Chicago Bulls AT New Orleans Hornets
Feb 12, 2011 at 8 PM EST
Opening Line:  Chicago -3
Current Line:  Chicago -3
Opening Total: 181.5
Current Total: 181.5
Opening Moneyline:  Chicago -145 / New Orelans +125
Current Moneyline:  Chicago -155 / New Orelans +135

For those that still don’t believe the Bulls are one of the elite teams in the league, they need only begin to look at the Eastern Conference standings to prove themselves wrong.  Chicago has won 7 of their last 10 and pulled to within 2.5 games for the conference lead (Miami is the leader).  Perhaps most impressive of all is that Chicago is undefeated against divisional opponents.

The Bulls have won 4 straight against New Orleans and though they are only 12-12 on the road, NBA oddsmakers have favored them by 3 points, a testament to how well they are playing.

Some betting trends:

Chicago is 7-2 SU in their last 9 games and the toal has gone UNDER in 7 of their last 11 games.  The total has alson gone UNDER in 4 of the Bulls’ last 6 road games.  Chicago is 4-1 SU in their last 5 against New Orleans and the total has gone OVER in 7 of the last 8 road games against the Hornets.  Chicago is 5-13 SU in their last 18 road games against the Hornets and Chicago is 4-2 SU in their last 6 road games against the Hornets.

New Orleans is 12-6 SU in their last 18 games and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games.  The total has gone “UNDER in 4 of New Orleans last 5 games at home.  New Orleans is 6-2 SU in their last 8 games at home.  New Orleans is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games at home.  New Orleans is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Chicago Bulls.  New Orleans is 5-11-1 ATS in their last 17 home games against Chicago.  The total has gone OVER in 7 of the last 8 home games against the Bulls and New Orelans is 2-4 SU in their last 6 againts Chicago and they are 13-5 SU in their last 18 at home against the Bulls.

Key Matchups:

Derrick Rose vs Chris Paul

This showcase matchup should prove to be one of the more entertaining of the year.  Rose and Paul are both at the top of the class in point guards and both are legitimate MVP candidates.  Rose is having the best year of his 3 year NBA career.  His scoring average is up nearly 4 points from last year and his assists are up 2.2 from last year.  On the year he is averaging 24.7 points per game (8th best in the league), 8.2 assists (10th best in the league), and 4.4 rebounds.  His opponent, Chris Paul is averaging 16.5 points per game (41st in the league) and 9.7 assists (3rd in the league).  Both point guards are extremely quick and crafty with the ball and they will both have their hands full with one another on the defensive end.  The advantage is always in the offensive player’s hand, and though both are good defenders, they are much better at scoring and distributing the ball.

Carlos Boozer vs David West

Boozer and West both have one thing in common: they made the all star team in the past but did not make it this year.  Though Boozer missed the first 15 games of the season, he has contributed in a typical Carlos Boozer way, putting up nearly 20 & 10 as he has done for the last 5 seasons.  For his career against the Hornets he is averaging 20.4 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game, right on about his career average.  West has continued to put up solid numbers as well, boasting season averages of 19.0 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.  While Boozer is clearly a better rebounder, their scoring prowess is about the same, and both actually play similar games, spotting up on the perimeter a lot and then banging a little at other times.  Boozer is much tougher than West though, and gets the nod in this matchup.