Chicago has won 9 straight at home and are going for their 10th, something that hasn’t been done since MJ graced the court.  The Bulls last took down Memphis, despite the absense of Carlos Boozer who was nursing a sprained ankle from the sidelines.  It turned out that with the play of Derrick Rose he would scarcely be needed.  Rose went for his first career triple double with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.  “A win is a win no matter how my stats are,” Rose said.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the Bulls are the Bobcats who have now dropped three straight games and are now a dreadful 4-14 on the road.  Before the three game losing streak they had a four game win streak, only further illustrating the inconsistency that can plague sub .500 teams.  “We’re fighting hard to stay in games and we’re not just giving up,” Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. “We’ll get there. We’ll learn and we’ll get there.”

Some betting trends:

Charlotte is 1-11 SU in their last 12 games on the road and 2-4 SU in their last 6 games against the Bulls.  The total has gone OVER in 4 of their last 6 games against the Bulls and they are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games at the United Center.

Chicago is 5-1 SU in their last 6 games and 5-0 SU in their last 5 at home.  The total has gone UNDER in 12 of the Bulls’ last 18 games at home and it has also gone OVER in 4 of their last 6 games against the Bobcats.  Chicago is 4-2 SU in their last 6 against Charlotte and 3-6 ATS in their last 9 against the Bobcats.

While Augustin is obviously nowhere near as good as Rose, he has quietly been putting a good year together for himself.  His averages of 14.2 points per game and 6.3 assists per game have replaced Raymond Felton adequately.  While he’ll be outmatched by Rose’s strength and size, he should be able to manage to beat him off the dribble on occasion and in doing so open up some distance between himself and Rose to launch some threes, as he is shooting 37% from behind the arc.  Rose will give the 5’11” Augustin fits on defense though, and there really isn’t any solution for the Bobcats unless they want to give backup Shaun Livingston (who is 6’7″) extended run.

Wallace is arguably the best player on the Bobcats and is a great rebounder and finds a way to get to the hole.  Deng is a good defender and should be able to force Wallace into some tougher shots while holding his own on offense, as well.  Deng is having a great year for himself and is a large part of the reason the Bulls have been so successful.  The 7th year forward has averaged 18 poitns per game, something he hasn’t done since the 06-07 season in his last contract year.  He’s also having a career year from three point range, hitting over a three a game for the first time in his career.  Wallace shouldn’t have much of a problem bodying up Deng and forcing him to put it on the floor, though.

The Bobcats certainly have their work cut out for them tonight.  The Bulls are having a great year and are even better at home and are a near lock to win their 10th straight home game tonight.