Gambling NewsSports Betting News

Charlotte Hornets vs. Chicago Bulls Betting Preview

Struggling Eastern Conference teams will battle it out Thursday night as the Charlotte Hornets (15-37) take on the Chicago Bulls (23-27). The Bulls will host this one at the United Center, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.

These two teams squared off just last week, with the Hornets winning at home 111-96. In the win, Terry Rozier tied for a game-high 28 points, while both LaMelo Ball (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Mason Plumlee (21 points, 12 rebounds) had double-doubles.

In the loss, DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 28 points, while Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic combined for 30 points and 18 rebounds.

Playing at home, the Bulls are the favorites in this one. They are -275 to win, while the Hornets’ moneyline sits at +225. The spread features Charlotte as 6.5-point underdogs (-110), and the over/under for total points is 236.5.

Hornets Look To Upset Bulls Again

At 15-37, the Charlotte Hornets have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, and they are just 8-21 on the road this season. Still, with a couple of nice pieces in their lineup, the Bulls can’t overlook them like they did last week.

Offensively, Charlotte ranks 25th overall, averaging 112.3 points per game (113.8 on the road). They are led by LaMelo Ball (23.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists) and Terry Rozier (21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists).

Rozier is a name to watch as the trade deadline looms as his performance this season might perk the interest of contending teams.

At 20.2 points and 5.1 rebounds, guard Kelly Oubre Jr was also having a nice season for Charlotte, but he is still out as he deals with a hand injury.

Defensively, the Hornets also rank towards the bottom of the league, as they are allowing 118.7 points per game (120.5 on the road). That is good for 28th overall.

Bulls Consistently Inconsistent

With superstars like DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic in the lineup, the Bulls are a team that constantly feel like they should go on a run and explode up the standings. Unfortunately for head coach Billy Donovan and staff, they seem to get in their own way more times than not.

For instance, in their last game against the Clippers, they held a 19-point lead at one point, only to lose the game at home 108-103.

They fall in the middle of the pack both defensively and offensively. On defense, they rank 17th overall, allowing opponents an average of 114.4 points per game. On offense, they rank 16th in scoring, averaging 114.3 points.

The aforementioned DeRozan (26.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5 assists), LaVine (23.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists), and Vucevic (17.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists) lead the team in offense.

Take Charlotte And The Points

For Charlotte, they are 4-3 straight up in their last seven games and 5-2 against the spread in that time. Against Chicago, they are 2-6 both straight up and against the spread in their last eight games.

As for Chicago, they are 6-2-1 against the spread in their last nine games and 5-2 against the spread in their last seven against Southeast Division opponents.

Both of these teams are hard to bet on right now. For the Hornets, they just lack talent to run with teams most nights, but they have played better the last couple of weeks.

The Bulls frustrate bettors night in and night out as they appear to have games in control only to relax for long spurts, allowing teams to compete with them on a nightly basis.

With so much inconsistency on both sides, the points feel like the right play in this one. In this case, that means taking Charlotte +6.5 (-110) on the road.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also
Close