The days of MJ and Scottie have never been further away as the losses continue to mount in the Windy City. The Bulls are a woeful 5-19 SU and just 3-11 SU over the past 30 days. They’ll head west tonight to Indianapolis and the Bankers Life Fieldhouse to play the Pacers for the second time this season. The Pacers won the first game 107-105 back on November 2. Indiana opened as an 8.5-point favorite with the total at 207.5.
- The Pacers are 6-1 SU and ATS in their last seven games vs their division at home.
- The total has gone UNDER in four of the Bulls’ last five games vs the Pacers (avg. combined score: 207.0).
- The total has gone UNDER in six of the Pacers’ last eight games at home (avg. combined score: 198.38).
Two of the Lowest-Scoring Teams in the NBA
Chicago (28th in scoring) and Indiana (24th) haven’t been exactly lighting the scoreboard on fire this season as they are both among the least productive offenses in the league.
Chicago’s 103.4 points per game is one of the big reasons Fred Hoiberg was relieved of his head coaching duties on Monday. He is replaced by associate coach Jim Boylen, who will make his debut tonight.
It won’t be any easier for the Bulls, no matter who is coaching, as Indiana has the No. 1 scoring defense and ninth-ranked point differential in the Association. Nate McMillan’s squad is one of just 10 teams that has forced opponents to shoot under 45 percent on two-point field-goal attempts.
Oladipo Out Indefinitely
After he missed seven games, the Pacers announced that Victor Oladipo won’t be returning to the lineup any time soon as his knee injury doesn’t appear to be improving. There’s not a lot of news surrounding this injury, but secondary scorers have been relied on and will continue to be relied on for Indiana.
My Best Bet for Tonight
I’m going to take a page from the Joe Osborne book of basketball betting and tail his pick of the Bulls on the first-quarter spread at +3. Chicago actually has the best ATS record in the first quarter at 19-5 while the Pacers are among the worst at 8-14-1.
Indiana has the No. 28 first-quarter scoring offense at 25.5 points per game and the Pacers have actually been worse than their season average over their past three games at 23.7. Chicago, meanwhile, is averaging 27.7 points in the first quarter of its past three games.