7:05 pm
December 28

Bulls @ Wizards

Who will WIN this matchup?

Chicago Bulls (9-26)

@ Washington Wizards (13-22)

 

Current odds:

Chicago Bulls: (+170)

Washington Wizards: (-200)

 

• The line for this game is Wizards by 4.5 points.

• The Washington Wizards entered Thursday having played more road games (20) than any other team in the Eastern Conference, and it hasn’t done them any favors. The Wizards will try to bounce back from another road loss when they begin a three-game homestand against the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Washington scored just 40 second-half points and it was dominated on the glass throughout in a 106-95 loss at Detroit on Wednesday, the squad’s seventh consecutive defeat away from home. “We just had four really bad minutes of basketball,” coach Scott Brooks told the media in Detroit. “When you are struggling on the road, you have to play all 48 minutes.”

• The Bulls had posted consecutive wins for the first time this season before they were trounced 119-94 by Minnesota at home. It marked the eighth time in the last nine games that Chicago was held under 100 points.

• The big positive in Wednesday’s loss was guard Zach LaVine’s successful return from a five-game layoff due to a sprained ankle. The 23-year-old scored 28 points in just 26 minutes off the bench, including the team’s first 14 points in the second quarter. “I thought he looked good and aggressive,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen told reporters of LaVine. “I like when he drives the ball. He attacked on his first two touches and sometimes that can get you going.”

• John Wall and Bradley Beal scored 21 points apiece in the loss to the Pistons but they were a combined 3-of-14 from 3-point range as Washington’s long-range shooting continued to be an issue. The team was 9-for-33 against Detroit after going 9-for-35 in Sunday’s loss at Indiana and it is making just 32.8 percent of its 3-point attempts on the season, 29th in the league and last in the East. Trevor Ariza was the one exception Wednesday with a 5-for-10 showing from beyond the arc, prompting him to tell reporters: “Just stay confident and kept shooting it. Getting open looks and keep taking them. Eventually they’re going to go in.”

• Bulls SF Justin Holiday is shooting 33.6 percent in December.

• The Wizards have eight home games and one neutral site game in their next 12 contests.

•  Washington won two of three meetings last season.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Washington Wizards
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