Bulls vs Rockets NBA Odds Today for a game where both Teams have their eyes set on the Play-in Tournament

The Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets both have eyes on the play-in tournament in their respective conferences as they meet in Houston on Thursday night with the Bulls trying for the season sweep, but the red-hot Rockets as solid favorites on the NBA odds.

MyBookie Line NBA Wholegame and Expert Analysis Chicago vs Houston | NBA Week 22

How to Bet Bulls at Rockets NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
Where: Toyota Center
TV: NBA League Pass
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Rockets -1 (total TBA)

Bulls vs Rockets Season Series

Chicago tries for the season sweep as it beat visiting Houston 124-119 in OT on Jan. 10. Coby White scored 30 points, and Zach LaVine made a big 3-pointer with 1:46 left in overtime while finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. However, LaVine is now out for the season. Houston rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force OT. Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Alperen Sengun had 25 points for the Rockets. He’s currently out injured. Fred VanVleet had 20 points and 10 assists. The all-time series is now tied 73-73. Houston leads 45-23 as the home team but did lose to the Bulls last season there.

Why Bet on Chicago Bulls?

Chicago is going to be in the East play-in tournament, it’s just a matter of which spot – probably finishing ninth in the East. The Bulls won for the third time in four games Monday, 110-107 over Portland. Anfernee Simons scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for Portland, but couldn’t get off a 3-point attempt from the top of the key before time expired.

It was the Bulls’ NBA-leading 24th clutch victory — a game that is within five points with under five minutes left — but they were outscored 32-21 in the final quarter.

“We got lackadaisical, we got careless with the ball and started to be not so aggressive,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We let them get downhill, fouled them, let them get layups. We let go of the rope a little bit.”

DeRozan had a team-high 28 points along with six assists and five rebounds. The 34-year-old topped 20 points for the 10th time in 14 contests since the All-Star break. Over that stretch, DeRozan is averaging 25.4 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 boards.

Nikola Vucevic notched 22 points and nine rebounds as he just missed recording his 40th double-double of the season, which would have marked his third straight campaign reaching that plateau, and the seventh time in his career. Vucevic has been a force in the Chicago frontcourt since the All-Star break, averaging 20.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while shooting 50.6 percent from the floor.

With starting guard and second-leading scorer Coby White missing a third straight game with a right hip strain, Ayo Dosunmu saw heavy minutes again. He finished with 23 points and 10 assists in 39 minutes. It was his highest assist total in over two years, as Dosunmu’s last double-double came against the Timberwolves on Feb. 11, 2022. He has played at least 35 minutes in four straight games and 13 of 14 since the All-Star break, and he’s responded by averaging 16.2 points and 6.3 assists. White says he will return Thursday but we will have to see.

The Bulls got within a game of the elusive .500 at 34-35 with a chance to get back for the first time since Oct. 30 when they play in Houston on Thursday. The Bulls, who are 29-21 since the end of November, have not been over .500 this season.

The Bulls rank third in least turnovers per game (12.3), eighth in total deflections (1,018), ninth in total points off turnovers (1,157), ninth in points off turnovers per game (17.0), tied for 11th in steals per game (7.6) and 12th in the NBA in total steals (516) this season.

Chicago is 5-5 in its last 10 meetings with Houston, averaging 124.2 ppg in those wins. The Bulls are looking to win back-to-back road games at Houston for the first time since two road wins between the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Vucevic has tallied a double-double in back-to-back games against the Rockets, averaging 18.0 ppg and 13.5 rpg during this span.

Bet Chicago to Win
Daily Line NBA Men

Why Bet on Houston Rockets?

Houston sits 11th in the West but still has a shot to get to 10th and the final play-in spot, but not a great shot with breakout star center Alperen Sengun likely out the rest of the regular season due to a serious right ankle sprain. There’s no question that not only is Şengün the best player on the Houston roster, averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 dimes a game, but he might be the most important for the team’s future. Good-looking rookie forward Cam Whitmore is also currently out.

Even without those two, the Rockets won their sixth straight game Tuesday, 137-114 at Washington. During that streak, Houston is outscoring opponents by an average of 13.2 ppg (121.2 ppg to 108.0).

Jalen Green ended with a season-high 42 points along with 10 rebounds on Tuesday. The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week is averaging 26.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over the past two weeks while shooting 50% from the field. Green has been making over 40 percent of his 3s during this stretch, with a large chunk of them coming off the dribble following an array of shifty crossovers. Perhaps his numbers will fall down to earth soon; he’s a career 33.6 percent shooter from 3.

Rookie forward Amen Thompson finished Tuesday’s win with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson not only recorded his eighth double-double but also notched a career-high 25 points. Thompson can’t reliably shoot jumpers, but Houston is finding ways to get him to produce at an All-Rookie level (he’s averaged 21 points and 9.7 rebounds in his past three games).

Jabari Smith Jr. has also been more productive recently, and he finished Tuesday’s win with a line of 18 points and 14 rebounds. With Sengun unavailable, the Rockets have opted to use power forward Smith, normally a power forward, as their starting center rather than moving Jock Landale or another bench player into that role. The Rockets had a -1.8 net rating with Smith on the floor through their first 64 games — that number has jumped to +14.1 in the past four.

Since Sengun’s injury, Houston’s most common lineup has been its new starting five, which features Amen Thompson in place of Sengun as well as Green, Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet, and Dillon Brooks. In 54 total minutes, the five-man group is posting a 138.4 offensive rating and a 120.4 defensive rating.

Houston is 28-5 when leading after three quarters of play this season (15-12 in 2022-23) and 5-30 when tied or trailing (7-48 in 2022-23). The Rockets are 9-10 in games decided by five or fewer points this season (9-8 in 2022-23), including 7-4 by three or fewer (5-4 in 2022-23).

Even if they come up short of the play-in tournament, the Rockets (33-35) have made a substantial turnaround from their 22-, 20-, and 17-win seasons in the past three years. Houston hasn’t won any of the past three season series vs. Chicago after sweeping each of the previous three from 2016-17 through 2019-20.

Bet Houston to Win
Daily Line NBA Men

Bulls vs Rockets Expert Prediction

Rockets 114, Bulls 109

NBA Conferences Winners

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