Chicago Bulls (26-28) vs. Brooklyn Nets (32-22)
February 9, 2023 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Brooklyn Nets -3.5; Over/Under: +230.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Chicago Bulls pay a visit to the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Thursday night.
The Chicago Bulls have been in decent shape as they’ve won seven of their last 11 games overall, but they will be looking to bounce back here after getting routed by the Grizzlies in a 104-89 road loss on Tuesday. Nikola Vucevic led the team with 28 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, Zach LaVine added 24 points while Ayo Dosunmu chipped in with 14 points and six assists. As a team, the Bulls shot just 36 percent from the field and seven of 35 from the 3-point line as they worked hard to claw their way back from an early deficit, only to get blown away in the fourth quarter by 32-14 to lose big in the end.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets have been in a rut as they’ve lost five of their last eight games and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting beaten by the Suns in a 116-112 loss on Tuesday. Cam Thomas led the team with a career-high 43 points on 11 of 23 shooting while Nic Claxton and TJ Warren each scored 17 points, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Nets shot 48 percent from the field and nine of 28 from the 3-point line as they got off to a sluggish start and trailed by 13 points before they rallied in the fourth quarter, only to run out of time.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bulls are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record and 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a loss of more than 10 points. The Nets are 19-40-2 ATS in their last 61 home games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a loss and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall.
Head to head, the under is 8-1 in the last nine meetings overall, the Bulls are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in Brooklyn and the Bulls are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The Bulls have been dealing with injuries all season and they could be shorthanded again as DeMar DeRozan is listed as questionable, while the Nets are still missing Seth Curry and Kevin Durant. The Bulls could be missing some scoring here with DeRozan potentially out, but the Nets have struggled on defense all season and I’m not expecting another career game from Cam Thomas in this one, so I’ll go with the Bulls to pull off the minor upset on the road.
