The Chicago Bulls take on the Houston Rockets at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Toyota Center in Houston. The Rockets have lost fifteen consecutive games, but the Bulls are coming off of a demoralizing 109-77 defeat to Indiana on Monday. Houston guard Kevin Porter Jr. is listed as questionable but is expected to return to the court after missing the last three games with a thigh injury. The Rockets could use him, as they have had the second-worst scoring offense in the NBA this season.
Chicago is favored by 9.5 points in the latest Rockets vs. Bulls odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 216.5. Before entering any Bulls vs. Rockets picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $9,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model entered Week 6 of the 2021-22 NBA season up over $1,200 on all top-rated NBA picks this season. It’s also on a stunning 115-76 roll on top-rated NBA picks against the spread that dates back to last season. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Rockets vs. Bulls. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Bulls vs. Rockets:
- Rockets vs. Bulls spread: Rockets +9.5
- Rockets vs. Bulls over-under: 216.5 points
Featured Game | Houston Rockets vs. Chicago Bulls
What you need to know about the Rockets
Houston’s most recent loss came against the Boston Celtics on Monday, and it wasn’t particularly close as the Celtics won 108-90. Houston was down 86-63 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. Point guard Armoni Brooks (17 points) was the top scorer for the Rockets.
If he suits up, Porter Jr. should infuse some instant offense into Houston’s game plan, as he averaged 16 points, 5.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds in the three games prior to his injury. Unfortunately for Houston, Chicago has been the third-best team at defending opposing shooting guards this season, and allow just 18.3 points per game to the position. Even in a lopsided win, the Pacers’ shooting guard combination of Caris LeVert and Chris Duarte came away with just 21 total points against the Bulls on Monday.
What you need to know about the Bulls
Chicago was in a tough position by the end of the first half against the Pacers, with a 67-46 deficit at the break. The top scorers for Chicago were small forward DeMar DeRozan (18 points) and shooting guard Zach LaVine (17 points). DeRozan was the sharper of the two, and hit half of his field goal attempts in the game. But it was the first time that he scored fewer than 20 points in a game since November 12 against Golden State.
One thing that could work in the Bulls’ favor as they stretch for margin to cover in this matchup is their free throw shooting. The Bulls average the third-most made free throws per game in the NBA and have the highest free throw percentage (85 percent). That’s troublesome for Houston, whose opponents have averaged 21.5 free throws per game, while the Rockets make just 68.7 percent of their attempts. Chicago could also welcome back Nikola Vucevic and Alex Caruso who are each listed as questionable.
How to make Bulls vs. Rockets picks
The model has simulated Rockets vs. Bulls 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Who wins Rockets vs. Bulls? And which side of the spread is a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its NBA picks
