Warriors-Bulls, Hawks-Trailblazers Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup here with your Warriors-Bulls and Hawks-Trailblazers Betting odds for Wednesday night.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (38-4) at CHICAGO BULLS (24-16)
Golden State -8, Total: 216
The Warriors will be looking to ride the momentum of a win over the Cavaliers when they face the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday.
The Warriors faced the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday and absolutely embarrassed their opponent, winning 132-98 as 3.5-point point road underdogs. The victory by Golden State might have been the statement win of the season and the team will now look to defeat a struggling Bulls team.
Chicago is coming off of a 111-101 victory in Detroit on Monday, but the team has still lost four of its past six SU and five of its past six ATS. The Bulls must start playing better defense, as the team has allowed 100 or more points in five of the past six games.
These two teams have met once this season, and the Warriors won that game 106-94 as 9.5-point home favorites on Nov. 20. Over the past three seasons, Golden State is 3-2 SU and ATS in this head-to-head series. Chicago is, however, 13-4 SU and 10-6 ATS when facing Golden State at United Center since 1996.
One thing favoring the Warriors in this game is that the Bulls are just 8-25 ATS off a road win over the past two seasons. Chicago is, however, an impressive 18-8 ATS after failing to cover in five or six of its previous seven games in that span.
PF James Michael McAdoo (Toe) is expected to miss this game for the Warriors and PG Kirk Hinrich (Quad) is questionable for the Bulls, who are without C Joakim Noah (Shoulder) and SF Mike Dunleavy (Back) indefinitely.
The Warriors are coming off a huge victory and PF Draymond Green (14.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG) and PG Stephen Curry (30.0 PPG, 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 SPG) led the way for Golden State. Green finished the game with 16 points, 10 assists, seven boards and two blocks in the contest, and he also played some excellent defense against LeBron James.
Curry, meanwhile, poured in 35 points and is now averaging 33.6 PPG over the past five contests. Green must continue to affect the game in all areas and Curry will just need to continue to knock down shots moving forward. Curry has a major mismatch at the point guard position against Derrick Rose, so he should be able to find a ton of success in this one.
Another guy who will be crucial in this game is C Andrew Bogut (5.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG). Bogut will be guarding Pau Gasol in this contest and Gasol has been on fire for the Bulls recently. If the Warriors big man is not playing his usual brand of tough defense then it will be tough for Golden State to win this one on the road.
The Bulls have won two of their past three games, but they are still not playing the way they are capable of. One thing that does look good for the team is the play of PG Derrick Rose (15.0 PPG, 4.8 APG). Over the past four games, Rose is averaging 17.5 PPG on 49.1% shooting from the field. This is the best he has shot all season and he seems to have a bounce in his step. He’ll need to play at a high level on Wednesday, as his matchup with Stephen Curry will come a long way in determining the outcome of this one.
SG Jimmy Butler (22.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.8 SPG) will also need to come to play in this one. Since scoring 53 points against the Sixers, Butler has combined to score just 20 points in his past two games. He’ll need to be a lot better on Wednesday and he should be able to do so, as he poured in 28 points with nine boards and seven assists the last time the Bulls faced this Warriors team.
C Pau Gasol (16.7 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.3 BPG) had 31 points, 12 boards, three assists and three blocks in the win over the Pistons on Monday. Gasol has been a monster for Chicago recently and will need to have a big game in this one. He had 14 points and 10 boards the last time he faced Golden State and should be able to play even better in this one.
ATLANTA HAWKS (25-17) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (19-25)
Atlanta -1.5, Total: 209.5
The Hawks will be going for their third straight victory when they face the Blazers at Moda Center on Wednesday.
Atlanta has been playing well this past week, winning-and-covering in two straight games after defeating Orlando 98-81 as an eight-point home favorite. The Hawks outrebounded their opponents in each of their past two victories and it’ll be important that they do so against the Blazers on Wednesday.
Portland has been playing well also, winning 108-98 as a four-point underdog in Washington on Monday. The Blazers have now won-and-covered in four of their past five games and they’ve shot over 50% from the field in two of the past three.
When these teams met earlier in the season, the Hawks won 106-97 as 10.5-point favorites at home. Atlanta is 3-2 SU in this series over the past three seasons, but Portland is 3-2 ATS in those games.
Over the past two seasons, the Hawks are 18-7 ATS in January games. The Blazers, meanwhile, are 17-5 ATS off an upset win as a road underdog over the past three seasons. Both teams will be entering this game at near full strength, so injuries likely won’t be a major factor in determining the outcome of this one.
The Hawks have won two straight games and PF Paul Millsap (18.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG) continues to play at an All-Star level for Atlanta. Over the past five games, Millsap is averaging 19.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 4.0 APG on 56.5% shooting from the floor. He has been extremely efficient offensively and has also pitched in 2.8 BPG and 1.2 SPG during that stretch. Millsap will need to be on his game on both ends of the floor in this one, but he did struggle the last time he faced Portland. He had just 12 points and six boards in that game and if he is not better in this one then it will be tough for the Hawks to win on the road against a solid home team.
C Al Horford (15.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 BPG) also struggled in that game against the Blazers, finishing with just six points in 24 minutes of action. The strength of this Hawks team is the frontcourt, so Horford will need to be a lot more active against the Blazers this time around.
PG Jeff Teague (14.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 SPG) will really need to play well in this game for the Hawks as well. Teague will be matched up with Damian Lillard on Wednesday night and if he does not hold his own then Atlanta could get blown out in this game.
The Blazers have won four of their past five games and will now host a Hawks team that is playing some solid basketball. PG Damian Lillard (24.4 PPG, 7.0 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG) is going to need to have a big game for Portland if the team is going to win this one. Lillard has struggled over the past two games, averaging 15.0 PPG on 11-for-34 shooting from the field. The Blazers need their star to be more efficient on Wednesday and he must also do a better job of finding his teammates, as he has just eight total assists in the past two contests.
SG C.J. McCollum (20.5 PPG, 4.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG) will have to pick up the slack for the Blazers if Lillard isn’t playing well. That’s exactly what he did against the Wizards on Monday, finishing with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 6-for-10 shooting from the outside. McCollum is a fantastic shooter from the outside and will also get himself to the rim often.
An x-factor for Portland in this game could just be C Meyers Leonard (9.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG). Leonard had 18 points in 24 minutes against the Wizards and had 14 points and seven boards in 27 minutes against the Sixers the game before. He is a very good outside shooter for a big man (35% 3PT) and his ability to stretch the floor could make a big difference in this game.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
