The Chicago Bulls head to the Toyota Center to take on the Houston Rockets. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 31 and can be seen on TNT.
The Rockets come into this game on a high note after defeating the Cavaliers 106-100 on Tuesday. James Harden was the team’s high scorer with 27 points on 8-for-16 shooting. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off a 98-96 win against the Pacers on Tuesday. Nikola Mirotic had a good performance, posting 28 points and 10 rebounds to claim his fifth double-double of the season.
Keep an eye on Houston’s ability to get to the charity stripe. The team ranks first in the league in free throw attempt rate (36.2), but Chicago is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking third by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 24.5).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first matchup 108-100. Pau Gasol put up a double-double in the victory with 28 points and 17 rebounds.
The Rockets are hoping to improve on their records of 37-38 Straight Up (SU) and 32-42-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Even though they have a 14-22 record ATS, they are at home against Eastern Conference opponents. The Rockets have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the league in offense with 105.9 points per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, the Rockets are the top team in the league at taking the ball away from their opponents, averaging 10.0 steals per game. Something to watch out for is if Houston can force its opponents into turnovers and convert them into baskets. They’ve done an excellent job of that all year with an average of 18.7 points off turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, Chicago has a SU record of 37-37 and an ATS record of 31-43. Despite having a winning record against the Western Conference, Chicago is unsuccessful ATS in those games with a record of 14-22. The Bulls convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .369. Chicago is one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. The Bulls average 46.7 rebounds per game, making them the second-best team in the league for that category. The Bulls are in for a physical game against Houston. The Rockets are not afraid to send opponents to the free throw line, averaging 22.6 fouls per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Chicago beat Houston, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. The Rockets lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chi
Notes
“Houston is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games “.
“Houston is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home”.
“Houston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston’s last 5 games at home”.
“Houston is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Chicago”.
“The total has gone OVER in 16 of Houston’s last 22 games when playing Chicago”.
“Houston is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Chicago”.
“The total has gone OVER in 12 of Houston’s last 16 games when playing at home against Chicago”.
“The total has gone OVER in 12 of Chicago’s last 16 games when playing on the road against Houston”.
Chicago ranks 20th in points per game with 101.5, while Houston ranks 26th in points allowed with an average of 106.8 given up.
Houston ranks 24th in points allowed per home game (104.4 PPG), while Chicago ranks 14th in points per away game with 101.3.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Houston Rockets are an outstanding 14-4. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Chicago Bulls have a poor record of 12-21.
Houston is 23-34 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Bulls have a solid 25-16 record when they hit the century mark.
The Bulls have a defensive rating of 104.1 (ranked 14th). The Rockets rank eighth for their offensive rating of 105.5.
On average, Houston has 100.4 possessions per game and scores 1.055 points on each possession. Chicago has both fewer possessions (99.5) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.020).
The Houston Rockets have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the league with an EFF% of 51.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Chicago Bulls have an abysmal 2-17 record.
On average, the Chicago Bulls make 22.6 assists per game and the Houston Rockets make 21.9. Chicago is ranked 12th, while Houston is ranked 17th.
Houston makes an average of 5.1 blocks per game (ranked 14th). Chicago ranks higher in blocks with 5.6 (ranked eighth).
The Houston Rockets are a top-15 offensive rebounding team, currently ranked sixth for the season. The Chicago Bulls rank near the very top (third) in defensive rebounding.
The Rockets record 10.0 steals per game on average (ranked first). The Bulls are 9-13 when allowing at least 10 steals.
