Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/24/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

Where to watch: BSIN, NBCSCH

DraftKings: PK

FanDuel: NL

BetMGM: PK

Caesars: PK

Bulls: 21-24

Pacers: 23-25

Bulls: won 111-100 vs. Hawks

Pacers: lost 112-107 at Suns

The Chicago Bulls are playing the second night of a back-to-back in Indiana on Tuesday against the Indiana Pacers, and signs point to that not being a good look for the Bulls.

 

At the time of writing, Chicago is currently playing the Atlanta Hawks in Chicago from their first game back since playing in Paris against the Detroit Pistons. And given the fact that the Bulls are playing their first game since then and are playing very well defensively as of late, going on a back-to-back with travel against a very scrappy Indiana team does not seem to be the way to go.

 

Sure, you're going to have the traditional high scoring games, generally from Zach Levine after he scored 30 points against Detroit and DeMar DeRozan with 26 points and nine rebounds in that victory. But it's the defense for Chicago that has been playing very well as of late, and I point to that performance against Golden State before they left for Paris and how good these guys can be as it pertains to a balanced effort.

 

“It's great for people here in Paris to get an up-close look at the NBA," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “It makes you realize that the sport is followed so closely around the world. It was amazing. The place was sold out."

 

Meanwhile for the Pacers, things haven’t gone well since Tyrese Haliburton got hurt and is missing time. The Pacers have lost six in a row and are coming off a 112-107 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday for their fifth straight loss against the spread. They haven’t covered since that 2-point loss to the Hawks and ever loss since then — with the exception of Phoenix — has been by double digits.

 

Buddy Hield led the way with 22 points and T.J. McConnell had a triple-double of 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, but the Pacers shot 37.5 percent from the floor. That’s not good enough in order to get a win like that.

 

“Getting the next win is going to be challenging,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “That is how it is in his league.”

 

Don't get it mistaken that McConnell has played exceptionally well since becoming a starter. The other night he was almost at a triple-double but fell a couple of houses short period he's been great and in his career he has always been set up as the veteran that can stopgap whenever needed. But it's clear that the Pacers are in desperate need of their superstar point guard and until they get him back, any game from here on in it's going to provide a very tough task for Indiana.

 

Chicago is playing very well and normally I do not take teams that are coming off a second night of a back-to-back with travel. That being said, I do like where Indiana is at right now and I do think that their game definitely translates to this kind of position. Bulls 110, Pacers 102

Betting trends

Bulls are 107-73 ATS on the road in January since 1996.

Pacers are 17-34 ATS after playing 2 straight road games the last 3 seasons.

Pacers are 77-51 ATS at home after having lost 6 or 7 of their last 8 since 1996.

PG: Ayo Dosunmu

SG: Zach LaVine

SF: DeMar DeRozan

PF: Patrick Williams

C: Nikola Vucevic

PG: T.J. McConnell

SG: Andrew Nembhard

SF: Buddy Hield

PF: Aaron Nesmith

C: Myles Turner

Injury report

Bulls: Lonzo Ball (knee, out)

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton (out)

Points: DeMar DeRozan – 26.1

Rebounds: Nikola Vucevic – 11.0

Assists: DeMar DeRozan – 4.9

Points: Tyrese Haliburton -- 20.2

Rebounds: Myles Turner -- 7.8

Assists: Tyrese Haliburton -- 10.2