NBA Pick: Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz
Written by Greg Waters
Wed, 9 Feb 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
Chicago's current five-game road trip took a surprising turn over the past weekend when the Bulls were upset in back-to-back games at Golden State and Portland.
After a short rest, the Bulls (34-16 SU) are in Utah tonight and hoping that a trip down memory lane for Carlos Boozer will snap he and the rest of his teammates back into shape in time for the toughest leg of their journey.
Utah (31-22 SU) is listed as a -2 point favorite at online sportsbooks and has averaged 105 points in its past four contests. The Bulls lead the Central with just 92.5 points allowed but in the past two games gave up 101 and 109 points, their first time since Dec. 1-3 giving up triple-digits in back-to-back games.
Though the Jazz beat the Bulls 132-108 in the last meeting (Mar. 9), Utah is only 2-5 ATS when hosting Chicago the past seven years. Boozer scored 16 of Utah's 132 in March and has averaged 19 points in the two Chicago losses but the Bulls need to keep an eye on leading scorer Deron Williams.
Williams (21.8 ppg) scored 39 points before he went down with a wrist injury against San Antonio (Jan. 26), and Utah finished that game with 105. On the road the Bulls have scored more than 105 points just three times this whole season and at home the Jazz have held six of their past eight opponents under the total when that team had a losing road record.
Chicago is 7-2 ATS as an underdog including a win at Memphis on Jan. 17 but the Bulls scored just 96 points. The Over/Under for this contest is 194 and we see the Jazz making a larger contribution to that total than the road weary Bulls.
NBA Pick:
Williams netted 24.5 points in two games against the Bulls last season and was part of a 105-point losing effort on Saturday (Feb. 5) at home against Oklahoma City. The home side has not won back-to-back games in nearly a month but off a road win at Sacramento, this sets up as a good spot for them. Boozer's return only adds to the rivalry.
Pick: Take the Jazz
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