NBA Picks: Chicago Bulls at Portland Trail Blazers
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Portland Trail Blazers are set to host the Chicago Bulls tonight, and will try and continue their recent dominance over Chicago at the Rose Garden. Portland has won three straight, and have won by an average of 33 points in their last two.
Oddsmakers don’t seem to think that trend will continue, as our NBA spreads have the Bulls favored by 2.5-points with the total set at 183.
Chicago had their six game winning streak snapped on Saturday, as they fell 101-90 at Golden State. This will be the Bulls third game during their current five-game road trip.
The Trail Blazers come in off a 111-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, but are just 2-4 in their last six, and just 1-2 in their last three at the Rose Garden.
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While the Bulls haven’t had much success at Portland, they did beat the Trail Blazers 110-98 at home earlier this season. Luol Deng had a career-high 40 points and Derrick Rose finished with 16 points and 13 assists.
Rose had 14 points and 10 assists in the loss to Golden State, snapping a 10 game streak of at least 20 points. Carlos Boozer missed the first meeting with the Trail Blazers, and will play a big role in whether or not Chicago can pull off the win tonight. Boozer had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists against Golden State, and with the way LaMarcus Aldridge is playing down low for the Trail Blazers, it will be important for Chicago that Boozer has a big game.
Aldridge had 33 points against the Bulls earlier this season, and is averaging 29.7 over his last three against Chicago.
Against the Cavaliers, Aldridge finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Wesley Matthews who stole the spotlight with 31 points. Nicolas Batum added 21 and Rudy Fernandez came off the bench to score 17 in just 27 minutes.
Having that kind of offensive success against the Bulls isn’t likely. Chicago has been outstanding on the defensive end all season, and the 101 points they gave up to the Warriors was the first time they allowed the opposing team to top 100 in their last 12 games.
While the Trail Blazers haven’t looked great at home lately, they are 17-7 at the Rose Garden this season, and beat up on the Spurs 99-86 last Tuesday.
This game could really go either way, but I think you have to take the points and bet the Trail Blazers in this one. Chicago is just 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road favorite.
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