Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, March 28th, 2022 

Venue:   Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Bulls -4.5; O/U 223.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Bulls -4.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Bulls -4.5; O/U 223

Bulls: 43-31, 5th place Eastern Conference

Knicks: 32-42, 11th place Eastern Conference

An Eastern Conference NBA matchup between a playoff team and a team that is effectively out of contention.  The Chicago Bulls started the season great!  Better than they have in decades!  Then they got bit by the injury bug… The swoon took them from first place in the East to 5th place.  There are less than ten games to play for everybody… the Bulls will have to scrap and get some good news on the “no injuries to report list” to regain form and stay out of the dreaded “play in” game.  The Knicks started the season off bad and stayed that way all the way through.  The magical playoff run they had last season is all gone.  This roster has been exposed as unbalanced and desperately unloved.  The fans that embraced PF Julius Randle and made his incredibly cute son a minor national celebrity… eventually started booing Julius.  All Julius did was lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists.  The mark of a bad team is to have a single player lead them in 3-4 categories… it means the others can’t or aren’t pulling their weight. Still Julius deserves the boos because he dared to “thumbs down” the crowd who wanted to cheer in the 4th quarter after booing the home team through the first three.  New York is poison.  Julius best hope for a great career is a trade to a Western Conference team… where the front office will find teammates who can pull their weight.

The Chicago Bulls need this win to keep the 5th spot… they also need a big game from SF DeMar DeRozan.  DeMar came to the team in the best trade of the last offseason… and DeMar immediately established himself as the best mid-range shooter still playing in the NBA… he became an MVP candidate (who will not win it).  DeMar had joined the Bulls star SG Zach LaVine… and recent star Center aition Nikola Vicevic to create an A- Big Three.  None of those players are top 3 at their position… but they are all top-five and that is a Big Three.  The strength of this team was the immense depth of talent at every skill position. PG Lonzo Ball had come over from the New Orleans Pelicans and was balling in a way that could only produce wins… SG Alex Caruso came over from the Lakers (a team that desperately misses him and are losing to prove how much) and became an instant super sub until Milwaukee Guard and Duke basketball product SG Grayson Allen attacked him, as he has with others, and sidelined him with a serious wrist injury.  The depth suffered.  The wins suffered.

The New York Knicks are made of ill-fitting parts and led by a defensive coach that can’t find great defensive results in Tom Thibodeau.  The Knicks main problem is they have one of the worst owners in basketball.  Similar to Jeannie Buss the owner is a rich kid who took over the father’s empire and lacks the impulse control to ever build a solid roster.  Neither of the owners are able to stay the course on any decision.  The Knicks added PG Kamba Walker and then halfway through benched him.  The results stayed bad… but they haven’t unbenched Kemba.  The big draft pick of the last couple seasons is SF RJ Barrett.  RJ is a good kid, not a great NBA player… not yet… maybe not ever.  The Knicks, like the Celtics, are stuck on an athletic shot blocking Center, Mitchell Robinson,... Mitchell does not do enough either offensively or on the glass to merit being stuck on him.  The Knicks injury list is loaded… for good reason… the Knicks do not want to win anything the rest of the season… They are already out of it and will be hoping for an amazing result in the NBA draft lottery.

The Chicago Bulls have won 4 of their last ten games.  They only went 3-7 ATS during that stretch.  They won their last game against Cleveland 98-94… it was also a win ATS.  The Bulls mission is to get the rust knocked off of all the players who have returned from the injury list.  The most difficult case is SF Patrick Williams who missed the entire season until 3 games ago. Patrick was the 4th overall pick in the 2020 draft and was expected to be a star by now.  If Patrick can find himself in time for the playoffs… the Bulls could finally play the dream lineup of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine at the two guard spots with plenty of help coming from the bench.  We will see.

The New York Knicks have won 6 of their last ten games.  They are defiantly attacking the standings though still far back. They went 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  They were underdogs in 9 of the last ten games.  The present a good betting opportunity… but do they with 6 guys on the injury list while taking on the playoff bound Chicago Bulls?

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The Bulls are 43-31 on the season, but 39-34-1 ATS.  They have logged 35 Overs, 38 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 17-21 in road games.

The Knicks are 32-42 on the season, but 35-39 ATS.  They have notched 38 Overs and 36 Unders.  They are 15-21 in home games.

Chicago is 12th in scoring with 111.6 ppg, 28th in rebounds with 42.4 per game, and 8th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  On defense they rank 16th while allowing 111.2 ppg from opponents.

New York is 27th in scoring with 106.3 ppg, 3rd in rebounds with 46.2 per game, and 24th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they rank 7th while holding opponents to 106.9 ppg.

Our prediction for Monday, March 28th is…. Bulls 118 - Knicks 109

The Bulls will hold off the Knicks.  The Knicks may be on a two-game winning streak against good teams in Miami and Charlotte, but Chicago will break the streak and cover the spread.

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Chicago is 31-16 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points the last 3 seasons.
Chicago is 6-1 ATS off an upset win as a road underdog this season.
New York is 50-29 ATS during the second half of the season the last 3 seasons.

Bulls: PG Lonzo Ball (knee) Out 

Knicks: SG Quentin Grimes (knee) Out ** PF Julius Randle (Quad) Quest ** PG Derrick Rose (ankle) Out ** C Nerlens Noel (foot) Out ** SF Cam Reddish (shoulder) Out ** PG Kemba Walker (team gave up) Out

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

Knicks: PF Obi Toppin, SF RJ Barrett, C Jericho Sims, SG Evan Fournier, PG Alec Burks

Bulls: Billy Donovan

Knicks: Tom Thibodeau