Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, February 7th, 2022 

Venue: United Center, Chicago Illinois

Where to Watch:  NBA TV

DraftKings:  Spread:  Suns -5.5

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Suns -6.6; O/U 228

WynnBet: Spread:  Suns -6; O/U 228

Suns: 42-10, 1st place Western Conference

Bulls: 33-19, 1st place Western Conference

This is the one we have all been waiting for.  A non-conference battle between the number one teams of each conference.  A knock down, drag out, war of behemoths!  The best vs the best in a preview of what could be the NBA Finals.  Now, not everyone is confident either of these teams will make a Finals appearance this season.  The Phoenix Suns are mowing everyone down that they play.  They are a perfectly balanced team with a ton of depth, but they will eventually have to face the Golden State Warriors to make it out of the West… the Warriors have more experience and a higher quality of superstar.   Still the Suns are a winning machine right now.  The Bulls have even less people confident that they will pull it out in the East.  They are a team of quality and depth, but they are in their first season together.  They are also battling a particularly vicious strain of the injury bug.  Plus the Bulls had two games postponed in their schedule early in the Covid bloom of December… they will have to make up for those and could find themselves picking up a couple of losses right at the end of the year out of sheer exhaustion.  Still… the reason we have standings in the first place is to know exactly who is winning and who is not.  Both these teams win games in their respective conferences and both these teams win games out of conference.  The team that will benefit most from this matchup is the Chicago Bulls… win or lose the Bulls will get to measure how well they are playing together as a unit.  The Suns already play together seamlessly.  The Bulls want to get there…. This is the best test they could find.

The Phoenix Suns have won 9 of their last ten games.  They were the absolute last team to reach double-digit losses and have a 2.5 game lead over the league’s second best team (the Warriors) for 1st place. They went 6-4 ATS during the ten-game stretch with 4 Overs and 6 Unders.  The offensive combination of SG Devin Booker and PG Chris Paul can not be ignored, but the defensive combination of C Deandre Ayton and SF Mikal Bridges is eye popping as well.  That leaves the guy people don’t often mention… PF Jae Crowder… essentially the 5th option offensively… gets little mention.  Jae Crowder is the unsung hero that brings this incredible starting five together.  Jae was a 2nd round pick in 2012 over the decade in the pros he has turned hustle and professionalism into a lucrative career.  He will never be in an all-star game… at 9.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and 1.3 apg… he isn’t exactly a superstar max player… he is however exactly what every NBA GM is looking for when they are trying to build around a couple superstars… especially some young superstars like Devin Booker and Deandre Jordan.  Jae Crowder isn’t just the fifth guy… he isn’t easily replaceable by some other team’s 5th guy.  He brings veteran smarts, intimidating muscle, and a team first attitude that makes the whole team concept work.  He is rarely out of position on either end of the floor, he doesn’t put himself first, and he doesn’t blow up the salary cap.  Jae Crowder is worth his weight in gold, especially in the playoffs.  When you wonder why you should bet on the Phoenix Suns most nights it’s good to remember that Jae is a 5th guy, but he would be a starter on every other team in the league.  He is not filling space.  If a chain is as strong as its weakest link?... the Phoenix Suns chain does not have a weakest link because of Jae Crowder. He is also why this club was able to survive and thrive after Dario Saric tore his ACL and missed the last playoffs and this entire season.  

The Chicago Bulls have won 6 of their last ten games.  Barely above .500 over the last ten is why the Bulls have not been able to create any separation in the standings.  In fact the Bulls are in a precarious position in first place because two losses in a row combined with a successful week for the other East leading teams could land the Bulls anywhere from 3rd to 5th place.  That is how bunched the standings at the top are in the Eastern Conference.  Chicago plays the 76ers Sunday night before this matchup with Phoenix… that is a win they absolutely need!  They can’t walk into a game with the Suns in mid-slip.  The Bulls aren’t shrinking violets though… they have the talent to take on anyone even if they are being abused by injury.  SF DeMar DeRozan is a legitimate MVP candidate… We all forgot about DeMar when he spent three long seasons in the conservative offense and the completely collapsing San Antonio Spurs.  In Chicago, DeMar's 26.6 ppg pairs perfectly with Zach LaVine’s electric 25 ppg.  They aren’t limited to a team with just a “Big Two”... however.  Last season’s trade for Orlando’s center Nikola Vucevic has paid off!  Nikola Vucevic is being called the “discount Jokic”... His 17.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg, and 3.6 apg are fantastic considering the offense doesn’t go through him like it did in Orlando… And that he is competent on the defensive end is an absolute plus.  We can’t ignore the injuries that are sapping this team’s depth however. PG Lonzo Ball and SG Alex Caruso are on the shelf until March at the earliest… They were big pieces in the transformation of this team… not to mention that the team is anxiously waiting for the return of SF/PF Patrick Williams the 4th overall pick in 2020 from whom much is expected.  He has missed this whole season with a perilunate dislocated wrist for which he got surgery.  If he returns for the Playoffs this could be a much deeper team.  The injuries have given opportunity to rookie PG Ayo Dosunmu who was a 2nd round pick in this last draft.  His play off the bench and ini starting spots because of injury has snagged him a spot in the NBA’s rising star game… that is quite an honor for a 2nd round pick.

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Phoenix is 42-10 on the season, but 29-23 ATS.  They have logged 23 Overs, 28 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are a dominating 205- in road games.  They really don’t worry about whose floor they are on.

The Bulls are 33-19 on the season, but 30-21-1 ATS.  They have notched 28 Overs, 23 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 19-6 in home games.  They really enjoy home games and it shows.  Plus the United Center is making noise I haven’t heard in there in years… seriously not since Derrick Rose was dominating the MVP talk.

The Suns are 3rd in scoring with 112.7 ppg, 5th in rebounds with 46.1 per game, and 3rd in AST/TO with 2.0.  They are shooting the lights out at 2nd in FG%, 7th in 3PT%, and 8th in FT%.   On defense they rank 6th while only allowing 105.0 ppg from opponents.  Averaging 7.7 pts more than your defense allows is how you win at this fantastic rate.  These stats are how you know the Suns should stand pat at Thursday’s trade deadline… there is really no pressing need on this roster unless someone offers a great player for a small collection of deep bench players and distant draft picks… There is really no need to change anything.

Our prediction for Monday, February 7th is….  Suns 120 - Bulls 111

The Suns will control this game from start to finish.  The Bulls will be fresh off whatever happened the night before when they played the 76ers… still a little battered by it… and they will have to get up all over again to play the best team in the league.  Add to that the injury list… and that if Zach LaVine is back in the lineup he will be limited by the back soreness that put him there in the first place.  

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Phoenix is 47-29 ATS (+15.1 units) when playing against a team with a winning record the last 2 seasons.
Phoenix is 67-46 OVER (+16.4 units) versus good shooting teams shooting better than 46% over the last 3 seasons.
Phoenix is 2-0 ATS versus Chicago at Chicago the last 3 seasons.

Suns: PG Cameron Payne (wrist) Out ** SG Landry Shamet (ankle) Out ** SF Dario Saric (knee) Out indefinitely

Bulls: PG Zach LaVine (back) Quest ** SG Coby White (groin) Out ** SG Alex Caruso (wrist) Out ** PG Lonzo Ball (knee) Out

Suns: SF Mikal Bridges, PF Jae Crowder, C Deandre Ayton, SG Devin Booker, PG Chris Paul

Bulls: SF DeMar DeRozan, PF Javonte Green, C Nikola Vucevic, SG Troy Brown JR, PG Ayo Dosunmu

Suns

Points: Devin Booker 25.2

Assists: Chris Paul 10.4

Rebounds: Deandre Ayton 10.5

Steals: Chris Paul 1.9

Blocks: Bismack Biyombo 1.0

Bulls
Points: Demar DeRozan 26.6
Assists: Lonzo Ball 5.1
Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic 11.7
Steals: Alex Caruso 1.9
Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.2 

Suns: Monty Williams

Bulls: Billy Donovan