Dallas Mavericks vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 1/3/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Dallas Mavericks vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Sunday, January 3, 2021

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Dallas (-4)

United Center is the site where and the Chicago Bulls (2-4) will play the Dallas Mavericks (2-3) on Sunday. Chicago opens this game as 4-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 226.

The Dallas Mavericks faced off with the Miami Heat and went home with a win by a final score of 93-83 in their last game. Dallas walked away from the contest with a 41.0% FG percentage (32 of 78) and buried 12 of 37 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Mavericks converted 17 of 23 tries for a rate of 73.9%. When it comes to rebounding, they compiled a total of 49 with 4 of them being offensive. They also distributed 18 assists for the game while earning 9 steals and 3 blocked shots. With regard to defending, Dallas allowed the other team to go 37.2% from the field on 29 out of 78 shooting. Miami totaled 20 dimes and had 10 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Heat pulled down 41 rebounds (5 offensive, 36 defensive) and got 2 blocks. Miami went 72.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of their 25 tries. They made 7 of their 33 attempts from beyond the arc.

Luka Dončić is one guy who played a role for this contest. He left the arena with 27 points on 9 out of 22 shooting. He was on the court for 35:49 mins and snagged 15 boards. Dončić finished the game shooting 40.9% from the floor and earned 7 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this matchup for the Mavericks was Tim Hardaway. He snagged 2 rebounds and also had 3 dimes. He finished 33.3% from the floor for the matchup by connecting on 6-of-18 (18 points). Overall, Hardaway saw the court for 38:33 min.

Dallas will take the court with a win-loss record of 2-3 on the campaign. They average 106.6 pts per game (23rd in basketball) while going 44.3% from the field. The Mavericks are connecting on 31.7% on shots from distance (60 of 189) and 74.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Dallas is collecting 41.6 boards per contest and has accounted for 104 assists on the campaign, which ranks 26th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.0 times per contest and as a unit are committing 20.0 fouls per contest. On the defensive end, the Mavericks are forcing 18.0 turnovers per game and they draw 24.0 fouls. They are 9th in basketball in giving up assists with 117 relinquished this year. The Mavericks defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.8% (90 of 120) and they concede 45.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They surrender 33.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 4th in the NBA in points per game allowed (103.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Chicago Bulls walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 126-96 when they faced the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls collected 36 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 42 in this game. They stuffed 6 attempts while earning 10 steals in the game. The Bucks earned 19 personal fouls in this contest which took the Bulls to the free throw line for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to convert 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. In the matter of shots from distance, Chicago knocked down 6 of 26 tries (23.1%). When this game wrapped up, the Bulls shot 38 for 87 from the field which had them at 43.7%. The Bulls allowed the Bucks to convert 42 of 85 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 49.4% for the contest. They finished 48.9% from three-point range by shooting 22 of 45 and ended up going 20 out of 30 from the free throw line (66.7%). When talking about cleaning up the glass, Chicago permitted Milwaukee to grab 44 in all (5 offensive).

Zach LaVine was important for the Bulls for this contest. He made 7 of 16 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 43.8%, which got him 16 points. LaVine collected 6 boards in his 27:11 mins of playing time and accumulated 2 dimes for the contest. Someone else that was important for Chicago was Denzel Valentine. He totaled 14 points in 20:32 minutes on the hardwood via 5 out of 8 shooting in this contest. Valentine ended the game having shot 62.5% from the floor while also contributing 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

Chicago has a win-loss mark of 2-4 so far this season. Chicago has tallied 682 points for the campaign (113.7 per game) and they pull down 42.5 rebounds per contest. The Bulls are committing 21.7 personal fouls every game while shooting 78.3% from the free throw line. On the offensive side of the court, the Bulls are connecting on 45.3% from the floor, which ranks 17th in basketball. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.7 times per contest (15th in the league) and they are giving up possession 18.8 times per contest. The Bulls are ranked 28th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 123.5. They concede 27.0 dimes and 44.0 rebounds per game, which ranks 26th and 12th in basketball. The Chicago defense gives up 39.7% on 3-point attempts (87 of 219) and their opponents are converting on 78.9% of their free throw shots. They are able to force 17.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.7% from the field (27th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Chicago (+4)

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