Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago Bulls Betting Preview
A battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls will be going down at the United Center on Saturday night. The Lakers come in off a day off, hoping to take advantage of fresh legs. And the Bulls were able to outlast the Hornets in a high-scoring affair to pick up their seventh victory of the season.
Whenever the Lakers take the floor, they will likely have the other team a bit scared. When you have two of the top six players in the NBA on your roster, it’s always going to be hard for teams to find a way to stop both guys.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are incredible talents that don’t seem to be going away any time soon. The role players know what to do, but these two lift them to the wins.
Chicago has been a bit up and down, but it’s good to finally see Lauri Markkanen back out there. He had to spend nearly two weeks in health and safety protocols, so to see him playing good basketball again is refreshing. The Bulls may well be without Wendell Carter Jr. again, who they’ll likely miss.
ODDS:
Saturday evening’s spread is set at Lakers -9. The over/under is 228 points.
Lakers Looking for Road Win
This is an extremely impressive Lakers team, opening the title-repeat campaign with a 12-4 record. That would be the same as that of their inner-stadium rival, the Clippers. They have not been able to distance themselves, and if things hold through the end of the season, the teams again have a shot at meeting in the conference finals.
James scored over 30 points for the first time this year the other night, helping guide the team to a national TV win. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope knocked in seven threes to help secure the win, proving to be unstoppable. And once again, Alex Caruso did all of the little things all over the floor.
A team is only as great as its stars but only as good as the guys at the end of the bench. Los Angeles is good in both areas.
Bulls Seeking the Upset
Looking at Chicago on paper, it’s a pretty fluid situation. Supposedly, most of the roster is available by trade for the “right” price, but at the same time, they seem to be playing competitively, and the pieces do fit together. The bench leaves a bit to be desired, with only Garrett Temple consistently contributing, but the starting lineup has been solid.
Should Chicago miss the playoffs, which, at this rate, seems they could sneak into the play-in, it would be intriguing to see what position they would draft. The Coby White and Zach LaVine backcourt has had some great moments this season and should absolutely stay together. Patrick Williams is proving to be a good pick for the team.
Chicago stays in the fight most nights, which cannot be said of their efforts under their previous head coach.
Lakers Take Care of Business
Sorry, Bulls. Just not your night.
Free Play: Lakers -9
