Scoreboard	1	2	3	4	Odds
Chicago Bulls 31-41	29	22	20	20	+231.5
Brooklyn Nets 48-24	28	33	18	26	-12

Scoreboard

Odds

Chicago Bulls 31-41

+231.5

Brooklyn Nets 48-24

-12

NBA
Andrew Rogers
May 15, 2021

Bulls vs. Nets Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread

The Brooklyn Nets have lost out on their chance to finish atop the Eastern Conference standings – and they’re still not assured of placing second, either, as they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday afternoon. The Nets own a one-game lead over the third-place Milwaukee Bucks but are expected to get a significant boost Saturday, with the Big Three of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant expected to be in the lineup together.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The Nets are big-time favourites for this one, and it’s easy to see why. They’ll likely have Irving, Harden and Durant on the floor together for just the eighth time all season, and the first since Feb. 13 against Golden State. The Bulls, on the other hand, have officially been eliminated from the postseason picture and will likely take the opportunity to give key players some rest. So it’s no surprise that 70 percent of Sports Interaction bettors are siding with the home team.

The total betting, on the other hand, is split right down the middle on Saturday’s O/U of 234.5 (with the Over and Under carrying identical -110 odds). The Under is a red-hot 8-1 in the Bulls’ previous nine games, with the losing team scoring fewer than 100 points in seven of those contests. Brooklyn is also riding a strong Under trend, with eight of its last 12 games finishing below the number. Despite that streak, the Nets are still 39-31 O/U for the season.

Chicago Bulls

With their playoff hopes now dashed, what should we expect to see from the Bulls over the final two games? Look for high-minute players like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic to get more of a breather, opening things up for key bench players like Lauri Markkanen, Denzel Valentine and Garrett Temple to see more action. Markkanen, in particular, is an intriguing potential prop play given his ability to light up the scoreboard.

Brooklyn Nets

Don’t expect to see Brooklyn’s Big Three play heavy minutes in this one: They have bigger aspirations, and likely won’t need to break much of a sweat to handle a Bulls team that has nothing left to play for this season. Still, if Chicago keeps things competitive, the Nets can ill afford to let the game slip away: the Bucks own the tiebreaker in the head-to-head series, and can snatch the No. 2 seed if they win out and the Nets lose one of their two remaining games.