Chicago Bulls at Golden State Warriors
Time: 9:30 PM CT (ESPN)
Spread: GSW -8.5
Total: 210
Betting odds c/o Bovada
The Golden State Warriors won 124-117 over the L.A. Clippers last outing, failing to cover the 7.5 point spread.
Tonight it will host the Chicago Bulls at 9:30 on ESPN. The Warriors are 8.5-point favorites in the game.
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The Warriors have won 19-straight at home and are 13-0 on the season. The Bulls visited in January of last season and were down by 11 points with just under nine minutes in the fourth. The Bulls came back though and won in OT. The Warriors have won 25 consecutive regular season home games since that matchup and the Bulls may be without Derrick Rose tonight.
Last outing the Warriors trailed the Clippers by 23 in the first half but outscored the Clips by 13 in the final period and it made the biggest come from behind win yet in 2015-16 season. Stephen Curry scored 40 points and is averaging 39.3 points per game in his last four games.
Warriors 2-guard Klay Thompson broke out of his season slump to score 25, while Harrison Barnes added another 21. The Warriors have the longest winning streak to start a season since Dallas 14-0 in 2002-03.
Curry said, “We’re a confident team that no matter how bad we’re playing we always feel like we have a shot. The goal now is not to make it harder on ourselves, We’ll clean that up.”
The Warriors are 7-0 at home this season and that last loss came to the Bulls when Rose scored 30 points. Rose is battling ankle issues right now and he sat out the Bulls 103-97 win over the Phoenix Suns on Wed. night. The Bulls are going to bank heavily on Jimmy Butler providing the extra lift, and he has said he wants to draw the defensive assignment of Curry.
Butler scored 32 in the win over Phoenix and hit at nail driving three that put the Bulls up seven with just over a minute in the game.
“My teammates just kept giving me the ball,” he said, “and to tell you the truth, whether I wanted it or not. Telling me to make plays.”
Kirk Hinrich will start again if Rose is unable to go. He hit 6 of 7 from the floor against the Suns with six dimes. HC Fred Holberg said, “He does such a great job of getting us into our offense and getting our defense organized.” For all Hinrich is or is not at this point of his career, he is a capable defender and a smart initiator within the half-court. He still can shoot the rock and it is appropriate he is back in Chicago where he played the best ball of his career.
Even without Tom Thibodeau maximizing his role, he is ready to step up when called upon, as with Rose’s injury.
Due to the consistent threat of Rose having to sit out, having a capable guard like Hinrich off the bench is the Bulls saving grace. It will be difficult to get a ‘W’ in Oracle, but this was the last club to knock off the Dubs at home, even if it did it during a Rose outburst of scoring.
The Bulls are a strong enough defensive team to pose problems to Golden State, and expect Butler to give Curry some problems. Yes, Curry is the league’s premier scorer to this point, but Butler may be one of the top-five defenders in the NBA all things said.
