Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 9th, 2022 

Venue:  American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  NL

WynnBet: Spread: NL

Bulls: 26-10, 1st place Eastern Conference

Mavericks: 21-18, 5th place Western Conference

The Chicago Bulls are not only in 1st place in the Eastern Conference… They have a 2.5 game lead over the Brooklyn Nets.  This is new found territory for the suddenly good Chicago Bulls franchise that finished last season with a 31-41 record that was only good for 11th in the Eatern Conference.  Another year in the lottery, another year of wondering what to do with a team that really only had SG Zach LaVine to get excited about (yes they completed a mid-season trade with the Orlando Magic for C Nikola Vucevic… but still)... Then the off-season brought some brilliance…  They picked up SF/SG DeMar DeRozan from the San Antonio Spurs… and now DeMar is getting dark horse mentions as a potential MVP candidate.  They also added a pair of guards in PG Lonzo Ball from the New Orleans Pelicans and SG Alex Caruso from the Los Angeles Lakers… if you add in SG Coby White who was already in the fold as the 7th pick of the 2019 draft… Suddenly the Bulls had a plethora of skill players.  They have depth for days!  The Bulls second unit runs roughshod over opponents second units… The Bulls can sustain quality in the face of injury or Covid protocols.  They are finally, after decades of looking, a full and complete roster balanced nicely on offense and defense…. And they are in first place.  No one operates under the fantasy that the Bulls will get past the Milwaukee Bucks or the Brooklyn Nets this season to reach the Finals…. But next season with the return of the 2020 #4 overall pick Patrick Williams from a wrist injury… they will become even deeper and even more athletic.  The future is bright in Chicago!  The Bulls are currently on a 9-game winning streak!... That naturally makes them winners of 9 of their last ten games.  The last team they lost to was the Miami Heat on December 11th… and if you remember the Bulls were among the first two teams to get hit really hard by Covid-19 and were the first team to be missing half the roster on December 11th… the continued positive tests actually got two Bulls games postponed until a later date in the season.  Over the winning ten game stretch they are only 5-5 ATS having pulled out razor thin wins against the Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards that ended up being losses ATS.

The Dallas Mavericks are on a five-game winning streak of their own… and they are 7-3 over their last ten games.  The roster in Dallas is anything but balanced.  The mega-star PG Luka Doncic leads the team in points, assists, and rebounds… this kind of usage is great for future Hall Of Fame votes, but actually an impediment to maintaining winning.  The second star on the team is the Unicorn PF/C Kristaps Porzingis. The team has no other stars.  “The rest of the roster seems to be made of all quality NBA role players… no other real starters”... is what I used to think, but after watching a dozen Mavs games in a row a third option is clear… SF Dorian Finney-Smith has a nose for the loose ball and consistently makes smart plays; he also is a cut above the average NBA player on defense.  If Dorian can be highlighted a bit more (which means reducing Luka’s usage a bit) the Mavs may just have a legitimate trio.  A star trio is apparently what any NBA team needs for contending nowadays.  Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bulls will be a struggle for sure… They expect to be missing PF Kristaps Porzingis and SF/PG Luka Doncic to covid and ankle issues respectively.  This will leave a massive question mark as to what to do about all that usage… There is nothing specifically wrong with G Jalen Brunson or F Maxi Kleber they are quality players, but they may not be ready to have the ball an extra 30 times to make up for all the “Luka takes it himself” offense that will be missing.  

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The Bulls are 26-10 on the season, but 22-14 ATS.  They have logged 18 Overs and 18 Unders.  They are 12-6 in road games.

The Mavericks are 21-18 on the season, but 20-19 ATS.  They have notched 13 Overs, 25 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 10-8 in home games

The Bulls are 8th in scoring with 111.3 points per game, 26th in rebounds with 42.9 per game, 10th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  They are shooting the lights out!  3rd in FG%, 1st in 3PT%, and 3rd in FT%... with shooting results like that, the wins will keep rolling in.  On defense, the Bulls rank 13th while allowing 107.4 ppg.

The Mavericks are 24th in scoring with 105.6 points per game, 25th in rebounds with 43.6 per, and 4th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  They are shooting 20th in FG%, 25th in 3PT%, and 22nd in FT%.  The Mavs make up for the below average shooting with a strong defense… They rank 3rd while only allowing 103.4 PPG.

Our prediction for Saturday, January 9th is….  Bulls 120 - Mavericks 104

The Mavs will be at a severe disadvantage without their two big stars.  The Bulls will simply be too much offensively for the Mavs to handle.  There's a chance that Kristaps is able to clear protocols Sunday morning and play with his team… in which case this projection still stands… Kristaps will just end up displacing F Maxi Kleber or C Dwight Powell in the lineup and will have to work off a week’s rust in the first quarter in order to do any damage.  The Bulls are greatly advantaged by Luka’s absence. 

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The total has gone Over in 7 of Chicago’s last ten games.

Chicago is 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 games versus Dallas.

The total had gone Over in 4 of the Bulls last 5 games against Western Conference opponents.

Dallas is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games.

However Dallas is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against a Central Division opponent.

Bulls: SG Alex Caruso (foot) ** SG Devonte Green (groin) Out

Mavs: SF Luka Doncic (ankle) Out ** PF Kristaps Porzingis (covid) Out

Bulls: PF Derrick Jones Jr, SF DeMar DeRozan, C Nikola Vucevic, PG Lonzo Ball, SG Zach LaVine

Mavs: SF Dorian Finney-Smith, PF Maxi Kleber, C Dwight Powell, PG Jalen Brunson, SG Reggie Bullock

Bulls

Points: DeMar DeRozan 26.5

Assists: Lonzo Ball 5.1

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic 11.7

Steals: Alex Caruso 2.0

Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.1

Mavericks

Points: Luka Doncic 25

Assists: Luka Doncic 8.8

Rebounds: Luka Doncic 8.0

Steals: Dorian Finney-Smith 1.2

Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis 1.7

Bulls: Billy Donovan. Coach Donovan jumped from a sinking ship in OKC… and landed on a fancy yacht.

Mavs: Jason Kidd.  Coach Kidd was brought in to vibe with star Luka Doncic… it would be nice if the Mavs had brought in someone to coach the whole team.