Friday night features a battle in the Eastern Conference as the Washington Wizards head to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. at the United Center.
These two teams met less than a week ago, and it was an instant classic for the two teams. DeMar DeRozan hit a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to seal the win for the Bulls.
The Bulls are coming into this contest on three days of rest, while the Wizards are hoping for a bounce-back game after losing a heartbreaker to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
In the last meeting, the Bulls came away with a 120-119 win on January 2. Zach Lavine led the way for Chicago with 35 points, but it was DeRozan who stole the show. On the other side, Kyle Kuzma chipped in 29 points for the Wizards in a losing effort.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have had quite the turnaround thanks to some key off-season additions to the roster that have put them right in contention of being on top of the Eastern Conference. This season the Bulls are 16-7 against the conference. They are fourth in scoring at 110.7 points per game and are shooting 47% from the field.
They feature two of the best scorers in the league in DeMar Derozan and Zach Lavine. DeRozan is fourth in the league at 26.9 points per game, and Lavine is seventh in the league at 26.3 points per game.
The Bulls come into this contest at 25-10 and are currently riding an eight-game winning streak. They have done a good job defending their home court as they are 13-4 at the United Center this season.
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards got off to a very strong start to begin their campaign this season, but Covid-19 struck the team pretty heavy, and they have since taken a few steps back.
The month of December was their worst mark of the season as they posted a 5-9 record, but that’s due to a lack of bodies being ready to play. Not much has changed since the calendar year turned as they are 1-2 in the early going of January.
After being upset on a last-second shot to the Bulls on New Year’s day, they responded by beating the Charlotte Hornets before another tough loss to the Houston Rockets.
In their last ten games, the Wizards are 4-6 while averaging 110.8 points per game on 48% shooting from the field. They are allowing 114.1 points over that stretch.
Bradley Beal has led the way for the Wizards this season, averaging 23.2 points per game and 4.5 rebounds. Kyle Kuzma has been a nice surprise as over his last ten games; he is averaging 18.4 points to go along with 8.1 rebounds.
Betting Prediction
The Bulls have put themselves on the map as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and look like real threats to push the Bucks and Nets for the conference crown.
The Wizards have dealt with a lot of Covid over the past month and are finally starting to get healthy as they look to get back in the middle of the conference standings.
The Bulls have been strong at home this season and are 6.5 point favorites in this game, with the over/under set at 220.5. As it sits, the Bulls own the top spot, and Wizards are in the play-in game. The Wizards look like a playoff team when at full strength, but the Bulls are solid all around and feature a ton of strong depth.
Take the Bulls to cover the -6.5 point spread!
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