Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 9th, 2022 

Venue:  Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Spread:  NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  

WynnBet: Spread:  

Bulls: 33-21, 3rd place Eastern Conference

Hornets: 28-27 9th place Eastern Conference

An NBA matchup of honest-to-goodness playoff bound teams, until the Boston Celtics got on a roll and leapfrogged Charlotte into the top 8.  Of course when a team jumps into the top 8 my 4th grade math education tells me another team must then be out of the top 8.  It has something to do with the top-8 only being comprised of 8 teams.  Still there is a play-in tournament so the Hornets will have that to look forward to.  Also the Brooklyn Nets are falling down the standings as fast as they can physically play games… so Charlotte may benefit from that 4th grade math yet again.  The Chicago Bulls were in 1st place in the Eastern Conference until they lost back to back games to the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns.  That dropped them to the 3rd spot.  They aren’t guaranteed to keep the 3rd spot of course, the bunching at the top of the Eastern Conference is just too tight.  Also nothing is permanent.  The Eastern Conference will flip flop several times before the end of the season.  We have almost 30 games left to play for most teams… and the trade deadline is THURSDAY.  Everything can and will change before the finish line.  That’s the beauty of the NBA this season.  If you polled 100 NBA fans at the start who would make it to the Finals the results would have been (this poll was done):  The Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets because they have the best players… but it turns out this season… you need the best TEAM.  I wouldn’t put money on either of those teams making it through.  So, the Bulls will face off with the Hornets in what is shaping up to be the best game of the night and it will be right there on ESPN in primetime.  It will be the best game because these are the two best examples of teams no one thought would be good suddenly becoming good.  Chicago has SF DeMar DeRozan paired with PG/SG Zach LaVine that results in a devastating offensive attack of 52 ppg from just two players ON AVERAGE!  While Charlotte has two of the youngest studs on everyone’s radar in PG LaMelo Ball and PF Miles Bridges who may only combine for 40 ppg but drop several assists but add a combined 14.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game.  Plus Charlotte has the younger duo… so you get to see it now before it becomes a duo who brings home 50, 20, 15 on any given night.  Now if only Charlotte could play defense…. I’m told someone is working the phones hard to find Charlotte a big man to take Mason Plumlee's spot and finally get low post production.  They should have a lot of trade options since the last thing the Hornest need to do is use their own draft picks over the next couple of years… the team is young enough.

The Chicago Bulls have only won 5 of their last ten games.  It is a humbling roll to be on for a team that had the first place spot in the East standings.  They are also 5-4-1 ATS during that stretch.  They have excuses though…. Real good excuses.  In the five weeks since New Year’s the Bulls have had several roster damaging sudden injuries.  Key guys going down like PG Lonzo Ball and SG Alec Caruso who were both key to Chicago’s defensive prowess and both were having their best shooting seasons.  Lonzo in particular had shaken the moniker of “bad shooter” and replaced it with “student of the game”.  PG/SG Zach LaVine went down twice with injury and missed time… not to mention the team has been missing their 2020 first round draft pick Patrick Williams #4 overall… he was expected to play a big role and he has been out all season.  The injuries led to late January losses to the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio Spurs.  Two teams no one should lose to.  The bad losses were also particularly disappointing as Bulls’ stars DeMar DeRozan has just come from wasting 4 seasons with the Spurs and Bulls’ star C Nikola Vucevic wasted his entire career until last season with the Orlando Magic.  You want to get those “personal wins” for morale.  Never say never but the Bulls should stand pat at the trade deadline…. Unless we get some little, money moving, deals, the Bulls have everything they need except a clean bill of health.

The Charlotte Hornets have only won 3 of their last ten games.  Without question the young players have hit a wall.  The glaring weakness is obvious and may get cleaned up before I finish writing this preview.  C Mason Plumlee is unproductive offensively and does not compensate by having great defensive numbers.  He is not fit to be an NBA starting center… even in a league where the Center spot has been diminished by the 3-point shooting, and spacing.  As this is being written the Pacers traded PF/C Domantas Sabonis for Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, Tristan Thompson and draft considerations from the Sacramento Kings (they also tossed in Justin Holiday and another player)... maybe C Myles Turner is available… maybe the Hornets can get him ?... or maybe the Hornets wait for another run through the draft that will definitely be too little too late for this season and possibly next season.  The thing to look out for with the Hornets is that they pulled SF Gordon Hayward from the last game with a sprained ankle… he may again be out.  Gordon Hayward is a good shooter and a real gamer in the NBA, but he has turned into a guy that can not stay on the court.  He is one of those guys that you root for seeing him healthy for an extended period of time.. His 16.1 ppg with 4 rbs and 4 ast would be wonderfully impactful if he could be relied on to make it through a season.  He can’t at the moment.  That means that if the Hornets stand pat at the trade deadline they have to consider replacing BOTH C Mason Plumlee AND SF Gordon Hayward with what will amount to a 15th -22nd pick.  Guys in that range rarely impact a roster right away.  

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Chicago is 33-21 on the season, but 31-22-1 ATS.  They have logged 30 Overs, 23 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 14-13 in road games.

The Hornets are 28-27 on the season, but 31-24 ATS.  They have notched 26 Overs, 28 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 14-11 in home games.

The Bulls are 7th in scoring with 111.8 ppg, 27th in rebounds with 42.9 per game, and 7th in AST/TO with 1.9. They are shooting 2nd in FG%, 3rd in 3PT%, and 3rd in FT%.  They are ranked 18th on defense while allowing 110.2 ppg.  That defensive number has been crawling backward with every game Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso miss.  They were originally a top-5 defensive team.  So long-term prospects they can re-discover defense in the playoffs if they get everybody back.  It counts if you are going to drop a DIME on any Bulls game RIGHT NOW however.

The Hornets are 2nd in scoring with 113.3 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 44.4 per game, and 2nd in AST/TO ratio with 2.0. They are shooting 15th in FG%, 8th in 3PT%, and 26th in FT%.  They NEED defense as they are only 28th in defense while allowing 114.2 ppg from opponents.  They are a young team in the key star roles… teams like that are always soft on defense.  The problem goes deeper than youth though, as LaMelo Ball is not the team’s defensive soft spot.  The team needs 2 Big Men they can trust to really patrol the paint. Until that happens they will always present you with a coin flip:  Will they score enough to win (and COVER)... or will they give up too many points to win (or COVER).  

Our prediction for Wednesday, February 8th is….  Bulls 118 - Hornets 106

The Bulls should win and Cover.  I am personally betting on this game.  I don’t  bet on every game, I look for real betting opportunities.  My biggest win ever was on Penn State to cover the spread against Georgia in college football… They did.  That bet bought me a 2021 Ford Bronco (gunmetal gray, black soft top).  This bet will buy me a full tank of gas for my Bronco. The Bulls have enough to win… covering the spread is all about the lack of defense in Charlotte. $100 says I’m right. 

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Chicago is 45-25 ATS after a non-conference game the last 3 seasons.

Chicago is 15-3 ATS after a non-conference game this season.

3 of 3 games in this series at Charlotte have gone OVER the last 3 seasons.

Bulls: PG Ayo Dosunmu (concussion) Out ** PG Lonzo Ball (knee) Out ** SF Patrick Williams (wrist) Out ** SG Alex Caruso (wrist) Out  

Hornets: PF Caleb Martin (ankle) Out ** SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) Out ** PF Jalen McDaniels (ankle) Out.

Bulls: SF DeMar DeRozan, PF Javonte Green, C Nikola Vucevic, SG Zach LaVine, PG Ayo Dosunmu

Hornets: SF Kelly Oubre Jr, PF Miles Bridges, C Mason Plumlee?, PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier

Bulls

Points: DeMar DeRozan 27.2

Assists: DeMar DeRozan 5.1

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic 11.6

Steals: Alex Caruso 1.9

Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.2

Hornets

Points: Miles Bridges 19.8

Assists: LaMelo Ball 7.5

Rebounds: Mason Plumlee 7.7

Steals: LaMelo Ball 1.5

Blocks: Miles Bridges 0.9

Bulls: Billy Donovan

Hornets: James Borrego