Wednesday NBA Parlay Picks: Bulls vs Hornets, Warriors vs Jazz

For our NBA parlay picks on Wednesday, we’re going with the ESPN national TV doubleheader, which opens with Bulls at Hornets and concludes with Warriors at Jazz. Both could be playoff previews. NBA odds will be determined by injuries.

Wednesday’s NBA Betting Odds Analysis

Chicago at Charlotte

This tips at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Bulls remain without injured guards Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso and won’t have second-round rookie steal Ayo Dosunmu for this one, either, as he suffered a concussion in Monday’s loss to Phoenix. The former Illinois star has been playing heavy minutes with those other two out but hit just 1-of-7 shots and missed all four of his 3-pointers for just two points and two rebounds in 33 minutes Monday. He remains the only rookie to shoot .500+ from the floor and .400+ from the 3-point arc over 50 games played this season.

DeMar DeRozan’s team-high 38 points vs. the Suns on Monday was his third straight game of scoring 30+ points, and 16th 30+ point night on the season. Zach LaVine had 32 points for his 13th 30+ point game this season. It was also the fourth time two Bulls scored 30+ in the same game. Nikola Vucevic had his 30th double-double by scoring 13 points and bringing down a game-high 12 rebounds. His 30 double-doubles rank fifth most in the league. He’s also scored in double-digits in 12 straight games.

At 33-21 (.611), the Bulls own the third-best record in the East. The last time the Bulls had won 33 of their first 54 games was back on February 21, 2013.

Charlotte enters on a five-game skid after a 116-101 home loss to Toronto on Monday. Recently back from COVID protocols, Gordon Hayward suffered a badly sprained ankle so he’s not playing for a while. Hayward suffered the injury when Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. fell on his ankle as they battled for a rebound. He stayed on the floor under the basket for some time as play continued. Hayward is averaging 16.4 points per game and 4.7 rebounds.

Chicago has won the past four in the series. The lone meeting this season was Nov. 29 in the Windy City and the Bulls prevailed 133-119. Chicago knocked down a season-best 53 field goals, finishing the game 53-for-89 (.596) from the floor. The Bulls’ Big 3 of Vucevic, LaVine and DeRozan combined for 83 of the team’s 133 points. Charlotte was led by Terry Rozier, who posted a game-high 31 points, while Hayward followed with 22 points. All-Star LaMelo Ball posted a double-double of 18 points and 13 assists.

Golden State at Utah

Tip of 10 p.m. ET. Will the Jazz have star center and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert? He hasn’t played since Jan. 23 due to a calf injury and the Jazz simply aren’t the same without him, especially on defense.

Gobert is currently averaging 16.0 points on 70.7 percent from the field, while grabbing 15.1 rebounds. He’s on pace to become the only player in NBA history to average 15 point and 15 boards while also shooting better than 70 percent from the field. The Jazz are 25-11 when both Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell play this season. Mitchell is recently back from a long stint in concussion protocols.

Mitchell is averaging 12.7 points per contest as the ball-handler in pick-and-roll play types, which is second-best in the NBA and he’s one of two players in the top five in that category with an effective field goal percentage over 50 percent (54.1).

Golden State won its NBA-best ninth straight game Monday, 110-98 in Oklahoma City. Klay Thompson went for 21 points. Thompson’s minutes restriction was loosened to 30 minutes prior to the game and he played a season-high 29 minutes in the win. Klay has now scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games and reached that mark four times on the season. Steph Curry had 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Andre Iguodala was forced out of Golden State’s win after just six minutes of action due to a back injury. Iggy made his first appearance on the court in eight games. All-Star Draymond Green hasn’t played in weeks and won’t here. Thompson will not play simply for rest.

The Warriors have won four straight in this series including two this year. They visited Salt Lake City on New Year’s Davy and prevailed 123-116. Curry scored 28 points and had nine assists. Andrew Wiggins had 25 points for the Warriors. Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson all scored 20 points, and Gobert had 20 points and 19 rebounds for Utah.

The Warriors have scored at least 110 points in each of the last eight games, averaging 117.5 points per game in that span. Golden State has scored 120-or-more points five times in the last seven games, averaging 120.9 points per game in that span.