The Denver Nuggets play host to the Chicago Bulls at the Ball Arena on Saturday night.

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have been in a rut as they’ve lost four of their first six games and they will be hoping to bounce back after coming up just short to the Nets in a 109-107 loss last night. DeMar DeRozan led the team with 24 points, Zach LaVine added 24 points with seven rebounds and five assists while Coby White chipped in with 18 points. As a team, the Bulls shot 48 percent from the field and 11 of 28 from the 3-point line which was good enough to hang with the Nets in a close contest, until they went ice-cold and scored just three points in the final 1:57 to allow the Nets to steal the game in the end. 

Chicago Bulls Team Facts

• The Bulls have won four of their last five games as underdogs against Northwest Division opponents.
• The Bulls have failed to cover the spread in each of their last six road games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
• Eight of the Bulls’ last nine games against Western Conference opponents have gone OVER the total points line.

Denver Nuggets

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have won five of their first six games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after routing the Mavericks in a 125-114 home win last night. Nikola Jokic led the way with 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on 14 of 16 shooting, Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points with nine rebounds and two blocks while Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray tallied 18 points each. As a team, the Nuggets shot 52 percent from the field and 13 of 30 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 40 points in the first quarter to take an early lead, and they were able to keep that margin at double-digits for the entire game. 

Denver Nuggets Team Facts

• The Nuggets have won 15 of their last 16 games at Ball Arena.
• The Nuggets have covered the spread in each of their last seven games against opponents who are on the second leg of a back-to-back.
• Ten of the Nuggets’ last 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Nuggets rank 1st in the league for field goal percentage this season (51.1%).
• The Nuggets rank 30th in the league for free throw percentage this season (67.4%).
• The Bulls rank 1st in the league for opponent steals per game this season (5.5).
• The Bulls rank 1st in the league for turnovers per game this season (12.3).

Peter’s Pick

The Bulls will again be missing Ayo Dosunmu, while the Nuggets are without Vlatko Cancar. The Bulls have been one of the coldest teams in the league so far and now they’re playing their second game of a back to back set after losing by two points to the Nets last night. The Nuggets rebounded from their first loss of the season with a big win over the Mavericks last night and I think they can keep it going with another win and cover over this struggling Bulls team.