NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls looking to stay ahead of Miami and Indiana to get the #7 seed in the East.
Chicago Bulls (38-40) at Philadelphia 76ers (28-50), 7 p.m. EST
Line: Bulls -5. Total 211.
The Chicago Bulls would love to not only make the playoffs, but get the #7 seed and avoid playing Cleveland in the opening round. Sure, the Bulls swept the Cavaliers this season, but that will only make Cleveland more determined to return the favor in the postseason. The reality is simple: there is virtually no chance any NBA team is going to beat a LeBron James’ squad eight times in one season.
The Bulls need to take care of some business first before they can even consider what their postseason seed might be. Chicago plays a Sixers team tonight who has overachieved this season on a couple of fronts.
First, the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas opened the Sixers at 27.5 games won for the season. Kudos to them as that prediction was spot on. However, many prognosticators had Philly winning anywhere from 21 to 25 games. So when the public money came in on the under, that total dropped to 25 at many sportsbooks before the season started.
The Sixers eclipsed people’s expectations despite another injury-plagued season. Joel Embiid, who missed two full seasons before making his NBA debut this year, will miss 51 games this season due to an assortment of injuries. Jahil Okafor will miss 32 games. Nerlens Noel missed 26 games before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks on February 23. Noel played in just 29 games this season for the Sixers. Jerryd Bayless will miss 79 games, Robert Covington will miss 14 games and Richaun Holmes has missed 25 games this season.
Secondly, the Sixers have been surprising the oddsmakers all season long with their 48-29-1 ATS (Against The Spread) record. Philly is ranked #1 in the league with that record. Philadelphia has shown all season that they will play hard for 48 minutes.
However, I am wondering if all these injuries are finally catching up to the Sixers. Philadelphia has lost 5 of their last 6 games and are just 2-4 ATS in those 6 games. They barely covered the spread in those two games and the Sixers got throttled in their last game against Brooklyn. The Nets led by 36 points after three quarters before winning 141-118 at Philly. Brooklyn is the worst team in the league.
Have all the injuries finally worn down the Sixers or did they just fall victim to a hot Brooklyn Nets team? Brooklyn shot lights out from the field at 64% and also had a season-high 36 assists in that win over the Sixers. The Nets are 3-0 in April and have won 6 of their last 9 games.
Chicago is in a dogfight for a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are currently in a three-way tie for the #7 seed with Miami and Indiana. However, the Bulls own the tiebreakers with those two teams, so they currently own the #7 seed.
The Bulls have the easiest path to a playoff spot by far when you look at their remaining four games. Chicago plays their final four games against the three worst teams in the East. The Bulls play Philadelphia tonight, then Brooklyn, Orlando and Brooklyn again. However, this does not guarantee the Bulls a blessed thing.
Chicago lost to New York (the fourth-worst team in the East) 100-91 on Tuesday despite the Knicks missing three starters. The Knicks were missing Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick Rose, Lance Thomas and Joakim Noah. New York has been in freefall since they started the season with a 14-10 record on December 12. At that time, New York was tied for the third best record in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have gone 16-38 (.308 winning percentage) since then.
The Bulls have played to the level of their competition all season. Chicago has the second-best record against the league’s best teams, yet are 19-21 against teams with sub-.500 records. The Bulls became just the second team ever to sweep a LeBron James team in a 4-game regular season series on March 30, when they won their 20th straight TNT home game 99-93.
Chicago had their best 9-game stretch of the season since late November, going 6-3 straight up and 7-2 ATS, before losing to the Knicks last time out. They had a tough overtime loss at Toronto and another tough 5-point loss at Washington during that stretch.
Chicago lost at home to Philly 117-107 on March 24. The Bulls are 2-1 against the Sixers this season.
I have a small lean to the Jekyll-and-Hyde Bulls tonight as they are in bounce-back mode after an embarrassing loss to the Knicks. That loss may have provided Chicago with a wake-up call. The Bulls cannot look past these “easy” opponents and expect to coast into the playoffs.
The injury-riddled Sixers may be running out of gas down the stretch. The Bulls should win and cover the spread.
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