The Los Angeles Clippers will travel to the United Center to take on the Chicago Bulls. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 10 and can be seen on TNT and PRI.
The Bulls are expecting a better outcome after their 105-100 loss to the Celtics on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler was the game’s leading scorer with 36 points. The Clippers, meanwhile, are coming off a 109-95 win against the Bucks on Wednesday. J.J. Redick was the game’s top scorer, registering 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
Over the last five games, Pau Gasol has taken his game to another level for the Bulls, averaging 19.0 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 3.2 blocks.
Los Angeles will look to keep miscues at a minimum in this matchup. They’re ranked third in the NBA at avoiding mistakes (turnover percentage of 13.5%). Conversely, Chicago forces the second-fewest errors in the league, with just 11.8% of opponents’ possessions resulting in a turnover.
The Bulls are a slim one-point favorite at home against Los Angeles. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 203 points. The Bulls come into this game 11-8 Straight Up (SU) and 6-13 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The rebounding edge goes to the Bulls in this matchup, who average a league-best 48.4 rebounds per game. Chicago’s three-point defense can be considered one of the best in the league, allowing just 7.0 three-pointers per game. Chicago will look to take advantage of the Clippers and their propensity to foul. Los Angeles ranks 27th in the league in fouls, averaging 23.1 per game.
Over on the other bench, the Clippers have a record of 8-13-1 ATS and 13-9 SU. Despite having a winning record against the Eastern Conference, Los Angeles is unsuccessful ATS in those games with a record of 2-3. The Clippers are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking fifth in the NBA at 1.68.
These two meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Los Angeles won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. Furthermore, the Clippers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAC, ATS Winner – LAC, O/U – Under
Notes
Chicago is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chicago’s last 11 games.
Chicago is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
Chicago is 17-6 SU in its last 23 games at home.
Chicago is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Chicago’s last 12 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago’s last 6 games when playing LA Clippers.
Chicago is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing LA Clippers.
Chicago is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games when playing LA Clippers.
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chicago’s last 12 games when playing at home against LA Clippers.
Chicago is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers.
Los Angeles ranks sixth in points per game with 103.4, while Chicago ranks ninth in points allowed with an average of 98.6 given up.
Los Angeles and Chicago are well matched, ranking fourth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Los Angeles puts up an average of 106.5 points on the road, while Chicago allows 95.8 points at home on average.
The Los Angeles Clippers have a superb 9-1 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The Chicago Bulls are 6-5 when they score less than 100.
The Los Angeles Clippers have an underachieving 4-8 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Chicago Bulls are 5-3 when they hit the century mark.
The Bulls have a defensive rating of 98.1, fourth-best in the NBA. The Clippers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 104.8 (ranked sixth).
Los Angeles is among the top-ranked teams based on its average field goal percentage of 45.9% (ranked fifth). Chicago has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-2).
The Chicago Bulls average 22.0 three point attempts per game, while the Los Angeles Clippers attempt 23.0 per game. When attempting 25 or more three pointers in a game, Chicago is 3-4, while Los Angeles has a split 5-5 record.
Los Angeles ranks near the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.68 (ranked fifth). Chicago is ranked sixth, with an A/TO of 1.65 this season.
The Bulls earn a league-high 48.4 rebounds per game, while the Clippers rank 24th with 42.9 per game.
The Chicago Bulls are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Los Angeles Clippers rank 21st in offensive rebounding.
Los Angeles has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.5% this season. Chicago has a losing 2-4 record when its TOV% is 14.5% or higher.
