The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Chicago Bulls at the STAPLES Center on Friday night.
The Chicago Bulls have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their last six games but they will be looking to bounce back after having their two-game win streak snapped by the Kings in a 128-124 road loss on Wednesday. Coby White led the team with 36 points and seven assists of 15 of 23 shooting, Zach LaVine added 32 points on 13 of 24 shooting while Wendell Carter Jr. chipped in with 11 points, 17 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Bulls shot 52 percent from the field and 14 of 40 from the 3-point line as they hung with the Kings in a free-flowing contest, until midway through the fourth quarter where the Kings ran away with it, scoring 23 points in the final 6:19.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in great form as they’ve won six of their first nine games and they were aiming for a fifth straight win before getting stopped by the Spurs in a 118-109 home loss last night. LeBron James led the team with 27 points and 12 assists, Anthony Davis added 23 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks while Kyle Kuzma chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Lakers shot 50 percent from the field and 10 of 30 from the 3-point line as they rallied back into the contest with 33 points in the third quarter, before going ice-cold in the fourth quarter where they managed just 20 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bulls are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games, 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games against a team with a winning record and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games, 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games playing on zero days rest and 1-5 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record.
Head to head, the under is 21-10 in the last 31 meetings overall and the Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall.
The Bulls were in great form before getting stopped by the Kings on Wednesday and the same could be said for the Lakers who were rolling before last night’s loss to the Spurs. The Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall and I think that trend continues as the Lakers respond to last night’s performance with a solid win here. The Bulls backcourt could put up some numbers, but they don’t have the tools to handle Davis in the paint.