Chicago Bulls vs Phoenix Suns | Preview & Odds

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010 — NBA BASKETBALL

Chicago Bulls (18-22) at Phoenix Suns (25-18) 10:30 p.m. EST, TV: ESPN

Suns vs Bulls Odds & Picks

In the entire NBA, there might not be a team more happy to be home right now than the Phoenix Suns, who host the reeling Chicago Bulls at the US Airways Center. Why are the Suns so happy, you ask? Well, the Bulls seem allergic to the Western Conference and are giving up a ton of points.

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This is the first meeting between these teams this season.

The Bulls are in the beginning stages of a BRUTAL, seven-game road trip that doesn’t see them return to Chicago until Feb. 2 and has already spawned two straight losses to Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers in which the Bulls gave up an average of 109 points per game. Before heading west, the Bulls had actually been scoring some points, which has been their problem after averaging amongst the league cellar-dwellers at 92.8 points per game. In an added twist, guards Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons have been battling the flu, with Hinrich sitting out the loss to Golden State and looking DOA in the loss to the Clippers.

Phoenix imploded several different times on its last road trip with four straight losses to Indiana, Atlanta, Charlotte and Memphis, but came back home to demolish the league’s worst team in New Jersey. This Phoenix team is essentially the same one you’ve seen for the better part of the last decade: Give up a lot of points, score a lot of points. The Suns gave up an average of  118.5 points in their four road losses, but fear not because they score almost as much. With trade talks expected to heat up for leading scorer Amar’e Stoudemire over the next month, expect more of the same from the Suns.

The odds-makers have the Suns at -6½ point favorites.

The Bulls have proven to be, if anything, grossly underachieving this season. In what looks like it will be a season-long battle for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Chicago plays good in spots and has a nice frontcourt led by Joakim Noah but can’t score points consistently, which fall squarely on the shoulders of not-really-a-point-but-he-still-tries-to-play-point Derrick Rose. Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry has tinkered with his lineup recently, sending Jason Richardson to the bench for Leandro Barbosa, and Channing Frye to the pine in favor of Robin Lopez. Which means they’ve still got Steve Nash and Stoudemire to light things up at a moment’s notice.

Look for Phoenix to pick up the home victory in this one, beating the Bulls by eight points.

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