NBA Free Pick – Monday, December 13, 2010
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Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls
Monday, December 13, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST on NBA TV
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The second-place Indiana Pacers will look to close the gap in the Eastern Conference Central Division when they face the first-place Chicago Bulls tonight in a 7 p.m. start at the United Center. The game will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.
It has been a rough start to the month for Indiana with losses in four of its first six games in December. Last Monday the Pacers rolled over Toronto 124-100 as a 7 ½ point home favorite, but fell to Milwaukee 97-95 their next time out as a two-point road underdog. This past Friday night, back home against Charlotte, they came away with an eight point 100-92 win as a 6 ½ point home favorite, but once again floundered on the road as a 3 ½ point underdog in a 97-83 loss to Atlanta on Saturday.
All this back and forth winning and losing leaves Indiana at 11-11 straight-up on the year and 12-9-1 against the spread. The Pacers are currently three games behind Chicago in the Central Division and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Danny Granger has started all 22 games for Indiana and leads the team in scoring with an average of 21.1 points per game. Roy Hibbert is second with 14.8 points per game and is the team’s leading rebounder with 8.7 per game. The Pacers are shooting 44.9 percent from the field and averaging 99.6 points per game.
Chicago brushed off two straight losses to start the month by winning its next five straight, including an 88-84 win over the LA Lakers on Friday night as a 1 ½-point home underdog and a 113-82 romp over Minnesota the next night as a 9 ½-point home favorite. The Bulls are now 14-8 SU in 22 games this season and 13-8-1 ATS. They currently occupy the fourth spot in the East, a half game ahead of the Hawks.
Much of Chicago’s early success this season should be attributed to the play of Derrick Rose, who leads the team in scoring; averaging 25.1 points per game and assists; averaging 8.1 per game. Joakim Noah has been the big man under the boards with a team-high 12 rebounds per game and Carlos Boozer is averaging 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in a supporting role. The Bulls are hitting 45.9 percent of their shots and averaging 100 points a game. They have also done a good job defensively, holding opponents to an average of 97.4 points per game.
Indiana is 2-3-1 ATS in its last six games on the road and 5-4-1 ATS in its last 10 games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of these 10 games.
Chicago is 3-2 ATS in its last five home games and 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last nine games overall.
This will be the first meeting between these two teams this season with the Bulls holding a slight 6-4 edge SU in the last 10 games. They are also 4-1 ATS in the last five games against the Pacers. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of their last six meetings.
Granger and Hibbert struggled the last time out for the Pacers and have not played their best ball on the road this season, while Rose has played at a high level over the Bulls recent five game winning streak. The line is currently off for this game, but stick with Chicago to make it six straight and cover unless the spread comes in at nine or more points in favor of Indiana.
The odds makers have the Chicago Bulls as a -8 point favorite with an over/under of 192.
Indiana Pacers Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Indiana’s last 20 games
- Indiana is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- Indiana is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indiana’s last 9 games on the road
Chicago Bulls Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Chicago’s last 17 games
- Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Chicago’s last 8 games at home
- Chicago is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
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