Bulls vs. Suns Betting Line – January 30
Carrie Stroup here with your Bulls vs. Suns betting line for January 30. Place your 1st bet, get your 2nd bet free here.
CHICAGO BULLS (30-18) at PHOENIX SUNS (27-20)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Phoenix -6, Total: 211.5
The Suns look to end their eight-game homestand with a victory over the Bulls on Friday.
The Bulls were 10-point favorites against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday night, but ended up losing 123-118 in double overtime. Even with the SU and ATS loss, Chicago has still won-and-covered in three of its past five games and the team has played much better defense recently. The Bulls are allowing just 96.0 PPG in regulation over their past five contests, which is much better than the 99.9 PPG (18th in NBA) they are allowing on the season. However, closing games has been an issue and they must prevent more games from heading to overtime.
Meanwhile, the Suns won-and-covered in a 106-98 home victory over the Wizards on Wednesday. They’ve now won five of their past seven games, but they are just 3-4 ATS in those contests. Defensively, the Suns have really struggled with 111.0 PPG allowed in their past four contests. That type of defense won’t fly against an improved Bulls offense that scores 102.3 PPG (9th in NBA).
Last season, Chicago won-and-covered in its two games against the Suns, prevailing 101-92 in the most recent matchup on Feb. 2, 2014. The Bulls have dominated this head-to-head series in recent years, going 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS in the past 10 meetings. The Bulls have also won-and-covered in five straight trips to Phoenix. Over the past three seasons, Chicago is 5-1 ATS after a game where it attempted 100 or more shots but are just 6-17 ATS off of a road game this season.
The Suns are 10-5 ATS after having lost two of their past three games this season and 4-0 ATS after two or more consecutive Unders on the year as well. SG Jimmy Butler (knee) is questionable after injuring himself against the Lakers and SG Mike Dunleavy (ankle) is doubtful. The Suns are injury-free and comparably well-rested after having not played a double overtime game on Thursday.
The Bulls are going to be tired after a double-overtime loss to the Lakers on Thursday night, but they’ll need to push through it in order to beat an up-tempo Suns team. PG Derrick Rose (18.5 PPG, 4.9 APG) hasn’t shot the ball well lately (39% FG over past five games), but he has played 42.5 MPG over the past two contests and that speaks volumes as to how healthy he is at this point in the season. Over the past five contests, Rose is averaging 21.6 PPG and he has been much more aggressive attacking the rim. He’ll need to come with plenty of energy Friday or the Suns' trio of point guards will light the Bulls up.
PF Pau Gasol (18.3 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.2 BPG) has proven to be ageless this season, and he’s now averaging 15.2 PPG, 15.2 RPG, 4.4 APG and 3.0 BPG over the past five contests. Gasol has been a monster in the paint and he should give a smaller Suns team a lot of problems with his combination of size and skill around the basket.
One reason that this team has been able to find some success in the past week or so is the play of C Joakim Noah (7.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.5 BPG). Noah’s knee is seemingly much better than it was earlier in the season, as he’s now averaged 13.5 PPG, 16.0 RPG and 7.5 APG in 41.0 MPG over the past two contests.
If SG Jimmy Butler (20.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG) is unable to go then SG Tony Snell (3.5 PPG) will need to be ready to play some solid defense in extended minutes. Losing Butler would be brutal though, as he is coming off of a 35-point performance against the Lakers and is the team’s leading scorer. Snell is averaging 9.4 PPG in 26.6 MPG over the past five contests, but he does not attack the basket nearly as well as Butler, and would be a major drop-off for Chicago.
The Suns are coming off of a big victory over the Wizards and they’ll now get to face what should be an extremely tired Bulls team on Friday. Phoenix is going to look to push the ball up the court in this game, which means that PGs Eric Bledsoe (16.7 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG) and Isaiah Thomas (15.4 PPG, 3.7 APG, 1.0 SPG) should be in for huge nights. Bledsoe had just eight points, six assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes in the win over the Wizards. He’ll need to be a lot better, as the Suns need him to hold his own in his matchup with Derrick Rose. Bledsoe would be wise to attack the rim as much as possible, as Rose is not used to playing the kind of minutes he played in Chicago’s double-overtime loss on Thursday.
Thomas, however, just needs to keep playing the way he’s been playing. Over the past five games, Phoenix’s sixth man is averaging 23.2 PPG, 3.4 APG and 1.2 SPG in 28.2 MPG. Prior to an 18-point performance against the Wizards, Thomas had scored at least 22 points in four straight games. He has been extremely hot from the outside (48% threes in January) and his toughness on the defensive end could disrupt the Bulls.
SG Goran Dragic (16.6 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.0 SPG) was big in the Suns’ win over the Wizards, finishing with 20 points and two steals in 36 minutes. Dragic has been inconsistent this season, but he should be able to light up the Bulls. He’ll likely be going up against an injured Jimmy Butler, so Dragic's speed would give him a major advantage.
PF Markieff Morris (15.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG) and C Alex Len (6.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 BPG) have to be tough in this game, as this Bulls frontcourt is one of the best in the league. They can’t afford to back down on the defensive end, and Len specifically will need to avoid foul trouble.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
