The Washington Wizards finally ended their winning drought against the San Antonio Spurs. Before Tuesday’s game, the Wizards have lost 17 straight games to the defending NBA champs since 2005. Will the Wizards get caught sleeping after their big win? They take on a red-hot Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls next.
Read on for everything you’ll need to know heading into this intriguing affair. You can also check out our preview for the Clippers vs. Blazers game in a clash between two of the West’s top teams. Another interesting matchup is on the cards as LeBron James and the Cavaliers take on Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. You can view the complete preview of the Cavs vs. Lakers game here.
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Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls Preview
Where: United Center, Chicago
When: Wednesday, January 14, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Washington Wizards (+5.5) at Chicago Bulls (-5.5); total 194.0 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Washington Wizards
John Wall had another big game as he led the Washington Wizards with 25 points and eight assists en route to a 101-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. It was Wall’s first win over the defending NBA champions since he was drafted into the NBA in 2010.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Wall has averaged 17.8 points and 9.6 assists per game over the Wizards’ last five games, including a double-double performance (16 points and 12 dimes) against the Bulls on January 9. His ability to find the open man should be prominent against the Bulls, especially with all Washington starters averaging at least nine points over the past five games. Chicago has allowed an average of 21.1 assists in their home games this season.
The Wizards point guard may choose to keep feeding the ball to Marcin Gortat in this game. Gortat scored a game-high 21 points and had 13 rebounds for a double-double performance against the Bulls last week. The Wizards won that game 102-86, but that win came at home where they’re 17-4. On the road, Washington is 9-8 (8-8-1 ATS).
While the Wizards may be able to score against a Chicago team that has allowed 102.5 points per game at United Center, they’ll need to be able to stop the red-hot Pau Gasol from dominating in the paint. They’ll have more than enough bodies to throw at Gasol, with Nene, Kris Humphries and Kevin Seraphin all contributing solid minutes.
The Wizards have won their last four games (4-0 ATS) at Chicago.
Betting on the Chicago Bulls
Since the Chicago Bulls’ 102-86 loss to Washington on January 9, Pau Gasol has exploded for an average of 37 points on .587 shooting and 16 rebounds over his last two games. The Bulls split those two games, winning 95-87 and losing 121-114 to Milwaukee and Orlando respectively.
After his two-game explosion, the Bulls may choose to keep feeding the ball to Gasol for this game. He already proved that he can be successful against Washington when he accounted for 12 points and 13 rebounds on January 9.
Keeping Gasol hot should also lessen the load on Derrick Rose. The Chicago point guard has been horrible from the field (.379 field goal percentage) over his last four games. He has been especially inefficient from three-point range going 3-for-17, including 1-for-7 against Washington, in that span.
If Rose struggles again, the Bulls may still have some solid production from Aaron Brooks off the bench. He went 6-for-13 (4-for-7 from three-point range) for 16 points against Washington. Brooks has averaged 11.1 points per game in January.
The total has gone over in four of the Bulls’ last five home games against Washington.
Writer’s Prediction
Wall leads the Wizards to another win against Chicago. Create a betting account now and get your daily dose of hard court action.
