The Chicago Bulls will travel to the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and can be seen on WGN and CNW.
The Trail Blazers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Lakers 107-93 on Sunday. Damian Lillard was a key piece, recording his third double-double of the season with 30 points and 13 assists. The Bulls, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 106-94 loss against the Warriors on Friday. Jimmy Butler had a game-high 28 points.
Chicago will look to keep miscues at a minimum in this matchup. They’re ranked fifth in the NBA at avoiding mistakes (turnover percentage of 13.5%). Conversely, Portland forces the second-fewest errors in the league, with just 11.8% of opponents’ possessions resulting in a turnover.
The Bulls are a slim two-point favorite over Portland. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 203 points. The Trail Blazers come into this game 6-9 Straight Up (SU) and 8-7 Against The Spread (ATS).
As for their opponent, the Bulls were a poor bet so far, with a disappointing record of 4-8 ATS. Their SU record, 8-4, hasn’t been quite as bad.
These two meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Chicago won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake Portland in the most recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-7 SU over the last 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Trail Blazers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chi, ATS Winner – Chi, O/U – Under
Notes
Portland is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Portland’s last 12 games.
Portland is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Portland is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Chicago.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Portland’s last 16 games when playing Chicago.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Portland’s last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago.
Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago.
Portland ranks 14th in points per game with 101.1, while Chicago ranks 10th in points allowed with an average of 99.4 given up.
On average, Portland scores 103.8 points per home game (ranked 11th). Chicago ranks 17th in points allowed per road game with 103.2.
When giving up under 100 points, Portland has a formidable record of 5-1 this season. Chicago has an even record of 3-3 when it puts up fewer than 100 points.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Trail Blazers are just 1-8 this season. Chicago is an outstanding 5-1 when it hits the century mark.
The Trail Blazers have an offensive rating of 103.0 (ranked 10th). The Bulls rank sixth for their defensive rating of 98.6.
Portland averages fewer possessions per game than Chicago, with 98.2 compared to 101.0. However, the Trail Blazers score an average of 1.030 points per possession, more than the .995 that the Bulls score.
Portland is ranked ninth in the NBA with an average effective field goal percentage of 50.6%. Chicago has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-2).
On average, the Chicago Bulls make 22.2 assists per game and the Portland Trail Blazers make 20.0. Chicago is ranked 11th, while Portland is ranked 22nd.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 4.8 blocks per game for a rank of 17th. The Chicago Bulls rank higher (eighth), earning 5.9 blocks each contest.
The Chicago Bulls are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Portland Trail Blazers rank 16th in offensive rebounding.
The Chicago Bulls average 6.8 steals per game. When giving up 6 or more steals, the Portland Trail Blazers have a losing record (4-7) this season.
