The Bulls start their seven-game road trip with the easiest of the bunch, or so it seems. The way Chicago has played down to its opponents this season, though, the Lakers might just have a chance of getting their second straight win over the Bulls at Staples Center.
You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
TRAVEL
We’ll get a good idea of what the Bulls have during the next two weeks. Chicago begins a seven-game road trip Thursday against the Lakers and enters the contest following a pair of games that sum up the season so far. On Saturday, the Bulls went into Cleveland and pulled off an impressive 96-83 win over the Eastern Conference’s top team. Then, the Bulls played their final home game before their season-long trip, a deflating loss to the undermanned Heat on Monday. So it goes for the unpredictaBulls, they rise to the occasion against some of the league’s best, yet play down to the level of some of the NBA’s worst. They will take on the Lakers with a big hole in the backcourt following another injury to Derrick Rose, who left Monday’s game with a hamstring and lower back soreness. The Bulls were without Kirk Hinrich and E’Twaun Moore for that game and all three are listed as questionable for Thursday.
A stretch of five consecutive games at the Staples Center started for the Lakers on Tuesday and they won’t play a true road game until they visit New Orleans on Feb. 4. A pair of two-game homestands is interrupted by a “road” game against the Clippers. Playing at Staples hasn’t been a good thing for the Lakers, who have the fewest home wins of any Western Conference team and own more than only the 76ers in the entire NBA.
INJURIES
Hinrich will travel with the Bulls on their seven-game road trip, according to the Chicago Tribune. He missed his fifth straight game Monday with a quadriceps injury, but the fact he’s travelling suggest that the Bulls hope to have him available at some point in the near future. Chicago also lost Rose for the second half of Monday’s game with tightness in his lower back and hamstring and Moore didn’t play due to a strained right hamstring. Their injuries are not considered serious.
Lakers rookie forward Larry Nance Jr. hasn’t played since Jan. 16 due to a sore right knee but is expected to return to the lineup this week. He had settled into a starting role in the Lakers frontcourt in favor of 2014 first-round pick Julius Randle.
KEY MATCHUP
Pau Gasol continues to do all he can to keep the Bulls in the top four of the Eastern Conference. He was undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons that Chicago was able to down the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday night. Gasol led his team in scoring, assists and rebounds and showed immense versatility in the way he was affecting the game. He followed that impressive showing with 19 points and 17 boards against the Heat, but the Bulls were unable to overcome the second half loss of Rose and cold shooting by his teammates. Rose and Jimmy Butler remain the Bulls prime scoring options, and they generally have been the main producers in the fourth quarter. But there’s really no one else who can get a good shot when needed like Gasol, who may be the best shooting seven-footer in the NBA and perhaps one of the best ever.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Just when we think the Bulls have it all figured out, like in Saturday night’s impressive win over Cleveland, they show us just how maddeningly inconsistent they can be. Now rookie coach Fred Hoiberg has to tinker with his rotations due to injuries to Joakim Noah, who’s done for the season, and backcourters Rose, Hinrich and Moore. Through it all Gasol remains clutch, but he can’t do it all. When Butler struggles, it doesn’t matter what Pau does, like in Monday’s loss to the Heat. Now, the Lakers aren’t very good, but it will be interesting to see how they respond after Kobe Bryant went off on D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle after Saturday’s blowout loss in Portland. It’s one thing to ignore the coach, but when a legend calls players out by name, that’s another thing. It’s time for these kids to start playing like lottery picks and they will eventually. LA’s supporting cast isn’t the best and the Bulls, even with their walking wounded, should be able to get the win.
Chicago 111, Los Angeles 99
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers is slated for Thursday, January 28, 2016, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Staples Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
