 7-3-1 in the Bulls’ last 11 Wednesday games.
Denver Nuggets over/under trends:
- The over is 11-5 in the Nuggets’ last 16 games played.
- The over is 6-2 in the Nuggets’ last 8 home games.
- The over is 7-3 in the Nuggets’ last 10 games played in March.
- The over is 14-7 in the Nuggets’ last 21 games played against the Eastern Conference.
- The over is 9-2 in the Nuggets’ last 11 home games against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
- The over is 4-0 in the Nuggets’ last 4 home games versus a team with a road winning % of less than .400.
- The over is 10-2 in the Nuggets’ last 12 games against a team with a losing straight-up record.
- The over is 4-1 in the Nuggets’ last 5 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The over is 10-4-1 in the Nuggets’ last 15 games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- The over is 5-2 in the Nuggets’ last 7 home games against a team with a losing road record.
- The under is 4-0 in the Nugget’ last 4 Wednesday games.
The Bulls have gone over the 229 total in each of their last three games played while the Nuggets have seen the total hit at least 229 points four times in their last five games played. Denver has gone over the total twice in their last three games played at home.
These teams combined to score 229 points in their most recent meeting. They should be able to hit that total again and even top it given that the Bulls have allowed an average of 121.66 points per game in their last three games played and the Nuggets have scored 124.5 points per game in their last four games played.
Prediction: Over 229