Knicks at Bulls (-2.5): O/U 227.5
The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 128-120 in OT on Wednesday, and this teams turn around and face off on Friday in the same arena with a shorter line.
Chicago laid anywhere from -3.5 to -4.5 on Wednesday and we all were tricked by Jalen Brunson playing, despite wearing a boot the previous two days.
That was a tough game to watch as DeMar DeRozan was the only Bulls’ player getting foul calls (17 FTA vs 5 FTA from the rest of the team), plus Quentin Grimes showed up when least expected (14 points on 4-of-7 from three) in addition to Brunson (30 points, 7 assists) and Julius Randle‘s big nights (31 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists).
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However, I expect the Bulls to make the defensive changes for round two versus the Knicks. The Knicks have not played the same opponent in two-straight games this season but did so three times last year.
New York beat Orlando and Boston in the first meeting, then lost the next the following by 6 and 24 points. New York lost both to Philly by a combined 31 points. So, the Knicks were 0-3 on the ML and ATS in the second-straight game versus an opponent dating back to last season.
The Knicks have now won five-straight games and while they have been impressive, I am not buying it.
The Bulls are 28-7 on the ML as a home favorite since last year (80%) and 24-11 ATS (68.5%). During that 35-game span, Chicago has only lost back-to-back on the ML once and failed to cover back-to-back twice as home favorites.
I played 2 units on the Bulls -2.5 at -110 odds. I would not talk anyone off the Bulls ML as well. Every Chicago win this year came by at least four points, so I will take the -2.5.
The Bulls ML is -138 on FanDuel, -140 on BetMGM and -145 on DraftKings and PointsBet if you like that better.
Pick: Bulls -2.5 (2u)
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