The Chicago Bulls are sizzling hot right now. They enter their matchup with the Detroit Pistons tonight with some serious momentum thanks to a four-game winning streak. Can they take care of business once again? Or will the Pistons put an end to their run?
Read on below for a full breakdown of this Central Division clash. And for more NBA action, click here for our preview of the Bucks at Warriors.
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Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls Betting Preview
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
When: Friday, December 18, 2015, 08:00 PM ET
Line: Detroit Pistons (+4) vs. Chicago Bulls (-4); total: 195.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: CSCH, FSD
Betting on the Detroit Pistons (15-12)
Following a gut-wrenching 105-103 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Detroit Pistons successfully redeemed themselves last night with a 119-16 win over the visiting Boston Celtics. Starring in that game was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who finished with a career-high of 31 points with two rebounds and three dimes.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Now, the Pistons have won three of their past four games and will look to notch another win when they travel to Illinois for an intriguing encounter with the Chicago Bulls tonight. Detroit is 5-5 SU and 7-3 ATS in its previous 10 meetings with Chicago.
Key to their victory will be heavily dictated by their solid one-two punch in Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. The two have been a force to be reckoned with this season, averaging 37.7 PPG and 20.5 RPG combined. But it’ll be interesting how they’ll fare opposite a Bulls defense that’s allowing just 97.5 PPG, the sixth-lowest in the league.
Detroit, though, is jam-packed with other offensive options besides Jackson and Drummond. There’s KCP, who’ll be trying to build on his career night against the Celtics, and there’s the ever-reliable pair of Marcus Morris (14.4 PPG) and Ersan Ilyasova (10.8 PPG) to help spread the floor for the team through their respectable outside game.
Meanwhile, the Pistons will also have their work cut out for them at the defensive end. They’ll need to figure out how to stop the likes of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose from scoring at will. Plus, there’s also the Bulls’ center in Pau Gasol to worry about in the post.
After suffering their eighth-loss of the season against Boston on December 9, the Chicago Bulls have won their next four games since then. As a result, they now hold a 15-8 record and are at the second spot in the Central Division. The Bulls will now strive to continue their current form and stretch their unbeaten run to five games versus the visiting Detroit Pistons.
Leading the charge for them will none other than be their backcourt duo of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, who’ve been playing some exceptional basketball as of late. The two guards are averaging 33.8 points combined in their past five games.
Butler, in particular, has been the main star in Chicago. The 26-year-old swingman is averaging a team-best of 20.8 PPG with 5.0 RPG and 3.3 APG across 23 games this season. But Butler’s track record against the Pistons should give his team something to think about. Throughout 13 career games against Detroit, he’s only posting 13.5 PPG and 4.3 RPG.
If Butler does struggle, the Bulls, who are 8-2 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 homes games, could look down low for their versatile center in Pau Gasol. The 35-year-old veteran clearly still has some fuel left in his tank, as he’s had a total of 13 double-double outputs already this season. And on defense, Gasol’s done his part in preventing any easy shots in the paint with 2.0 BPG.
It’ll be quite interesting though, how Gasol can continue making his presence felt on both sides of the floor while being matched up with arguably the best center in the NBA right now—Andre Drummond.
