The San Antonio Spurs head to the United Center to test the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
San Antonio is currently 22-35 SU on the season and they are in 4th place in the Southwest Division team standings and 12th in the Western Conference team standings, but just one game off the 10th seed. The Spurs are 5-5 in their last 10 games played and have won two in a row.
Chicago is 36-21 SU on the season and they are one game ahead of the Cavs and Bucks in the Central Division team standings. The Bulls are also the current second seed in the East, one game behind the leaders Miami Heat. Chicago is 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played and have won three in a row heading to this contest.
San Antonio Spurs
Dejounte Murray had another big night with 31 points and 12 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. Keldon Johnson added 16 points while Doug McDermott scored 15 for the Spurs. Lonnie Walker IV also came off the bench to put up 17 points on 8-13 shooting.
The Spurs rank 9th in the league in scoring at 111.8 points per game. They are 9th in rebounding at 45.4 boards grabber per contest and are the top-passing team in the NBA at 28.0 assists per game. Defensively, San Antonio allows 111.6 points per game this season.
Chicago Bulls
Chicago leaned on DeMar DeRozan’s 38 points to beat the OKC Thunder 106-10 last Saturday night. Nikola Vucevic also had a huge game with 31 points and 15 rebounds while Ayo Dosunmu also added 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists for Chicago while Troy Brown Jr grabbed 11 rebounds despite failing to score a point.
The Bulls are 7th in the league in scoring at 112.3 points per game this season. They are 13th in passing at 24.5 assists per game. Chicago is ranked only 27th in rebounding at 43.1 boards grabbed per contest and they are also just 18th in scoring defense at 110.3 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Spurs are 7-13 SU in their last 20 games played. San Antonio is 11-17 SU in 28 road games played this season. The Bulls are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games played. Chicago is 21-8 SU in 29 home games played this season.
Head to head, the Spurs have won seven out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams, including three out of the last four.
Dejounte Murray is having a fantastic season for the Spurs and he’s become a dangerous all-around threat for San Antonio. However, the Spurs as a team has not found the consistency to win games and put on a streak. Right now, they are still outside the play-in territory.
Meanwhile, the Bulls are in the middle of a six-game homestand and have won three in a row heading to this contest. DeMar DeRozan is having an impressive scoring streak matched only by Michael Jordan. If he gets going in this game, there’s no one in San Antonio that can stop DeRozan.
Chicago will be without Zach LaVine but the Bulls have more than enough firepower on that bench to beat the Spurs.
Prediction: Bulls -195
Other Bets to Make
San Antonio is 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent with a home winning record better than .600. The Spurs are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 road games against an opponent with a winning home record, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games when their opponent allows 100 or more points in their previous game, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as road underdogs, and 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
Chicago is 6-3 ATS in their last nine games played. The Bulls are 8-4 ATS in their last 12 February games, 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games after an ATS loss, 5-1 ATS in their last six games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, 4-1 ATS in their last five games as home favorites, 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 Monday games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a losing SU record, and 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games.
Head to head, the Spurs are 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings against the Bulls. However, Chicago is 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games against San Antonio.
Spurs
+5 (-114)
Bulls
-5 (-106)
Odds from BetOnline as of 02/14/2022
The Spurs are much better than what their record says right now. However, they are up against one of the most improved teams in the NBA. Sure, the Bulls will be without Zach LaVine here but this is a team that has excellent depth and which has scorers from the top to the bottom of their roster.
Chicago is one of the best home teams in the NBA and they are scoring almost three points per game at home than their season average. For as long as DeRozan doesn’t have an off night, the Bulls should have more than enough firepower to cover a six-point spread.
Prediction: Chicago Bulls
The total has gone over in three out of the last five road games played by the Spurs. The over is 6-4 in their last 10 games played overall, 5-1 in their last six games against the Central Division, 4-1 in their last five games when their opponent allows 100 or more points in their previous game, 6-2 in their last eight games when their opponent scored 100 or more points in their previous game, and 5-2 in their last seven games when playing on one day rest.
The total has gone over in 8 out of the Bulls’ last 10 games played. The over is 6-1 in their last seven games when playing on one day rest, 5-1 in their last six games after a straight-up win, 5-1 in their last six games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, 4-1 in their last five games as favorites, 4-1 in their last five games as home favorites, 4-1-1 in their last six Monday games, and 5-1 in their last six games played.
Over
234.5 (-110)
Under
234.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 02/14/2022
The Spurs are ranked 9th in the league in scoring at 111.8 points per game this season. They also have the league’s 5th fastest pace and are second in average possession time. Meanwhile, the Bulls are 7th in scoring at 112.3 points per game this season. They are also in the upper half in pace at 13th.
San Antonio has scored at least 124 points in three out of their last four games played and has conceded at least 114 in six out of their last nine games played. The Bulls have scored 120+ points in eight out of their last 10 games played. Chicago has also given up at least 1145 points eight times during that span.
These teams combined for 253 points during their first meeting of the season last January 28, 2022. This game will end up as a high-scoring affair like the previous one.
Prediction: Over 234.5