The Chicago Bulls will host the San Antonio Spurs at 8 PM on NBA TV. It promises to be something of a defensive slugfest, given these teams identities, and their respective numbers.
The San Antonio Spurs own the league’s highest defensive rating and the Bulls have had some recent struggles putting the ball in the bucket. Derrick Rose has struggled mightily, while Kawhi Leonard has been brilliant. The Spurs are four point favorites and will look to improve to 15-3 while the Bulls are 9-6 thus far this season.
Let’s examine a few prop bets for tonight’s contest:
Derrick Rose O/U 20.5 Points + Assists
OVER. Derrick Rose has managed 29, 23 and 15 in this combinative of points and dimes, and sticking with the average still renders it 22.3, which is again over. The Spurs are a tough defensive team but Tony Parker is not the reason why and if Rose can manage to get himself going early it will go a long ways towards covering the over. While it is tempting to say the Spurs will simply shut Rose down, he is getting his field goal attempts up. He averages 18 shots per game over the last two.
Jimmy Butler O/U 19 points
UNDER. Jimmy Butler is averaging 21.2 points per game over his last ten games while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor in 36.9 minutes a game. He may draw the defensive assignment of Kawhi Leonard, however, which makes this a little dicey. Butler also put up a dud against Indiana Pacers last game too, scoring just 16 points on 10 field goal attempts. He may be due for a big one, but it is tough to imagine Gregg Popovich doing anything other than the smart thing and throwing “the Claw” on Butler.
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Pau Gasol O/U 14 points
UNDER. Pau Gasol has shot just 9 of 31 the last two games and has not had more than 14 since Nov. 18 against the Phoenix Suns. Going against Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge will do him no favors, and this is a game that he struggles to get quality looks while scraping 10 points.
Pau Gasol O/U 10.5 rebounds
OVER. Gasol has managed 11.6 rebounds per game over his past three games and will have to attack the glass again in a slow paced game. Gasol had 14 boards in the win over Portland Nov. 24 and could be in for similar work tonight.
Kawhi Leonard O/U 20.5 points
OVER. Kawhi Leonard has had four straight games with 22 points or more and been a highly efficient killer. His last game under 20 was Nov 21 against the Memphis Grizzlies, and against the Atlanta Hawks he scored 22 points while attempting just 11 field goals. Leonard is averaging three free throw attempts per game, but hurting teams in so many ways. He is now the Spurs No. 1 option and has legitimized himself as such by posting 22 points per game this season.
LaMarcus Aldridge O/U 15.5 points
UNDER. LaMarcus Aldridge has struggled somewhat shooting just 10 of 28 in his past two games, and the Bulls have the interior strength to force him into tougher, contested looks. He is still finding his groove in San Antonio, but his best contributions have been on the defensive end this season, which is different than the Aldridge we have seen in the past.
LaMarcus Aldridge O/U 9 rebounds
UNDER. Aldridge has averaged just 5.6 rebounds per game over his past three games while averaging 21.5 minutes per game over the past two games. He has averaged 9.1 rebounds per game this season but is good for just 8.9 in his past eight games.
