Free NBA Pick: Pelicans vs. Bulls NBA Odds
Looking for New Orleans Pelicans vs. Chicago Bulls free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Pelicans taking on the Bulls on Friday, October 22th, 2021 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Pelicans Bulls matchup.
2221 NBA Handicapping
(0-1) New Orleans Pelicans vs, Chicago Bulls (1-0)
Date: Friday, October 22th
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Venue: United Center, Chicago IL
NBA Moneyline Odds: Pelicans +225 | Bulls -270 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Bulls -7
NBA Betting Total: 221.5
Lonzo Ball gets to see some familiar faces in his Chicago home opener against former team New Orleans. One of those faces that is not on the court is a major reason why the Bulls are -7 point favorites here as Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
The Bulls survived meshing a lot of new players together in getting a 94-88 win over Detroit on Wednesday. The Pelicans were not as fortunate, suffering a 117-97 loss to a Sixers team playing without Ben Simmons.
New Orleans Pelicans
There’s going to be some growing pains for this Pelicans team to start the year as they deal with the loss of Ball and Williamson being out with his foot ailment. New Orleans lost their home opener by 20 points, allowing the Sixers to shoot 52% from the floor and three-point range.
It’s time for Brandon Ingram to step up for the Pelicans and his 25 points on 12 of 26 shooting vs. Philadelphia was good not great. Ball is getting replaced by former Hornet Devonte Graham and he had an efficient opener shooting 6 for 9 to finish with 18 points.
New center Jonas Valanciunas didn’t contribute much offense (9 points) but did have 12 rebounds and did a good job of limiting Joel Embiid to 22 points. Embiid only played 26 minutes though due to the Sixers being up 27 points at one span.
Philadelphia had 50 points in the paint on Wednesday which isn’t ideal heading into a matchup with Nikola Vucevic. Nickeil Alexander-Walker did have 23 points for the Pelicans in the opener but he’ll need at least that on Friday night to keep up with a potent Chicago offense.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls escaped with a 6-point win in Detroit on Wednesday which is a great opening victory. Chicago could have been vulnerable trying to work the likes of Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, and Alex Caruso into the lineup for their first regular season game with Chicago.
Chicago got a lot of contributions in the win and look like a deep team despite scoring only 94 points. Vucevic had 15 points and 15 rebounds, Zach LaVine led the way with 34 points, and DeRozan added 17.
Ball only had 12 points and 4 assists in the season opener but he’ll likely increase his production up against his old squad on Friday night. Detroit was missing #1 pick Cade Cunningham in the loss on Wednesday, but Chicago’s defense still has to take pride in holding an opponent to under 90 points.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Pelicans are 7-2 ATS last 9 road games
- Pelicans are 0-4 ATS last 4 overall
- UNDER is 8-2 in Pelicans last 10 as an underdog
- Bulls are 5-0 ATS last 5 as a favorite
- Bulls are 6-2 ATS last 8 overall
- UNDER is 11-1 in Bulls last 12 overall
Free New Orleans Pelicans vs. Chicago Bulls NBA Prediction:
New Orleans got lit up by the Sixers in their opener and that was at home – any reason to think the Pelicans can keep this one within 7 points as they go on the road for the first time in 2021/22?
The Bulls have a lot of scoring options led by Lavine, Vucevic, and DeRozan and that’s just something the Pelicans cannot match especially with Williamson out of the lineup.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Bulls -7
Expect a big game by Ball against his former teammates to be the difference maker in this contest.
If you’re looking for more NBA picks like this New Orleans Pelicans vs. Chicago Bulls matchup we’ll be providing 4* free NBA predictions on the blog during the entire NBA season, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free NBA predictions!
Register here for a FREE NBA Betting Account Now for Daily Free Picks & More Special Offers!