The Chicago Bulls enter their Christmas Day tilt with the Spurs a little battered and bruised. Entering their Friday matchup with Charlotte they’d lost four of their last five. However, with that said, the team is pretty healthy heading into the final stretch of 2016 and have remained somewhat consistent. Led by Jimmy Butler’s 24.4 points per game, the team has put together impressive stretches and a solid enough record as well to keep them in playoff contention nearing the halfway point.
The Bulls have been a little lacklustre on the road though and that’s been their downfall. Don’t get us wrong, a .500 record at home (8-8) is nothing to brag about either but the road is where they’ve really come off the rails. Heading into the holiday break, the Bulls hadn’t won a road game since November 25th when they took out the Sixers 105-89 in Philly. They will need a little bit of Magic in this one because the Spurs are red hot and have been on a feeding frenzy – less their road loss to the Clippers on Thursday night.
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs (24-6)
The Spurs are on a hot streak right now. Heading into their road tilt against Portland on Friday, San Antonio has one loss in their last six and two losses in their eleven games. The team also has the best home record in the NBA at 15-2. The Bulls will be in tough in this one because San Antonio’s scorers are really coming together at the right time. Kawhi Leonard is still leading the way with his 24 PPG, LaMarcus Aldridge is also contributing as expected, but the real welcome addition is Pau Gasol. The veteran spaniard is pitching in roughly 12 points a night and is also leading the team in rebound average with a eight.
Look for San Antonio to walk all over the Bulls right off the bat. While Chicago is always fun to cheer for because of their lasting legacy, this group unfortunately is not a second coming of the 90’s sensations.
