The Indiana Pacers are home favorites for the 11th time this season when they take on the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
The Bulls are down a key player in DeMar DeRozan on Wednesday night, and these teams are both in desperate need of a win, sitting on the outside of the play-in tournament picture in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago has disappointed in a big way this season, and it could be in trouble without DeRozan, even though it’s been good against the spread as a road dog this season.
The Pacers’ season has taken a turn for the worse since Tyrese Haliburton got hurt, but a win here would get the team back in the mix for the No. 10 seed.
Let’s dive into the odds:
Bulls vs. Pacers odds, spread and total
Bulls vs. Pacers prediction and pick
The Bulls are 11-8-1 as road dogs, but I’m fading them in this spot because they are 1-3 straight up when DeRozan doesn’t play.
Indiana is due for a bounce-back game after losing five straight and nine of its last 10, and it has been serviceable as a home favorite, going 5-5 ATS.
There aren’t many current metrics that support the Pacers given their recent struggles, but the Bulls aren’t exactly a great team, ranking in the bottom 10 in the league in net rating.
DeRozan’s absence is big enough for me to side with Indiana.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.