The Chicago Bulls are clinging to the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, but they have a chance to pick up a win on Thursday against the struggling Charlotte Hornets.
The Hornets are 14th in the East, and they have lost seven of their last 10 games coming into this matchup.
Charlotte could get LaMelo Ball (ankle, questionable) and Gordon Hayward (hamstring, questionable) back for this game, but the Bulls are still favored on the road.
Chicago had a disappointing performance on Tuesday, blowing a 20-point lead to lose to the Indiana Pacers.
This is a prime spot to bounce back, and with the Washington Wizards just half a game behind Chicago, it’s a game the Bulls need.
Here are the latest odds and pick for this matchup.
Bulls vs. Hornets odds, spread and total
Bulls vs. Hornets prediction and pick
The betting trends in this game don’t give us much on who to bet on, so I’m actually going with a play on the total in this game.
Charlotte is just 4-11 against the spread as a home dog this season, but the Bulls have yet to cover as road favorites, going 0-5 ATS.
Not great on either side, and with Ball and Hayward up in the air, I’d rather make a play on the total anyway.
Chicago is one of the best UNDER teams in the league, and that’s the way I’m leaning tonight since both of these teams rank in the bottom 10 in the league in offensive rating.
Ball and Hayward would boost the Charlotte offense, but the team is still No. 30 in offensive rating this season. These teams don’t play extremely fast, ranking 10th and 13th in pace this season.
Six of the Bulls’ last seven games have fallen short of this number, so I’ll ride that trend again in Charlotte.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.