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It’s a potential Eastern Conference playoff preview on Monday night in the NBA as the Chicago Bulls visit the Philadelphia 76ers, who are solid home favorites on the NBA odds and will have James Harden back in the lineup.

How to Bet Chicago at Philadelphia NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Monday, 7 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Sixers -6.5 (total 229)

Season Series

The Sixers try for the four-game sweep and have won 10 straight in the series overall. The teams last played on Feb. 6 in Chicago and Philly won 119-108. Joel Embiid had 40 points and 10 rebounds. The Sixers did let a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter shrink to four. Tobias Harris added 23 points, and Tyrese Maxey had 16. DeMar DeRozan had 45 points for the Bulls, who were without guards Zach LaVine and Coby White. They are healthy now.

Why Bet on Chicago?

The Bulls are playing maybe their worst ball of the season on a four-game skid after a 118-112 home loss to the Bucks on Friday. The Bucks went from leading by 14 in the second quarter to trailing by seven through three. Jrue Holiday went off in the fourth quarter for Milwaukee with 16 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo made 12 of 22 shots and had five assists, helping make up for a 10-for-19 showing at the foul line. Khris Middleton scored 22 points as the Bucks beat Chicago for the 14th time in 15 games.

Zach LaVine had 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points. DeRozan shot just 11-of-30 from the floor. LaVine and DeRozan will continue to carry the load as long as the Bulls are without Alex Caruso (wrist) and Lonzo Ball (knee).

Nikola Vucevic chipped in 19 points and nine rebounds. Vucevic (hamstring tightness) did not practice on Sunday and is questionable for Monday. If he can’t play, Tristan Thompson should slide in as a starter. Thompson has averaged 8.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games as a starter this season.

Ayo Dosunmu has shot .500+ from the floor 33 times this season, including seven of his last eight games, leading all rookies. He’s also registered 16 games with 5+ assists, which is the fourth-most by a first-year player this season.

At 39-25 (.609), Chicago sits 3.5 games behind the Miami Heat (43-22 .662) for the best record in the East, and fourth in the conference. The last time the Bulls were 39-25 was March 8, 2015. The Bulls are 24-5 (.828) when they hand out more assists than their opponents, and 19-3 (.864) when its bench outscores its counterparts. Chicago has connected on 20 or more free-throws while shooting .850 or better from the line 11 times, which it with Atlanta and Philadelphia for the most in the league.

Why Bet on Philadelphia?

Playing without James Harden on Saturday, the Sixers had a five-game winning streak snapped in a 99-82 loss at Miami. Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler each scored 21 points, and the Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter. It was Miami’s 11th win in its last 13 games, moving the Heat three games clear of the second-place 76ers in the East. The 76ers had a season-low in points and fell to 1-14 when scoring less than 100 points.

Joel Embiid was a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line and had 22 points and 15 rebounds. With Harden (hamstring) ruled out, the Heat devoted nearly all of their defensive attention to Embiid. Swarmed when he received the ball with his back to the basket, Embiid was eventually used in the mid-post more often. Embiid did pass Larry Costello for 11th on the Sixers All-Time points list with 7,958.

Harden will play Monday.

“That’s just another ball-handler, another playmaker, another scorer, and another guy where we can put guys in the right spot when they’re running zone,” said Sixers’ second-year guard, Tyrese Maxey of Harden. “He makes the game easier for everybody, including myself, Joel (Embiid), and Tobias (Harris).”

In each of Harden’s first four games with the team, the Sixers exceeded 120 points. They managed just 14 points in Saturday night’s first quarter, shooting 5 for 23 from the floor and 2 for 11 from three-point range. Those numbers were boosted by a Danny Green corner three with 16.4 seconds left in the period.

Monday could be the Philly debut of center DeAndre Jordan, who was signed off waivers. The 14-year veteran out of Texas A&M has experience playing for coach Doc Rivers while with the Los Angeles Clippers and he is expected to help in the rebounding department off the bench.

“I think he fits in well with us,” said Harden. “He’s a vet that’s been on some really good teams and it feels like he hasn’t accomplished his goal yet as far as winning a championship so he has an opportunity to do it here. The system is pretty easy. Just go out there, rebound the basketball, communicate defensively, and we’ll do a good job of getting him the basketball for some easy dunks, but he has the right mindset.”

Game Trends

Bulls are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog.
76ers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.
76ers are 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games following a ATS loss.
76ers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a straight up loss.
Bulls are 0-6 ATS in the last 6 meetings.