NBA Spreads: Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Indiana Pacers will try win three straight for the first time this season when they host the Chicago Bulls Friday night. Indiana won 111-103 at Philadelphia on Tuesday, and then came back the following night and beat the Mavericks 102-89 at home. Indiana hasn’t won three in a row since April of last year.
The Bulls got off to a terrible start in a 96-91 loss at Charlotte on Wednesday. The Bobcats outscored the Bulls 36-22 in the first quarter. Chicago has now lost three straight on the road, and are just 8-10 away from the United Center.
Taking a look at the NBA spreads for tonight’s games, oddsmakers have the Bulls favored by 1-point over the Pacers.
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This will be the second meeting between these two teams this season. Chicago won 92-73 at home, but the Pacers were without Danny Granger. The Bulls got 22 points from Carlos Boozer and 17 from Derrick Rose. Brandon Rush and T.J. Ford led the Pacers with 13 points a piece.
The Bulls have struggled to bring the same defensive intensity on the road that they play with at home. Chicago has allowed at least 96 points in each of their last three road games, and for a team that prides itself on their defense, that simply is not getting the job done.
Chicago got 23 points and 14 rebounds from Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng added 22, as the two combined to go 18 for 27 from the field. Derrick Rose however scored just 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting, and has struggled to get it going offensively on the road.
The Bulls have a huge game at home on Saturday against the Miami Heat, and it will be interesting to see if they bring the intensity needed to win this game.
Indiana trails the Bulls by eight games in the Eastern Conference Central Division, and really need to win this game if they want any chance of catching Chicago this season.
The Pacers haven’t exactly been a very dominant home team this season. Indiana is just 10-9 at Conseco Fieldhouse, and are just 1-3 in their last four.
Brandon Rush scored a game-high 20 points in the Pacers home win over the Mavericks on Wednesday, and Darren Collison and Granger each added 17 points. Rookie Paul George came off the bench to score 16 points in just 18 minutes.
Having Granger this time around should make a huge difference for the Pacers, and they need to take advantage of the Bulls struggles early and jump on Chicago right off the start. Indiana doesn’t play again till Monday, so they have no reason to not give everything they got in this one.
With the Bulls laying just one point, I think you have to take your chances and expect this team to respond after three straight losses on the road. Plus Chicago doesn’t want to limp into their game against the Heat on Saturday.
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