Thunder vs. Bulls Pick
Are the Oklahoma City Thunder and the host Chicago Bulls going to play a high-scoring game Saturday night at 8PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Thunder are a 9-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 204 points.
Oklahoma City is 2-3 following a 119-116 loss at the Timberwolves. Chicago comes in at 1-3 after a 91-86 home win over the Hawks. The Bulls won three out of four meetings last season straight up and ATS. The total stayed under three times.
The Thunder were led by Russell Westbrook as he tallied 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the loss at the T-Wolves. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George both scored 23. Steven Adams added 20 points eight rebounds. After leading 33-26 after one quarter, OKC was outscored in each of the three remaining quarters.
Chicago was paced by Lauri Markkanen in the win over Atlanta as he scored 11 of his 14 points after halftime and hit a key 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining. He added 12 rebounds. Robin Lopez contributed 16 points and eight rebounds. Justin Holiday had 13 points and 10 assists. Denzel Valentine contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists. David Nwaba added 15 points and 11 boards off the bench. The Bulls outscored the Hawks 54-47 in the second half.
The under is 6-1 in the last seven meetings in Chicago. Oklahoma City is 11-5 in its last 16 meetings in Chicago.
Oklahoma City has been up-and-down in the early going, sort of expected given it added two stars in summer trades with Anthony and George coming on board. It’s a team with plenty of firepower, but on the road this game will likely fall into the Bulls’ comfortable slow pace. And Chicago doesn’t have the firepower to put up huge scoring nights right now. Take the under here.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: THUNDER/BULLS UNDER 204