The Brooklyn Nets are set to travel to Chicago Friday night to take on the Bulls in their first game back from the All-Star break. The nets are currently 8 games behind the Celtics in the Eastern Conference and look to improve their positioning for the playoffs after the All-Star break. The Nets look relatively healthy and rested coming out of the break with Ben Simmons the team’s assist leader the only player listed on the injury report.

The Chicago Bulls need to bounce back from their 6 game-losing streak going into the All-Star break. Chicago hasn’t won a game since February 6th. Even with the week off for the break the Bulls are still plagued by injuries, it was recently announced Lonzo Ball will miss a significant amount of the remainder of the season due to lingering injuries. Also, out for tonight’s game is Javonte Green.
The Nets and Bulls have met three previous times this season with the Bulls holding a 2-1 series lead. The nets were able to pull out a win in the last meeting between the two teams on February 9 116-105.

The only reason the Bulls are favored by 2 in this game is simply that they are playing at home. If you take away the home-court advantage and put teams on a neutral court the Nets would be the favorite. Even with home-court advantage, the Nets are still the better team despite losing some key players before the trade deadline. The last time the Bulls hosted the Nets back on January 4th the Bulls were able to come away with that win 121-112.

Both teams are trending downward as of late and both will be looking to get the win. When looking at all the factors the best bet here is to take the Bulls to Cover and win outright. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to bet the money line in this game as well and add to your winning with +110 odds it’s a good way to double down on your bet. Any time you see a close point spread like -2 in a basketball game it is always a good idea to bet the money line on the team you have chosen to cover.

With Both Teams struggling offensively as of late I would shy away from this point spread and just bet on the spread and the money line. This over/under is kind of a fool’s bet. At 225 you are looking right at the league average for points in a game. Both teams a certainly capable of exceeding this over/under and they did in their second matchup of the season but have failed to meet the other two times. If both teams have a better than average night they will easily exceed this over-under. However, both teams have been too inconsistent for this to be a good bet.

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How to Watch ??

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?? Date: Friday, February, 24

?? Game Time: 7:30 pm

?? How to Watch: NBA League Pass

Venue: United Center