Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers: Prediction and betting odds

Second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls take on the Indiana Pacers and first-year former Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle in the back end of back-to-back games at home at the United Center on the night of Nov. 22. This rounds out a very busy phase of the Bulls’ regular season schedule early this week.

The Bulls just got back from a five-game Western Conference road trip that wrapped up with a win over the Denver Nuggets on the road on Nov. 19. Just 48 hours after wrapping up this road trip out West, Donovan and the Bulls faced the longtime rival New York Knicks at home at the United Center in the first leg of back-to-back games.

Now, the Bulls are set to take on the divisional foe Pacers on Nov. 22. Even after this, the Bulls only get a couple of days off before they hit the road again to face a Western Conference foe in the Houston Rockets. The Bulls will face the struggling Rockets on Nov. 24.

Moreover, the Bulls do have an opportunity here to really take command of the top of the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls are already tied atop the Eastern Conference standings with the Brooklyn Nets, with each team owning a record of 12-5.

Coming into this meeting with the Pacers, the Bulls have won two games in a row. In the first leg of this set of back-to-back games, the Bulls downed the Knicks at home by the final score of 109-103.

Meanwhile, the Pacers come into this game with a record of 7-11. The Pacers are trying to find their footing amid a slew of early-season injury issues. Indy is coming off a win over the New Orleans Pelicans at home at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Nov. 20, by the final score of 111-94.

Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as the Bulls take on the Pacers at home at the United Center on Nov. 22, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.

Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers betting odds

According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a 2.5-point favorite over the Pacers at home on Nov. 22. And the over/under is set around 212 points for the second game in a row.

This is pretty surprising to see a Bulls team with momentum as just a 2.5-point favorite at home over a Pacers squad that is currently four games below .500. Not to mention the fact that the Pacers have lost three of their last four games. But the fact that the Bulls had such a busy schedule of late, and this is their back end of back-to-back games, likely plays a role in the narrow spread here.

The ESPN matchup predictor (based on the Basketball Power Index) also pretty much has this game as a 50/50 split between the Bulls and Pacers.

Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers prediction

This will be the third set of back-to-back games for the Bulls so far this season between taking on the Bulls and Knicks on Nov. 21 and 22. The good news for Bulls fans here is the fact that the Bulls have a record of 5-0 so far in back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, the Pacers have struggled against teams that are currently in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference so far this season. In 10 matchups with teams in the East that are currently in the playoff picture as of the late morning of Nov. 22, the Pacers are 3-7.

Some of the trends the Bulls and Pacers showed so far this season does tend to favor Chicago. Also, the Bulls are getting tremendous offensive production of late from the star duo of shooting guard Zach LaVine and shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan.

The Pacers were inconsistent so far this season defending star scoring guards. And the Pacers are one of the four teams in the NBA that allow the most free-throw attempts per game. This should spell success for the duo of LaVine and DeRozan on the offensive end.

Given the fact that the Pacers are giving up around 23 free-throw attempts per game to their opposition, we should expect DeRozan to really have a chance to go off in this game.

The Bulls are going to have to fight fatigue in this one to come out with a win. Despite being four games below .500, the Pacers do still have a ton of talent between their top trio of point guard Malcolm Brogdon, star big man Domantas Sabonis, and defensive standout center Myles Turner. This one likely won’t come easy for DeRozan and the Bulls, but they should still get the edge in the end here.