Jimmy Butler and the Chicago Bulls travel to play Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Apr. 11 and can be seen on CSC and FSN.
The Pelicans got blown out by the Suns 121-100 on Saturday. Toney Douglas finished with 23 points to lead the team. The Bulls, meanwhile, are coming off a 105-102 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday. Butler led the team in scoring with 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting.
New Orleans should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank fifth in the NBA at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 13.2%). Meanwhile, the Bulls force the second-fewest turnovers in the league (11.4%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Bulls won the first game 98-94. In the loss, Tyreke Evans led all scorers on the team with 22 points.
The Pelicans enter the game with records of 30-50 Straight Up (SU) and 36-44 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 30-50 SU and 36-44 ATS versus the Eastern Conference.
Across the court, Chicago has a SU record of 40-40 and an ATS record of 34-46. Chicago has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. Chicago is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, converting .367 of their shots from three-point range. The Bulls are a force on the boards, grabbing an average of 46.4 rebounds per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Chicago beat New Orleans, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. However, the Pelicans lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chi
Notes
Chicago ranks 21st in points per game with 101.2, while New Orleans ranks 25th in points allowed with an average of 105.9 given up.
New Orleans ranks 28th in points allowed per home game (106.2 PPG), while Chicago ranks 15th in points per away game with 101.0.
In its last game, Chicago won by a margin of three points. New Orleans is 5-5 in games decided by three points or less. Chicago has a 10-4 record in close games.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Bulls are 24-4 on the season. When the Pelicans score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 1-36.
The Chicago Bulls have a subpar 16-36 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The New Orleans Pelicans are 29-14 when they hit the century mark.
Chicago’s offense and New Orleans’ defense both rank 26th this season. Chicago has an offensive rating of 102.2 and New Orleans has a defensive rating of 107.2.
The New Orleans Pelicans average a field goal percentage of 44.7% this season. The Chicago Bulls have a poor record of 10-26 when opponents have a FG% of 44.7% or greater.
On average, the New Orleans Pelicans attempt 23.0 three point field goals per game and the Chicago Bulls attempt 21.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, New Orleans has a poor record of 12-20, while Chicago is 8-11.
New Orleans has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.69 this season (ranked 12th). Chicago ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.70 (ranked 11th).
With 46.4 per game, Chicago ranks near the top of the NBA for rebounds at second. New Orleans ranks 21st with 42.9.
New Orleans is ranked 16th in defensive rebounds, while Chicago ranks ninth in offensive rebounds.
Chicago has forced an average turnover percentage of 11.4% this season. New Orleans has a poor 18-33 record when its TOV% is 11.4% or higher.
