Game Time: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, February 14th, 2022 

Venue:  United Center, Chicago, Illinois

Where to Watch:  NBA TV

DraftKings:  Spread:  Bulls -4.5

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Bulls -4.5 

WynnBet: Spread:  NL

Spurs: 22-35, 12th place Western Conference

Bulls: 36-21, 2nd place Eastern Conference

A non-conference matchup of a great Eastern Conference team against a struggling Western Conference team.  The great team is at home… The struggling team is on the road.  The great team has a solid starting five… The struggling team is working a bench player in the starting five and a couple bench players are still finding their way around San Antonio.  

The San Antonio Spurs have struggled for a few seasons now… they have been on a downward spiral ever since SF Kawhi Leonard forced his way out of town and out of the organization.  The team is helmed by HOF NBA coach Gregg Popovich.  The man has rings!  Lots of Championship rings.  The man has a collection of regular season wins and combined regular season and postseason wins that will not be bested for generations after he is gone.  He is a throwback to when basketball was about fundamentals… and if given the right group of players he would win again… he just doesn’t have the right players right now. At the trade deadline the Spurs sent out Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks for Goran Dragic and Toronto’s 2022 first round pick (protected 1-14).  Then they sent out Sg Derrick White to the Celtics for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and Boston’s 2022 first round pick (protected 1-4) and Boston’s 2028 first round pick in a swap (meaning only if the Spurs have a later pick to give them).... The Spurs don’t intend on using any of the players they got back.  They may kick the tires on Romeo Langford… but really SG Devin Vassel was ready to take Derrick White’s starting spot and the Spurs need picks if they ever want to have THE PLAYERS needed to build a winner.

The Chicago Bulls are a great team.  Simple as that.  They did all the trading they needed to do over the last year and a half… They picked up C Nikola Vucevic, they landed SF DeMar DeRozan, the added PG Lonzo Ball, they signed SG Alex Caruso, … all of it worked and they got to hold on to the team’s star SG/PG Zach LaVine.  The team works and is usually deep.  The lack of depth at the moment is from a loaded injury list… still the Chicago Bulls immediately jumped ahead of schedule this season… they can wait for health… they did not need a crazy move.  The trade deadline came and went without a peep from the Bulls… They now get to sit back and see if there is any action in the buyout market to bolster the starters for the playoffs… still they may not do anything then either.  Sitting on the bench all year is SF/PF Patrick Williams with a wrist injury… he may be back for the Playoffs… maybe not… either way he is a big part of the Bulls future.

The San Antonio Spurs have won two games in a row since the trade deadline against the Atlanta Hawks and the New Orleans Pelicans.  The team seems rejuvenated with the trade day moves.  It has opened up opportunity for Devin Vassel, but also signaled to Dejounte Murray that he is the fully acknowledged star and future of the team.  The Spurs have won 5 of their last 10 games.  They have gone 6-4 ATS.

The Chicago Bulls have won three-games in a row.  They are winners of 6 of their last 10 games. They aren’t happy with a simple 60% rate since they are battling to get back into the 1st place spot and have to contend with the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.  The Bulls will be out for revenge though.  The Spurs beat the Bulls back on January 28th and that was the start of them tumbling from 1st place to 2nd.  

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The Spurs are 22-35 on the season, but 30-27 ATS.  They have logged 29 Overs, 26 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 11-17 in road games.

The Bulls are 36-21 on the season, but 33-23-1 ATS. They have notched 31 Overs, 25 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 21-8 in home games.

The Spurs are 9th in scoring with 111.8 ppg, 9th in rebounds with 45.4 per game, and 1st in AST/TO ratio with 2.2. They are shooting 7th in FG%, 12th in 3PT%, and 26th in FT%.  They are 23rd on defense while allowing 111.6 ppg.

The Bulls are 7th in scoring with 112.3 ppg, 27th in rebounds with 43.1 per game, and 7th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9. They are 1st in FG%, 2nd in 3PT%, and 3rd in FT%.  They are 18th on defense with 110.3 ppg.  

Our prediction for Monday, February 14th is…. Bulls 117 - Spurs 105

The Bulls are scoring and defending at a high level.  The Spurs are doing a good job on offense, but they are a sieve on defense.  Also working with new players won’t help that defensive rotation any.

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Chicago is 38-19 ATS when playing a team with a losing record the last 2 seasons.
Chicago is 190-123 ATS when playing a road underdog after that road underdog won as an underdog since 1996.
Chicago is 31 Over and 18 Under in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.

Bulls: PG Zach LaVine (knee) Out ** PG Lonzo Ball (knee) Out ** SF Patrick Williams (wrist) Out ** SG Alex Caruso (out) 

Spurs: SG Josh Richardson (acquired) Quest **  SF Keita Bates-Diop (face) Quest

Bulls: PF Troy Brown Jr, SF DeMar DeRozan, C Nikola Vucevic, SG Coby White, PG Alex Caruso

Spurs: SF Keldon Johnson, PF Doug McDermott, C Jakob Poeltl, PG Dejounte Murray, SG Devin Vassell

Bulls

Points: DeMar DeRozan 27.7

Assists: DeMar DeRozan 5.1

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic 11.7

Steals: Alex Caruso 1.9

Blocks: Nikola Vucevic 1.2

Spurs

Points: Dejounte Murray 20.0

Assists: Dejounte Murray 9.3

Rebounds: Jakob Poeltl  9.0

Steals: Dejounte Murray 2.1

Blocks: Jakob Poeltl 1.8

Spurs: Gregg Popovich

Bulls: Billy Donovan