NBA Betting – Young Bulls Look To Hand Sixers Back-To-Back Losses
The Philadelphia 76ers (7-10 SU, 6-10 ATS, 4-10-2 O/U) were being touted as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference after adding veteran power forward Elton Brand in the offseason but have struggled to find their new identity all season. The young Chicago Bulls (8-9 SU, 10-7 ATS, 7-9-1 O/U) landed the league’s No. 1 overall draft pick in point guard Derrick Rose, but were expected to struggle while learning on the fly.
Well, at least in the early going, it is the Bulls that have looked like a playoff quality team more often of the two teams.
The Bulls and Sixers hook up tonight in the BetUS Sportsbook at the United Center in Chicago for the second half of a home-and-home series with the Bulls looking to hand Philly consecutive losses after laying a 103-92 ‘smackdown’ on them on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Chicago ended a seven-game road trip with a resounding win over the Sixers for NBA sports betting enthusiasts as Ben Gordon scored 21 points, Drew Gooden added 20 and Rose 18 points and 10 assists.
“I’m feeling good and taking it game by game,” said Rose, who leads all rookies with 6.0 assists per game. “We’re moving the ball and finding the open person. We’re playing team basketball and that’s what it’s all about.”
Gooden reached the 20-point plateau for the second straight game and added 12 rebounds while veteran Larry Hughes had 16 off the bench.
“I think by us spreading out the basketball the way we did, we were really consistent with our effort in the zone and we got in transition,” said coach Vinny Del Negro.
The 76ers will try to stop Chicago from recording its third straight win but is just 2-6 on the road this season got outscored 31-11 in the third quarter on Sunday.
“We’ve got to step it up,” said Elton Brand, who posted his eighth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 boards. “We’ve lost two games in a row where the other team has taken it to us.”
After allowing 93.0 points per game over its first 13 games, Philadelphia is giving up an average of 98.5 points per game during its four-game skid.
“We have to get ourselves back in the mind-set of defending,” Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks said.
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Pick.
The 76ers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games following a double-digit loss at home.
The 76ers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Bulls are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a losing S.U. record.
The Bulls are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
The Under is 5-0-1 in 76ers last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
The Under is 4-0 in Bulls last 4 home games following a road trip of 7 or more days.
The Over is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings.
The 76ers are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Chicago.
The Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
The Over is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings.
The 76ers are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings in Chicago.
The Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
NBA Odds
Philadelphia 76ers +3 -110
Chicago Bulls -3 -110
Over 194½ -110
Under 194½ -110
Analysis: The Sixers aren’t playing very well right now and have been atrocious on the road all season long but I like Philly to extract some revenge on their young counterparts tonight as they are equally talented and just have to find their new identity with Brand on board.
Take the Sixers to cover and possibly win outright.
