Houston at Chicago
Time: 7 PM CT, NBA LP
Spread: HOU -6
Total: 221.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Chicago Bulls have lost four of its past five, and there is no real signs of anything turning around nor changing for a team clearly now in a rebuild. Hosting the Houston Rockets certainly does not bode well for that, with the Rockets entering the game as 6-point favorites on the road with an over/under set at 221.5 points according to NBA oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.
CHI
Perhaps most notable about Chicago’s play recently is that the Bulls are not even in the losses they continue to accrue. Indiana most recently smashed the Bulls 125-86, and prior to that the tea had lost 124-115 to the Toronto Raptors. Sandwiched between was a narrow victory over the lowly Dallas Mavericks. It is not as though the rebuild is without hope in Chicago, though, with several of the young new additions performing well.
Most notable of those has been lottery pick Lauri Markkanen, whose strong play has made veteran forward Nikola Mirotic mostly expendable. Mirotic will likely be dealt some time nearer to the trade deadline, while Markkanen appears to have all the tools to develop into a future star. The rookie from Arizona is averaging 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.00 steals/blocks per game in just under 30 minutes a night, but what has been most telling with him is his unknown ability to put the ball on the floor and create for himself and his teammates.
Along with Markkanen, the Bulls have been pleased with the development of second-year guard Kris Dunn, who was acquired when the Bulls sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota to reunite with former coach Tom Thibodeau. Dunn now appears to have a future as a starter, whereas in Minnesota he was mostly stuck behind Ricky Rubio in the rotation. Dunn has tallied 13.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, and though his finishing ability remains shaky, he has all the tools to be a premier point man in the NBA.
Double that statement for 2-guard Justin Holiday, who is averaging 13.6 points per game in his own right. The Baby Bulls have some talent waiting in the wings, and will be in line for a top-5 pick in the 2018 draft. There are worse places to be in a rebuild, and for a first year of it, after losing Dwyane Wade and Butler, the Bulls should probably count itself fortunate enough to be ahead of Orlando and Atlanta in the standings, likely with more “promise” than either of those franchises, at that.
HOU
The Houston Rockets have basically went from very good to flat out deadly with the addition of a healthy Chris Paul, who has lost just a game as a Houston Rocket. Paul is averaging 17.2 points and 9.3 assists per game while posting the second-highest PER of any Rocket at 261. James Harden has been sensational, recording what could and should be an MVP campaign. Beard tallies 32.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists pre game with a PER OVER double the league average at 30.5. Supplementing the antics of Paul and Harden has been 2-guard Eric Gordon, who is averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 34.2 percent from three on 9.4 attempts per game.
Houston shoots 39 percent from three-point range as a team and averages 15.8 made threes per game. The Rockets average 114.8 points per game which ranks No. 2 in the NBA. Meanwhile, due to Clint Capela anchoring a strong defense, though he has been battling injuries recently.
Many are now wondering if Houston might not have enough firepower —and defense— to hand the Golden State Warriors a loss in a seven-game series.
The addition of Paul seems to only have made the Rockets a tougher team on both ends of the court, and if Mike D’Antoni can keep his team defending at the level at which it is, a title certainly has to be in consideration. Houston trails Golden State by 4 games in the standings, and the Rockets are 14-6 on the road this season (while the Warriors have lost three already away from home). There are just so many factors that lend us to calling the Rockets true contenders, and not “pretenders” as many have called just about any team coached by D’Antoni.
