Oklahoma City Thunder vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 3/16/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+4)

United Center is the site where and the Chicago Bulls (17-20) will play the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-22) on Tuesday. The line on this contest has Chicago as 4-point favorites. The total has been set at 223.

The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Memphis Grizzlies and notched a win by a score of 128-122 in their last contest. Oklahoma City ended the game with a 57.5% FG percentage (42 of 73) and converted 16 out of their 31 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Thunder converted 28 of their 34 attempts for a rate of 82.4%. In regard to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 46 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 26 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 7 turnovers and having 7 steals. Pertaining to defending, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 51.1% from the floor on 47 out of 92 shooting. Memphis distributed 27 dimes and had 13 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Memphis snagged 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Memphis went 72.4% from the charity stripe by making 21 of their 29 tries. They made 7 out of their 22 attempts from three-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a player who was a factor for this contest. He walked away with 30 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 34:25 minutes and also totaled 4 boards. Gilgeous-Alexander finished shooting 47.1% from the floor and also dished out 5 dimes. Someone else that was a contributor in this matchup for the Thunder was Aleksej Pokusevski. He grabbed 10 rebounds in 39:08 min played. He ended up going 53.8% from the floor for this contest by going 7-of-13 (23 points). Overall, Pokusevski collected 4 assists.

Oklahoma City heads into this matchup with a record of 17-22 for the year. They turn it over 14.8 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, Oklahoma City is grabbing 44.5 boards per game and has accumulated 902 assists so far this year, which is 22nd in the NBA in terms of passing. The Thunder are shooting 34.5% from downtown (505 of 1,463) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 106.5 pts per contest (27th in the league) while connecting on 45.0% from the floor. On the defensive end of the court, the Thunder have forced 13.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.4 fouls. They are 21st in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 963 conceded on the campaign. The Thunder defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.2% (511 of 719) and they surrender 47.8 boards per game as a group. They are relinquishing 35.0% on 3-pointers and they are 15th in basketball in points per game allowed (111.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Chicago Bulls walked away with a victory by a final of 118-95 when they played the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls recorded 46 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 60 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while earning 6 steals for this contest. The Raptors were called for 22 personal fouls in this contest which took the Bulls to the charity stripe for 23 attempts. They were able to bury 18 of them for a percentage of 78.3%. In terms of three-point shots, Chicago converted 12 of 44 attempts (27.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bulls ended up going 44 out of 97 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.4%. The Bulls permitted the Raptors to bury 34 out of 89 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.2% in the matchup. They finished 26.7% from beyond the perimeter by going 12 out of 45 and ended up going 15 out of 21 at the free throw line (71.4%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Chicago allowed Toronto to grab 37 in total (6 on the offensive glass).

Patrick Williams was important for the Bulls for the contest. He made 9 of 14 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. Williams earned 23 points in his 26:34 mins on the court and totaled 4 dimes for the matchup. Another guy who came through for Chicago was Zach LaVine. He came away with 3 assists in 33:32 mins played, and he knocked down 4 out of 10 from the floor. LaVine wrapped this one up going 40.0% from the floor as well as earning 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Chicago has a mark of 17-20 this year. Chicago has earned 4,223 pts for the campaign (114.1 per game) and they average 44.6 rebounds per game. The Bulls have committed 20.0 personal fouls every game and they hit 80.2% from the charity stripe. As an offense, the Bulls are shooting 48.1% from the field, which is 8th in basketball. They are assisting teammates 26.4 times per contest (8th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 16.0 times per contest. The Bulls are ranked 24th in basketball in points given up per game with 114.6. They have conceded 23.9 assists and 42.5 total rebounds per game, which is 11th and 8th in basketball. The Chicago defense surrenders 34.7% on shots from distance (425 of 1,224) and their opponents are making 77.2% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 13.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.4% from the field (23rd in basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Chicago (-4) and over 223 points

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