Bulls vs. Pacers Prediction
Can the Indiana Pacers add to the woes of the Chicago Bulls when the two Eastern Conference foes meet up tonight at 7PM ET?
701 Chicago Bulls at 702 Indiana Pacers
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
7PM ET – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new NBA Odds & Betting Page.
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, Indiana is favored at home, as the Pacers are getting odds of -8.5 points against the Bulls. The over/under total is currently listed at 210 points. The public betting currently is split down the middle between the two teams. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game.
Bulls part with Hoiberg
The Chicago Bulls lost their sixth straight game on Saturday, 121-105 at Houston, and fired head coach Fred Hoiberg afterwards. Chicago is now 5-19 overall, 11-13 against the spread and 15-8-1 with the under.
Chicago has struggled on both sides of the ball all year. The offense is putting up 103.4 points per game, which ranks 28th in the league. Defensively, they are giving up 113 points per game, which ranks 24th in the NBA. Zach LaVine has been leading the team with 25 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while Jabari Parker is adding 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.
Pacers lose back-to-back
The Pacers are coming off a four-game road trip in which they lost their final two games of the trip. The losses came against the Lakers and the Kings and Indy is just 2-4 in its last six. Indiana is now 13-10 overall, 11-2 against the spread and 12-11 with the under.
Indiana has a mixed bag on offense and defense. Indiana is best in the league in defensive scoring, allowing just 102.7 points per game. However, the Pacers rank 30th in their 3-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot 38 percent. On offense, Indiana posts just 106.2 points per game, but ranks fourth in shooting (47.8 percent) and 3-point shooting (38 percent). The team has been without guard Victor Oladipo due to a knee injury. He was averaging 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Bojan Bogdanovic has been leading the way without him, averaging 16 points this year. Domantas Sabonis is adding 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
NBA Betting Trends
Chicago
The Bulls are 8-21 against the spread in their last 29 road games and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following a failed cover.
Indiana
The Pacers are 12-4 against the spread in their last 16 division games and 24-11 ATS in their last 35 conference games.
Prediction:
Indiana won the first meeting this year, 107-105, back on Nov. 2, but the Bulls covered a 7-point spread. The loss of Oladipo isn’t helping Indiana right now, but returning home should. The Bulls have lost their last two road games by at least 16 points and their lack of ability to find scorers should allow Indiana to dictate the pace of the game with its defense. The Pacers are just much more of a fundamental team than Chicago and I can’t trust the Bulls on the road right now.
NBA Prediction: Indiana Pacers -8.5