The Chicago Bulls will wrap up a quick two-game road trip with a visit to the AT&T Center this Wednesday night to play the “Best in the West” San Antonio Spurs. This inter-conference clash is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. (ET), and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

The Bulls’ 97-92 loss to Indiana this past Sunday was their fourth straight up loss in their last seven games. However, they covered as 7.5-point underdogs on the road improve to 4-3 against the spread during this same stretch. The total has gone “over” in three of their last four games.

San Antonio is now 8-2 SU in its last 10 games after beating Sacramento and Detroit at home over the weekend both SU and ATS. This improved its record to 24-3 SU and 15-10-2 ATS at the AT&T Center this season. The total has stayed “under” in three of its last five games.

Bulls at Spurs Betting Storylines

Chicago finds itself tied with Brooklyn for the fourth playoff spot in the East but still struggling with consistency with a 5-8 SU record in the month of February. It has been battling through injuries all season long and could once again be without its leader in assists, Kirk Hinrich, who remains questionable with a sore foot.

The trio of Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer continue to keep the Bulls competitive night after night. Throw in Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli off the bench, and this team remains deep enough to play with anyone. They have been especially tough to beat on the road this season at 17-12 SU and 18-11 ATS. The core strength of Chicago is still a defense that is ranked third in the NBA in points allowed (91.3).

The Spurs’ 19-3 SU run since mid-January has opened up a three-game lead over Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West. They now have the best record in the NBA at 47-14, and they are clearly on their way to securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. San Antonio has had to deal with its fair share of injuries this season as well and is currently missing its top scorer from the lineup, Tony Parker, who went down with an ankle injury in last Friday’s win over the Kings.

In Parker’s absence, it will be up to a couple of other long-time veterans to fill the void. Tim Duncan is the Spurs second-leading scorer with 16.7 points and pulling down a team-high 9.7 rebounds a game. Manu Ginobili is averaging 12.4 points and 4.5 assists a game. The team as a whole is shooting 48.8 percent from the field, and Danny Green is now its biggest outside threat with a 43.5 shooting percentage from three-point range.

Bulls at Spurs Betting Odds and Trends

BetOnline has opened the Spurs as 6.5-point home favorites for Wednesday night game with the “over/under” set at 190.5.

The Bulls are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games but just 7-19 ATS in their last 26 games against the West. The total has stayed under in eight of their last 11 games following a SU loss.

The Spurs are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against the Central Division and 11-3 ATS in their last 14 games on two day’s rest. The total has stayed under in nine of their last 13 home games.

The road team in this series has won three of the last five meetings both SU and ATS, and the total has stayed under in the last six games played in San Antonio. The Spurs drew first blood in this year’s two-game set with a crushing 103-89 victory on Feb.11 as 3.5-point underdogs on the road.

Bulls at Spurs Picks and Betting Predictions

With Parker out of the lineup, do not look for San Antonio to pin triple-digits on the Bulls this time around. While the under remains a solid play given the recent trends in this matchup, my top pick in this contest is with Chicago and the 6.5 points. The Bulls have been tough out on the road all season long, and you get the feeling they will bring a certain sense of urgency into this contest.

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Read more articles by Dave Schwab