The 29-19 Chicago Bulls will travel to play the 31-18 Denver Nuggets in an NBA pro basketball game on Thursday night. Tip off time from Denver is scheduled for 10:30PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by TNT.
The NBA odds from this game will be released on Thursday afternoon as Bulls center Joakim Noah has been listed as questionable with a foot injury.
The teams met once during the lockout year with the Nuggets posting the 108-91 road win at Chicago as a +7 ½ point underdog. The game landed over 198 ½ points.
Chicago is 14-8 on the road this season. This is the fifth game of a six game road trip. They are 2-2 on this trip after a 111-101 road defeat on Monday to the Indiana Pacers as a +5 ½ point underdog. The total came in at over 176 ½ points. The Bulls shot 44.3% from the floor and 4 of 16 from three. They allowed Indiana 52.7% shooting in the loss and to pull down 12 more rebounds. Marco Belinelli off the bench led Chicago with 24 points and 3 assists on 9 of 13 shooting. Injury concerns for Chicago as Joakim Noah is questionable with a foot injury. Kirk Hinrich is out with an elbow injury. The time table for Derrick Rose’s return to the lineup is now late February. Chicago is a top four ranked team in the NBA in three key defensive categories which are points allowed along with field goal and three point defense.
The Nuggets are a hot team and have a home record of 21-3 on the season. They win their seventh straight in a 112-104 home win on Tuesday to the Milwaukee Bucks as a -7 point betting favorite. The total came in at over 213 points. Denver is a perfect 5-0 in this six game home stand. They overcome a 15 point deficit at the half as they outscore Milwaukee 61-38 in the second half. The Nuggets shoot 44% from the floor and make 5 of 16 from three. They win with 9 more rebounds and attempting 26 more free throws than Milwaukee. The Nuggets benefit with the most inefficient guard tandem in the NBA in Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings combing for 11 of 36 shooting. Denver is a top five team in the NBA in points scored and field goal percentage as the team averages 104 points a game and 46.8% shooting.
