NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs. Chicago Bulls Preview, Odds, Prediction

The 7-3 Dallas Mavericks are visiting the 7-3 Chicago Bulls. Now, this promises an exciting matchup in the Windy City. On one side, Luka and the boys, while on the other, the pumped-up Bulls, who are something different compared to the previous seasons. These teams play good basketball, with lots of attractive plays and highlight reels. Compared to the earlier years, both are looking upgraded, with the Mavs aiming to attack the West Finals, and on the other side, the Bulls to reach and make some noise in the East playoffs.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (7-3, +145) look well with three straight wins, four in the last five games. They would beat the San Antonio Spurs on the road, after a thriller, 109-108, then edge out the Celtics at home, 107-104, before trashing the Pelicans also at home, 108-92.

The Pelicans had a double-digit lead in the first period, but the hosts easily erased that as time went by. Luka scored 25 points, had five boards and assists, but that is something expected from him. He is among the biggest favorites for winning the NBA MVP honors.

Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson is imposing himself as one of the potential candidates for winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. He came off the bench to score 17 buckets and deliver six assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. ended the game with 17 buckets as well, while Kristaps Porzingis posted 12. The Latvian is still not playing his best basketball, but at least he has some sort of consistency, and he didn’t pick up an injury.

Chicago Bulls (7-3, -175) snapped a streak of two consecutive losses with a win over, none other, than the Brooklyn Nets, 118-95. It was one excellent performance of Billy Donovan’s unit, which outperformed the No.1 contenders for the title in almost all aspects of play.

First of all, the Nets shot only 39.5% from the field, and the Bulls limited them to just 42 boards, fourteen fewer than they had. Now comes the best part. Chicago scored 54 points from the paint, while the Nets added miserable 24 buckets. This was the biggest difference-maker. Hosts had more offensive rebounds around the rim, and they scored quite a few points from those positions.

DeMar DeRozan had 28 in the end, Zach LaVine 24, while Ayo Dosunmu added 15 buckets off the bench. Three guys scored 11 points, Javonte Green, Lonzo Ball, and Nikola Vucevic, who also had 13 boards and three blocks. The interesting fact was that the Bulls shoot badly from outside the three-point line, hitting nine times in 31 shots.

Head to Head Games

The Bulls won both matches last year. The first in Chicago ended 118-108, while the second in Texas finished 117-101.

Prediction

The line for the total points is 212.5. Knowing the offensive potential of these two sides, and the fact that their top scorers will probably face one another on the defensive side a lot, our opinion is that we should see more points than the proposed line. Why is that? Because Luka or LaVine won’t spend too much energy restraining one another, or Tim Hardaway and DeRozan, for example. Therefore, we would go with Over 212.5. The odds are -110.

Pick: Over 212.5 points -110

Here is the preview for the Bucks vs. Knicks matchup.