The Chicago Bulls are fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference tournaments, and they have a winnable game Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland’s lineup has been inconsistent from night to night due to injuries, and it has led to the team winning just 19 games to this point in the season.
Speaking of injuries, the Bulls could let Coby White (hip) down again on Monday night. He is listed as questionable for this game.
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Still, Chicago is favored at home, a place it would like to be better against the spread this season. Let’s take a look at the odds and my best bet for this March 18 matchup:
Blazers injury report
Bulls Injury Report
Portland Trail Blazers
Deandré Ayton: The former No. 1 overall pick has been on fire lately, averaging 24.5 points, 14.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in eight appearances since the All-Star break. This is a good matchup for Ayton against Nikola Vucevic, who is not known for his defense. Ayton has 20 or more points in five straight games.
Chicago Bulls
DeMar DeRozan: With Coby White dealing with a hip injury, the offensive burden falls on DeRozan, who scored 46 points in an overtime win over Indiana but has just 34 points in his last two games . DeMar needed just seven shots in the blowout win over Washington, but he may need to be more aggressive against a Portland team that has been frisky on the road.
Can the Bulls make quick work of another inferior opponent on Monday night?
Chicago beat the Washington Wizards by 29 in its last game – even without White – and the team will look to put together a similar outing against the short-handed Blazers.
Portland has been frisky as a road underdog (17-15 ATS), but the team still loses these games by an average margin of 10.2 points per game.
I have a hard time trusting the Blazers with so many players out, and the Bulls could perhaps slow down Ayton by playing bigger lineups centered around Vucevic and Andre Drummond.
Losing White is a blow for the Bulls, who have struggled as home favorites (8-10 ATS), but the team has still dominated Portland all season (Portland is only 28th in net ranking).
I would prefer the Bulls as a potentially profitable piece in a two-pick parlay, but I will also consider them here. Portland is struggling without Grant and Brogdon, leaving the team with unproven options on the wing to score in this game.
Chicago, which is in the playoff race, should take care of business at home.
Choice: Bulls -8 (-110)
Game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily games on BetStamp here.
