Like him or hate him, you have to be awed by Russell Westbrook’s string of monster games. The All-Star point guard has been playing like a man possessed of late, and his historic performance on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers sends a strong message to the Chicago Bulls, who’ll square off with the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
In another interesting matchup, Dallas pays Moda Center a visit as Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Mavericks go up against the LaMarcus Aldridge-led Portland Trail Blazers. Click here for a preview of that game.
[sc:NBAArticles ]
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Chicago Bulls Preview
Where: United Center, Chicago
When: Thursday, March 5, 2015, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder (-4) vs. Chicago Bulls (+4); total: 200.5 —view all NBA lines
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder
[sc:NBA240banner ]Russell Westbrook is playing like he’s from another planet right now. For the fourth game in a row, Westbrook tallied a triple-double, posting 49 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Thunder’s 123-118 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night. Westbrook now hopes to carry the same deadly form to Windy City, where they’ll face Chicago on Thursday.
Westbrook was the only bright spot in the Thunder’s starting lineup with no other starter scoring more than eight points. Enes Kanter, who entered the contest averaging 14.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game over six contests in a Thunder uniform, finished the Sixers game with only eight points and five boards.
Despite Westbrook’s ongoing brilliance, Kanter, Serge Ibaka and company must provide ample scoring support against the Bulls, who might be forced to gang up on their All-Star point guard. Ibaka had a salty game against Philadelphia, only scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds.
With Kanter and Ibaka visibly struggling, the Sixers were able to outrebound the best rebounding team in the league, 58-54. The Thunder are pulling down 47.7 rebounds per game. They’ll have to rediscover their elite form on the glass against Chicago, which is next to OKC in rebounding with 46.0 boards per game.
The Thunder are 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Chicago.
Banged up and all, the Bulls still managed to thwart the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, 97-92. They will now look to end a three-game homestand with another W when Oklahoma City hits town later tonight.
The Bulls barely missed the services of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, and Taj Gibson in that game, with backups Aaron Brooks, Tony Snell, and Nikola Mirotic all stepping up. Brooks scored 22 points and had eight assists; Snell chipped in 11 points; and Mirotic came off the bench sizzling, firing a game-high 23 points to go along with his eight rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Mirotic, however, suffered a shoulder contusion and could be out against the Thunder.
If Mirotic ends up sitting the OKC game, then Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol will be heavily relied on by the Bulls to deliver in the frontcourt. Noah is currently riding a three-game streak of double-doubles, averaging 12.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game during that stretch. As for Gasol, he looked fully recovered from a recent illness, as he had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Wizards game.
Meanwhile, expect Brooks and Snell to remain as fixtures in the Bulls’ first five moving forward. Brooks has averaged 13.5 points and 4.8 assists over Chicago’s last three games. Snell, on the other hand, has put up 13.2 points and grabbed four rebounds in the Bulls’ last five outings.
Brooks and Snell, however, need to be just as better defensively against the Thunder, as they’ll be the primary options in containing Westbrook and the rest of OKC’s backcourt that averages 49.8 PPG.
